Forty Over 40

Forty Women to Watch Over 40

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Forty Over 40 Asks: 10Qs for Katie Orenstein, Founder of the Op Ed Project

katieorensteinWelcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Frequently we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This Q & A is with Katie Orenstein who founded the OpEd Project in 2008,, a high-impact social venture dedicated to radically increasing women’s voices in media, Katie writes and speaks frequently about the intersection of fact and fiction in media and how that shapes our ideas about politics, culture and history. She is a frequent contributor to the op-ed pages of major papers and consults with the United Nations.

Alarmed by the lack of women published on the OpEd pages of the largest newspapers, Katie set out to build a movement to change the world’s conversation. She has done that through a variety of channels from one-on-one mentor/mentee pairings of veteran journalists with experts who want to publish, to day-long training programs that teach women from business, academia, and government how to make their ideas and voices heard.

1. What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?

When  I started my organization, The OpEd Project.

2. Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

I have so many mentors its hard to pick just one. Shifra Bronznick is someone who is on my mind a lot – she has made a big difference for me.

3. What is your biggest goal right now?

To empower the people around me to run our organization as if I was gone.  Not that I’m going anywhere today, but one day.

4. What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?

As late as possible.  I’m a night owl.  After I get up, I sometimes go for a run, and sometimes take a meeting (by phone) on my run.  Or I’ll do that while walking.  Much better than sitting at a desk.

5. How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?

I unplug by running.  Or sometimes by turning on music and going nuts, in my socks.  Every day, sometimes multiple times a day.  Every now and then I do it in front of my staff.

9. What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?

The challenge I’m most proud of would be my boo or launching my organization. It’s a toss up.

9)  What cause do I most want to advance?

Well, my organization’s. Our mission is to ensure that our public discourse, and our democracy, includes the fullest possible range of human voices, including women’s voices.   Other causes that are close to me: adult literacy.  Haitian democracy.

12. What song can’t you get out of your head?

Here’s Wishing You the Bluest Skies, by the Kinks.

13. What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

“Change your story.”  I got that from a mentor who made me realize I had an old, lousy story on auto-play, running through my head in the background, that didn’t serve me.  The story you tell is the beginning and the end.

15. Who on the list of prior Honorees would you like to meet?

Well, all of them, actually – again, or for the first time. I miss you!

Check out Katie Orenstein’s full 40 Over 40 profile here!

Whitney Johnson

Whitney Johnson

Whitney is the author of the acclaimed Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream. She has been named on numerous Smart Thinkers and People to Follow lists by major media such as Inc. Magazine, Business Insider and Huffington Post and is quoted in Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fast Company, Forbes and more.
Whitney Johnson