When a story feels authentic, audiences lean in—and creators know that truth and nuance make all the difference. The USC Norman Lear Center exists to connect you with topical experts who bring accuracy, depth, and real‑world insight to your work. Through free, pro bono support for film and television, the Center helps creators strengthen storytelling across genres. Learn how collaborating with specialists can enrich your world‑building, sharpen stakes, and elevate the impact of your stories!
Participants
Kate Folb, Program Director, Hollywood, Health & Society
Kate Folb leads Hollywood, Health & Society, connecting writers and producers with expert guidance to ensure accurate portrayals of health, science, safety, and climate in entertainment. She previously directed The Media Project at Advocates for Youth and the Kaiser Family Foundation, and ran Nightingale Entertainment, consulting on national media campaigns for leading nonprofits.
Dr. Joe Árvai, Director, Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies
Dr. Joe Árvai, director of the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences at the University of Southern California. Currently a professor of Psychology, he will address the toll of climate change on mental health. Dr. Arvai is a former member of the U.S. EPA's Chartered Science Advisory Board and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences' Board on Environmental Change and Society.
Dr. Vishnu Laalitha Surapaneni
Dr. Surapaneni is a board-certified internal medicine physician in practice for over ten years with a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health degree. Dr. Surapaneni contributes to the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change US policy, the annual gold standard update on climate health science and has served as a delegate of the University of Minnesota at the UN’s COP climate conferences. She's a Public Voices fellow in partnership with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, speaking with media outlets including TIME and The Guardian.
Special Thanks to Hollywood, Health & Society of the USC Norman Lear Center