TIFFANY SHLAIN

Tiffany Shlain is a global evangelist for character – what makes a mensch a mensch.  She is an American filmmaker, author, public speaker, Internet pioneer, the founder of the Webby Awards and the co-founder of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Tiffany developed the concept of “Cloud Filmmaking” with a series of short films produced through online collaboration and a “Cloud Filmmaking Manifesto.” She creates films about ideas that speak to the most universal qualities of human life, focusing on what connects us, rather than what divides us. Her filmmaking incorporates mensch principles of giving back as much as is received, by offering free customized films to organizations around the world to further their message.

Tiffany was raised by Jewish parents, both doctors, in Mill Valley, California. Her mom is  a psychologist. Her father was a surgeon, inventor, and a writer. Her early family life nurtured a strong heart, brain, and character. Tiffany went to UC Berkeley, earning a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies. As a student she produced an experimental film which won the university’s highest award in art. Additionally she studied organizational change at the Harvard Business School Executive Education program and film production at New York University’s Sight & Sound program. In 2006-2007 she was a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.

In 2013,  she co-founded the nonprofit Let it Ripple: Mobile Films for Global Change, to make cloud films. To premiere her film, The Science of Character, she, and her co-workers founded Character Day for a world-wide discussion of ideas around character development. The second annual Character Day had over 6700 events in 41 countries and premiered The Making of a Mensch, about the science of character through the Jewish teachings of Mussar.

In addition to her professional and media activism, Tiffany is highly active in philanthropy.  She is on the Leadership Board of The Center on Media and Child Health at Harvard’s Boston Children’s Hospital. In 2018, she joined the advisory board of the Wait Until 8th pledge for children’s use of smartphones. Tiffany lives in Marin County with her husband Ken Goldberg and two daughters, Odessa and Blooma. They have and have received global media attention for what they call their Technology Shabbat, turn off their screens one day of the week to spend face-to-face time with one another which they have observed since 2010. 

With her Making of a Mensch film and creation of Character Day, Tiffany has set the stage for a popular movement to promote mensch character and values.