Cinny Kennard

Cinny Kennard is a board member of the Wallis Annenberg Legacy Foundation and has spent her career in executive leadership advancing the public good, bridging journalism, philanthropy, and civic contributions to strengthen communities and amplify voices that inspire change.

An award-winning journalist and former CBS News correspondent, Kennard reported from Los Angeles, London, and Moscow, earning the duPont-Columbia University Award for her coverage of the Persian Gulf War. She went on to help shape some of the nation’s most influential media and cultural institutions. As the founding managing director of NPR West, she expanded NPR’s reach and storytelling capacity across the West Coast. Later, as senior vice president of programming at the Smithsonian Institution, she led global partnerships and helped bring the Smithsonian’s mission of discovery and learning to new audiences worldwide.

A trusted steward of Wallis Annenberg’s philanthropic legacy, Kennard played a key role in transforming The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands into a hub for diplomacy and served as executive director of the Annenberg Foundation. Today, as a board member of the Wallis Annenberg Legacy Foundation, she helps guide the foundation’s work to advance the causes Wallis championed, expanding opportunity, access, and connection for people and communities everywhere.