Featuring a detailed schedule and all the panel info you’ll need.
Thus far, Katie’s 2023 has been enviably action-packed: After going on various mind-blowing adventures (like that incredible blue whale expedition) and taking on some fascinating interviews (like her candid talks with her oncology dietician), she’ll be making a pit stop in Austin, Texas to speak at SXSW. This massive festival-conference-exhibition hybrid is known to offer a wealth of cutting-edge entertainment and thought-provoking dialogues, and this year’s star-studded series of events looks as exciting as usual.
In fact, Katie will be joining two panels this weekend to speak about complex issues like rare diseases and reproductive rights. Plus, she’ll take the stage for a keynote chat about the future of business with the CEO of Patagonia. She’ll also attend the screening of a new groundbreaking film that she produced. Venturing into the festival or just want to follow the action from afar? Here are all the details on where and when Katie will be kicking up her heels in Austin:
Katie’s SXSW Schedule
Building a Patient-Driven Movement: Accelerating Research for Rare Diseases
Date/Time: March 11, 2:55pm – 3:35pm CT
Location: Native Hostel
Speakers: Katie Couric,Tania Simoncelli, Dr. David Fajgenbaum, Brian Wallach & Sandra Abrevaya
Description: After being diagnosed with a rare disease, some feel helpless — and like they have nowhere to turn. But the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative knows there’s power in numbers: The org’s Science in Society program is on a mission to cure, prevent, or manage all disease by centering patients as experts in the research process. This panel will feature Tania Simoncelli, VP of Science in Society at CZI; Dr. David Fajgenbaum, a rare-disease patient and renowned researcher and Rare As One grantee; Brian Wallach, ALS patient advocate; and Sandra Abrevaya, an advocate and caregiver, who’ll discuss reinventing the research ecosystem, galvanizing a patient-driven movement, and how to turn intentions into change.
Blowing Up the Biological Clock: Sex, Robots and Reproductive Freedom
Date/Time: March 12, 10:30am – 11:15am CT
Location: Native Hostel
Speakers: Katic Couric, Liz Plank and Tara Comonte
Description: In the back of many women’s minds is the constant tick of their biological clocks. In private moments at home, in career conversations at work, and in casual encounters at the bar — TICK-TICK-TICK — the clock only gets louder. As innovations in FemTech advance, women (and their partners!) are realizing the power that comes from being free of that pressure and the ripple effects it has on sex, relationships, careers, and beyond. In this conversation, Katie will sit down with author Liz Plank and TMRW Life Sciences CEO Tara Comonte to explore the limitless possibilities of being unburdened by the fertility journey.
A Conversation About the Future of Business with Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert and Katie Couric
Date/Time: March 12, 1:00pm – 2:00pm CT
Location: Austin Convention Center, Ballroom D
Description: “Earth is now our only shareholder,” says Ryan Gellert, chief executive officer (CEO) of Patagonia Works and Patagonia, Inc. Prior to his appointment to this global role, Ryan spent six years as Patagonia’s general manager of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Before joining Patagonia, he spent 15 years at Black Diamond Equipment. He and Katie will discuss the forward-thinking, borderline-revolutionary ways that Patagonia conducts business — and ways for those ideas to be expanded beyond the eco-fashion sector.
Screening of No Ordinary Campaign
Date/Time: March 12, 7:15pm—8:37pm
Location: Alamo Lamar D
Description: At 37, Brian Wallach was diagnosed with ALS — on the same day he and his wife Sandra brought their second daughter home from the hospital. They went from having recently worked at the White House to not knowing if Brian would live to see his 40th birthday. This film is the story of what happened next: Using their political-organizing experience, Brian and Sandra have moved with astonishing speed to build a patient-led revolution on ALS treatment that’s reminiscent of the fight against HIV. In this documentary, executive-produced by Katie, viewers follow them as they carve an unlikely path of funding, legislative, drug-approval, and community-building successes to remake the future of the battle against ALS, all while racing against the clock of Brian’s own condition.
