Leslie Thurman is Director of Global Programming and Events at the Milken Institute. Previously, she led Advancements and Partnerships at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, anticipated to be the film industry’s most important cultural institution. Prior to the Academy, she ran major gifts and events at International Medical Corps, a $350 million global humanitarian organization providing emergency response, maternal and family health, water, and sanitation programs in 30 countries. As Director of Employee Initiatives and Communications at Warner Bros., Thurman directed community outreach, cause marketing partnerships, corporate social responsibility, and volunteerism aligning the Studio with partners including the U.S. Department of State, Habitat for Humanity, International Rescue Committee, Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, Save the Children, Got Your Six, and more. She also headed up the William Morris Agency Foundation and co-led the medical research programming at the W.M. Keck Foundation, where she was responsible for a $15 million annual portfolio of projects. She is a board member of the Global Hunger Foundation and PROOF: Media for Social Justice. She earned a Master of Arts at Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts at the University of California, Berkeley.
