Introducing the 2026-27 class of Shorenstein Fellows
Former CEO, Sundance; Harvard AB ’87
Keri Putnam is a producer, strategic advisor to companies and nonprofits, former senior executive and CEO, and public company board director who works at the intersection of the creative and business sides of the media and arts fields. As CEO of Sundance Institute, President of Production at Miramax, and Executive Vice President at HBO, Putnam guided strategy and led global creative and production teams to support, develop, finance, and supervise production on a wide array of highly acclaimed work from new and established talent.
In 2022, Putnam founded a production company, Putnam Pictures, to make television and film projects focused on premium stories from creators with distinct and adventurous vision. She was the ’23-24 Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow at Harvard Kennedy KERI PUTNAM FORMER CEO, SUNDANCE School’s Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics and Public Policy, Board Director at AMC Entertainment where she serves on the audit and nominating committees, Board Chair at New_Public, and co-founder of ReFrame which advances women in the screen industries.
Putnam is a consultant or advisory board member to media companies, foundations, arts organizations, and start-ups including Portrait, Picturestart, and First-Look Media, Pivotal Ventures, among others. She is a frequent speaker, an A.D. White Professor at Large at Cornell University, mentor at the USC Stark Producing Program, and advisory council member at Brooklyn College’s Feirstein School of Cinema. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is a summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard College with a degree in Theater History and Literature.
Center News
Videos
Videos
Media Mention
Reports & Papers
Commentary
Center News
Videos
Commentary
Learn how election officials are beginning to work with social media influencers and creators to provide accurate, accessible and engaging civic information.
Event
Zoom webinar
4:00 PM ET
Get an inside look at how U.S. elections work after voters cast their ballots and the processes that shape how votes are counted.
Event
Zoom webinar
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET
Join Meghan O’Sullivan, Joe Pfeiffer, Admiral Mike Mullen, and Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs as they reflect on the legacy and lasting impact of the September 11 attacks, 25 years later.
Event
JFK Jr. Forum, Harvard Kennedy School
6:00 PM ET
Learn how demographic shifts in aging, migration, housing, and population are reshaping communities and state finances, and how to use the data to strengthen your reporting.
Event
Zoom webinar
2:00 PM ET
Discover the overlooked impacts of sports betting on college campuses and how to report on them with depth and context.
Event
Zoom webinar
July 28 - 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
What are the sources of the unprecedented rise in U.S. government debt, and what are the impacts of high debt on government and society?
Event
Zoom webinar
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Event
Zoom Webinar
1:00 PM ET
An inside look at the rise, challenges, and lasting lessons of the UK’s landmark loneliness strategy — and what it reveals about building durable social change.
Event
Zoom webinar
9:00 AM ET
Join the winners of the 2026 Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting, for a behind-the-scenes conversation.
Event
Zoom webinar
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET
Event
Zoom webinar
1:00 PM ET