Stacy L. Smith, Ph.D. is the foremost disrupter of inequality in the entertainment industry. Dr. Smith is the Founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative (AII), the leading global think tank studying issues of inequality in entertainment. Dr. Smith’s groundbreaking research examines inclusion across film, TV, and digital platforms, the music business, and includes economic analyses that investigate the relationship between inclusion and financial performance. Dr. Smith has authored over 100 book chapters, articles, and reports, and is the force behind
The Inclusion List, a data-driven ranking of the most inclusive films, companies, and producers from 2019 to 2022. Dr. Smith also works to create and support solutions to increase representation in media, including the Inclusion Rider, the 4% challenge, and work with Brie Larson to diversify film criticism. With Cate Blanchett and Coco Francini, in 2023, Dr. Smith announced the Proof of Concept Accelerator program for filmmakers. Dr. Smith served on the Recording Academy Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion and is a Founding Board Member of
She Is The Music, and served on the TIME’S UP Global Leadership Board. Among her numerous awards,
LA Weekly named Dr. Smith the most influential person in Los Angeles in 2015. In 2019, the
Hollywood Reporter named her one of 50 Agents of Change, and in 2021
Billboard listed Dr. Smith as an industry Change Agent.
