Our social impact programs are a big priority at 21CF, from strategic philanthropy, leveraging programming to amplify a pro-social message or partnering with organizations doing good. As part of this commitment to drive a positive impact in the communities where our colleagues live and work, today 21CF has announced Liba Wenig Rubenstein as its Senior Vice President of Social Impact. The company has also promoted Vijay Sudan and Shira Oberlander, who launched 21CF’s social impact program in 2013, to Vice President, Social Impact.
Liba was the Executive Director of the Global Energy Initiative, the environmental sustainability program at 21CF’s pre-split predecessor News Corporation, until 2012. She re-joins the company from Tumblr, where she served as Head of Social Impact and Public Policy. She will be based in Los Angeles, while Vijay and Shira will continue to be based in New York. In addition, Tony Safford recently joined the company as Vice President, FoxGives, a new role overseeing our employee engagement program for L.A.
Under Liba’s leadership, 21CF’s social impact team will continue to work in partnership with all business units across the company, developing new pro-social programs, projects, partnerships and campaigns, and supporting everything from global marketing campaigns to environmentally responsible production to employee volunteering. Recent work includes:
- Launching “The Search for Hidden Figures” campaign to support young women pursuing STEM careers, providing more than $200K in scholarships and awards in honor of the “Hidden Figures” film.
- Partnering with Give a Note Foundation to award grants to struggling school music programs, donating more than $1 million to music education since 2011.
- Mobilizing around “He Named Me Malala” to share Malala Yousafzai’s remarkable story with the world, including organizing a screening for 7,000 public high school girls in L.A., launching a global social media campaign to raise awareness for the 60 million girls globally who are not in school, and raising money for the Malala Fund to support girls’ education.
- Cofounding the L.A. campus of Ghetto Film School, which teaches visual storytelling and production to young people from communities traditionally underrepresented in Hollywood.
- Partnering with the Women’s Sports Foundation to help ensure all girls have access to sports, in honor of FOX’s “Pitch.”
- Providing year-round opportunities for colleagues to give back to the communities in which we live and work, through volunteering programs like FoxGives and 21CF Impact Week, our first annual week of service.
- Maintaining a global commitment to reducing the company’s environmental impacts, growing sustainability and inspiring others to take action. Since 2007, 21CF has invested tens of millions of dollars in renewable energy, efficient operations and environmentally responsible film and TV production.
