A discussion with Journalist/Founder Cathy Applefeld Olson.

Thursday, March 2, 2023 | 7:00pm

Entertainment journalist and Medill alum Cathy Applefeld Olson discusses what she’s learned  interviewing artists and executives in the Hollywood industries about mental health, and her new venture Hollywood & Mind, which is focused on leveraging the unrivaled influence of the entertainment community to elevate mental wellness.

Cathy Applefeld Olson is a veteran entertainment industry journalist, event producer and entrepreneur who is passionate about destigmatizing mental health. During the course of her career reporting for publications including Billboard, Forbes, Cynopsis and Multichannel News, she’s spoken with talent and executives about their mental health struggles, approaches to solutions and ways in which the industry can make an impact. These exchanges combined with conversations around her own kitchen table catalyzed her to launch Hollywood & Mind, a business that serves as an alliance to incubate ideas and foster intersectional learning, collaboration and solutions in an effort to leverage the power of entertainment to help diminish our mental health crisis. The venture, an evolution of Cathy’s Forbes column that features interviews with musicians, actors and other culture influencers, will hold its inaugural event in May at UTA in Los Angeles.