Shabnam Mogharabi

Shabnam Mogharabi is an entertainment entrepreneur and producer with 20 years of experience leading mission-driven media companies.

Mogharabi co-founded the uplifting content studio SoulPancake with actor Rainn Wilson. She ran it as CEO for nearly a decade, amassing 1B+ online video views and dozens of Emmy and Webby Awards on its content slate before a successful exit to Participant Media. During her tenure, she was named The Hustle's Entrepreneur of the Year, and SoulPancake was named to Inc5000's Fastest Growing Businesses and Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in Media.

Currently, Mogharabi is the founder and CEO of The Joy Brigade, a consulting and advisory firm that helps early- and mid-stage media, entertainment, and tech companies with strategy, business planning, culture, content creation, and storytelling. Her clients have ranged from an independent children's media start-up to a Series B documentary studio to large national news platforms.

Mogharabi sits on the advisory boards of for-profit startups Seed & Spark and Sunset Vibes Swimwear, the Wayfarer Foundation, and national non-profits Tahirih Justice Center and Girl Rising. She is a lifelong student of positive psychology and a highly sought-after public speaker on the subjects of joy and purpose.

Mogharabi is a Henry Crown Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She began her career in journalism, where she ran large editorial newsrooms. She has always been drawn to companies whose mission and culture align with her personal values and desire to tell stories that create hope in a depleted world. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two littles, and a nutty mutt named Ziggy.