Carla Fernandez

Carla Fernandez is a writer, facilitator, and community builder who brings people together to navigate challenges and reimagine what comes next. After experiencing social isolation following her father’s death, she cofounded The Dinner Party, a national network of peer-support circles for young adult grievers that brought together over 20,000 participants, featured in The New York Times, NPR, and Oprah Daily, and cited in multiple books. Beyond her work in grief, she is a strategist supporting communities working on issues related to democracy, climate change, and the arts. She is a senior fellow with USC’s Annenberg School Innovation Lab and a Catherine B. Reynolds Scholar in Social Entrepreneurship at NYU. She divides her time between the Hudson Valley and New York City.