The 'Zebra' Entrepreneur who picked grapes in Tasmania and is an Actress: don't miss out on the TalkX starring Jennifer Brandel

We kick off a new edition of the Explorer programme with the TalkX Special Guest Jennifer Brandel. She co-founded Hearken and Zebras Unite, and she is a serial entrepreneur, innovator, shadow writer for renowned film directors, and a supporting actress. The talk promises to be very, very interesting.

In Explorer, we know very well who the co-founders of Zebras Unite are: we have inaugurated several editions of the programme with talks by Mara Zepeda, Aniya Williams, and Astrid Scholz. Now it’s the turn of the fourth leader of the movement. Starting on February 2nd, at 8:00 p.m. CET on ourTwitch channel, Jennifer Brandel’s TalkX will be live, so you can ask her anything you want in the chat.

Actress, award-winning journalist, and of course, entrepreneur.

What did our special guest study to become a “serial innovator and entrepreneur,” as she calls herself? She has a BA in Art History, followed by several studies Jennifer undertook at the University of Montreal and the University of Melbourne. She also has a degree in Integrated Liberal Studies—awarded by the University of Wisconsin-Madison—and another from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. 

This is precisely how he began his professional career: reporting for the CBC and The New York Times and winning several awards. After launching the most successful experimental news series in the history of Chicago’s WBEZ—a non-commercial, educational radio station—he founded Hearken in 2015. Hearken is an organisation that teaches institutions ways to retrieve information better from their stakeholders. This company won Bootstrap’s Best Company and Accelerator recognition from the News Media Alliance. Brandel also won the Center for Collaborative Journalism award for its work to change media.

Our next Explorer TalkX guest’s extensive career includes picking grapes in Tasmania, writing in the shadows for film director John Hughes, and being the voice of one of the supporting characters in podcasts like This American Life, Wire Tap, or Love + Radio. She even founded “Dance Dance Party Party” as a hobby: a worldwide freestyle dance event for women only.

Yet, journalism remains her passion—Jennifer has travelled the United States interviewing members of Baha’i communities. In 2020 and 2022, she focused on the role of journalism in democracy, launching the innovative collaborative platform Election SOS. He also advanced a revision of journalism by creating Democracy SOS. 

These are just a few examples of the innovative processes she has established. Many of them have spread worldwide, inspiring new practices, new departments in companies, and even new organisations. Her work has made her one of the 30 Conscious Business Women Changing the World. in her hometown, Jennifer co-founded Civic Exchange Chicago, bringing civic startups together in a collaborative learning community. Indeed, her work creates cross-cutting synergies between journalism, civic engagement, democracy, and entrepreneurship. Want to get to know this entrepreneur better and be inspired by what she has to tell us? Don’t miss out on Jennifer Brandel’s TalkX!