Steering Committee 

Dawn Kinard

UVA alum and Manhattan native Dawn Kinard has spent over 9 years in the entertainment industry assisting some of the industry’s highest and most notable executives. Formerly the Executive Assistant to Christina Norman, CEO of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), and former President of MTV, Ms. Kinard assisted in overseeing the leadership, strategy, and management of MTV, MTV2, MTV Tr3s, mtvU, MTV.com, MTV Hits, and MTV Jams. Before landing her former role, Ms. Kinard spent time assisting prominent MTV Networks (MTVN) executives Judy McGrath, Chairman & CEO of MTV Networks, Herb Scannell, former Vice Chairman, MTV Networks and Van Toffler, President, MTV Networks Music and Logo Groups and President of MTV Films, among others.

Prior to entering the world of MTV Networks, Ms. Kinard spent over 3 years at Black Entertainment Television (BET) as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Vice President of Entertainment Programming.  Here she acted as the liaison between the Executive Vice President and all internal and external clients, reviewing incoming business proposals, and creating and maintaining work plans to ensure project goals were met within the appropriate time frame and budget.

Dawn Kinard graduated from the University of Virginia in 1995 with a bachelor of arts in Rhetoric & Communications, and a minor in Women’s Studies.  She is currently pursuing a graduate certificate in Event Management at NYU’s prestigious School of Continuing Education and Professional Studies, Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.  Her hobbies include reading, cooking, travel, and health and wellness.

Ms. Kinard has been a long time advocate of pro-social initiatives toward the education and self improvement of youth and women.  She is a member of the NY Chapter of the Ridley Scholarship Committee which awards scholarships to African-American students at her alma mater the University of Virginia, a member of  the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), an organization which educates, advocates and empowers for the cause of diversity in the telecommunications industry, and is a committee member of the H.E.L.P. Literacy Program, a national education collaborative founded by Washington, D.C. area teachers to promote literacy and improve the communications skills of children with special needs.

 Ms. Kinard currently resides in Manhattan.