Kirk Kennedy Brown
Aquarius: Kirk Kennedy Brown was born in Frederick, Maryland’s Fort Detrick at 11:45 PM on January 30, 1989
Inspiration: He wanted to join the arts and be a part of the creative community when he first watched Jurassic Park (1993) and received a VHS of Scream (1996).
Detour: Attended University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School (2007-2011), and increased business acumen through professional work at William Morris Endeavor, Viacom, Investor’s Business Daily, etc (2011-2022). Uses business acumen to help brands increase brand positioning and engagement with clients that include PBS, META, Hasbro and Logitech to name a few.
Entrepreneurship: Launched Melanin MeetUps (2017), a Black think tank which spawned Illuminate series (Black Ted Talks) with partnerships that include Gaingels, Here Media, Evolutionary Ventures and features talks from U.S. Senator Cory Booker, Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis (President of American Psychological Association), etc.
Activism: Is a board member of The Whitney Plantation, the first plantation to memorialize slavery and spearheads Melanin MeetUps’ The Better Together Project which aims to memorialize plantations, implement Ida B. Wells literature in schools across the country and digitize black history with The Immolation Project.
Circling back: Joins Gersh Agency (2021) as an independent producer and talent under his media company, Evinate, LLC. Unscripted projects: Projects in development with Bunim/Murray, Danny Rose Media, Chelsea Handler productions, etc. Stage credits: Monsters of The American Cinema (2023, Diversionary Theatre), A Black Man’s Song (2023, The Old Globe Theater).
Passion: Mental health advocate passionate about cycle-breaking, c-ptsd, generational trauma, racial based trauma stressors, and disrupting markets in entertainment and biology with technology.
Next up: Independent Film project: Cakewalk. Technology product in beta targeting movie market research: Hubit. Stage work: Primary Trust (La Jolla Playhouse, September 2024), The Color Purple Musical (New Village Arts, June 2024), The Glass Menagerie (Diversionary Theatre, November 2023). Podcast: Template (2024)