The Ford Foundation’s Free Future event took place in New York City for a second year this week, just a stone’s throw away from the upcoming U.N. General Assembly 2024. The striking Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice served as the perfect site for Free Future 24, a day full of panels and discussions centered on the theme of preventing gender violence around the world.
The day showcased just how many high-profile ambassadors there are in philanthropy today, from all corners and sectors. Ford head Darren Walker participated in an early panel with Padma Lakshmi, Indian model and activist, moderated by Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief Radhika Jones. Walker challenged the traditional structures of philanthropy. “Much of philanthropy comes out of an economic system that has been generated — and wealth created — in unequal systems and structures that are biased against women, that profit, of course, from the labor of women, but don’t empower women,” he said.
In the afternoon, one powerful panel followed another, including on tackling gender violence in conflict zones like Sudan and fighting the rollback of LGBTQ rights. The latter panel featured actress Sophia Bush in conversation with Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project. The two spoke about a clear escalation in attacks on LGBTQ rights in the past few years, particularly on the local and state legislative level.
Bush noted that in 2020, no states banned trans girls from sports. Now, 25 states do. In 2020, no states banned evidence-based medicine for trans adolescents. Currently, 24 states do. “More people regret their Harry Potter tattoos more than transitioning,” Bush said.
After the panel, Inside Philanthropy caught up with Sophia Bush for a one-on-one interview, where we found out more about what brought her to Ford that day, her own passion for LGBTQ rights and coming out publicly as queer, and how she found her activist voice.
Coming to speak at Ford
“It’s thrilling for me to be here,” Bush began. “I think the best and most important and most impactful lesson I’ve learned in 20 years of political advocacy… is the ability to keep going, to coalition-build.”
For us millennials, Bush is probably best known for playing Brooke Davis on the long-running young adult drama series “One Tree Hill” on the WB. She has since moved between film and television roles. But at 42 years old, not only is she still racking up Hollywood credits, she’s also established herself as an activist, producer and entrepreneur.
She believes that most social change can’t happen without strength in numbers, noting that, for instance, rape culture cannot end without male allies. “We need each other. And I think that’s part of what makes something like [Free Future 24] so special and part of what makes what the Ford Foundation does special to me,” Bush said. “They’re willing to have a multifaceted approach to make sure no one is getting left behind.”
In the spring, Bush penned a Glamour cover story titled “I Feel Like I Can Finally Breathe,” about coming out as queer. She mentioned to me the strange dichotomy of playing so many characters on screen, while people dug into her personal life off screen. Referencing the tragic consequences that can follow when someone is outed without their consent, Bush aims to use her platform to prevent this and give others the courage to live fully as themselves.
“If I can represent something to young people who feel alone… in whatever way sharing a story can be a form of allyship, I’m happy to do it,” Bush said.
Using her platform and initial interests
Born just outside of Los Angeles and raised by her mother, Bush says that charitable spirit was infused in her long before she had her current platform — which includes 4.6 million followers on Instagram and another 1.1 million on X. She described the community in which she grew up as diverse in every aspect, where she was able to participate in school walkouts and engage in community service.
Then came “One Tree Hill,” a nine-season drama hit that ran from 2003 to 2012. The popular show came of age right when Facebook, MySpace and Twitter were also in their heyday, and Bush saw the opportunity to make an impact well beyond what she had been accustomed to. She calls this leap not a choice, but a calling.
Bush soon started engaging in education advocacy, which lined up well with the mission of Pencils of Promise, a 2008-founded nonprofit that has built more than 550 schools, largely in Ghana, Guatemala and Laos. The organization was founded by entrepreneur Adam Braun, with whom Bush saw an opportunity for mission alignment. Bush knew that trying to stand up a school or multiple schools in a place like New York City or Los Angeles wasn’t in the cards. So instead, she set her sights on something more feasible, like learning how to raise money for schools in places like Guatemala or Laos, so that she could advocate for girls around the world.
“Any time you pull on the thread of inequity, you always find that it’s these kinds of divisions or withholding of power from certain groups of people,” Bush said. “It’s impossible not to see that that inequity is systemic and women and people of color are often the first people affected by inequity.”
In her work with Pencils of Promise, she’s particularly proud of putting power in the hands of people on the ground – namely local teachers, administrators and architects. “That’s why the organization inspired me so much. You get to catch up with these kids and their teachers and see what this infusion of assistance can do in a community that was ready to launch a program or school but couldn’t,” Bush said.
Social change as a relay
Bush’s fame has allowed her to broker connections with high-profile brands, including Glamour, where she hosted a panel, “The Power of an Educated Girl,” featuring Michelle Obama and Charlize Theron. Bush also worked with the former first lady on her Let Girls Learn campaign, focused on girls’ education around the world.
Bush sees all of her work as part of a larger (and longer) relay, where it’s always necessary to build relationships with other advocates to whom one can pass the baton. The common thread for her is equity — how to help, how to find others who can help, and where she can be plugged in next to continue the work.
Earlier this year, Bush also joined the board of the Human Rights Campaign, and she also hosts her own podcast, “Work in Progress with Sophia Bush,” where she sits down with leaders like White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Chase Strangio. Yes, that Ford sitdown during Free Future 24 was also a live taping for a new episode of Bush’s podcast.
“I always get to figure out what the next greatest thing is to help the team,” Bush said. “And that’s kind of the joy of my life, you know?”
