About Sophie
Hi! My name is Sophie Beren and I am a unifier. I was put on this earth to bring people together, across differences, through meaningful human connection and conversation. I’m from Wichita, Kansas, and growing up, I was the only Jewish student in my grade in school, which led me to feel like I didn’t have a voice. I ‘followed the yellow brick road’ all the way to the University of Pennsylvania, ready to immerse myself in Jewish life on campus. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by Jews in all aspects of my college life, and still something was missing. I realized that I had taken for granted the environment I had grown up in, when I was exposed to people from all walks of life in Wichita. This realization sparked my passion for dialogue and led me to found my first venture, TableTalk, a conversation club that evolved into a multi-campus movement and 501(c)3 nonprofit. After spreading TableTalk to over 80 schools, I realized something bigger. Our echo chambers were not only preventing us from connecting with people who were different from us, but they were also preventing us from having real conversations about the issues that matter, with people who think differently than us. This became most evident during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.
The intense political climate on Penn’s campus in 2016 inspired me to put pen to paper, use my voice, and write a column in the Huffington Post. I called for our generation to lead the charge of breaking open our echo chambers, to show other generations that we can learn to conceive of another person’s point of view and to show that we can learn to coexist with the “other side.” This article was the foundation for The Conversationalist, a non-partisan educational platform I founded to empower Gen Z to unify the world, through difficult conversation. Our community of over 100,000 young people is committed to coming together, across differences, through "POVz" the first Gen Z Talk Show, and through our digital network located on the Geneva app. Our work has been featured in Forbes, on Good Morning America, by The White House, and even on a billboard in Times Square. I want every young person to realize the power of their voice, because when every voice is truly heard, valued, and understood, we can unify the world. My platform is proving to be the antidote to the polarization we see in our country today, and I will continue to get out of bed every day to unify the next generation, one conversation, and one voice at a time.
The Conversationalist
Founder & CEO | the conversationalist
The Conversationalist is a non partisan educational platform empowering Gen Z to break out of their echo chambers, have difficult conversations, and unify together. Inheriting a world of polarization, our community of 150,000 young people is committed to unifying across differences through our Gen Z Talk Show, "POVz" and our global digital network on the Geneva app. Click here to join our community and watch the video to learn more!
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POVz: our gen z talk show
a deep dive into the gen z point of view
POVz is the first Gen Z talk show, where we blast controversial topics from multiple perspectives, by young people, for young people — and I’m the host. Our pilot episode centers around the question “Is abortion a human right?” For the episode, we convened two Gen Z leaders who think ‘yes’ and two who think ‘no’ to discuss this topic on screen with the goal of better understanding each others’ points of view. Watch the full episode here.
NEW EPISODES EVERY WEEK!
TACKLING TOUGH CONVERSATIONS WITH GEN Z’ERS AND OUR CELEBRITY PARTNERS.
TableTalk
Founder & Executive director, Tabletalk global
TableTalk Global is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that seeks to bring students together on college and high school campuses around the country to make new connections and #jointheconversation. Through a variety of creative initiatives, such as TableTalks, CampusCouches, and TableTalk [X], TableTalk helps both students and community members on campus make meaningful connections outside of their typical groups. Starting TableTalk at Penn was one of the highlights of my college career and founding TableTalk Global led me to where I am today with The Conversationalist.
VOLUNTEER POSITIONS
FOUNDING PARTNER, STARTS WITH US
Starts With Us is a movement to overcome extreme political and cultural division in America by fostering constructive communication across our differences. I was brought on as a founding partner to help shape and scale Starts With Us.
FOUNDING MEMBER, THE COUNCIL FOR RESPONSIBLE SOCIAL MEDIA
The Council (CRSM) brings together a multi-sectoral group of leaders who are focused on finding solutions to the technological harms to our society and to elevate a bipartisan conversation and advance impactful, achievable solutions.
Founding Member, Geneva Leaders Program
The Geneva Leaders Program invites an exclusive group of community builders on the Geneva platform who are building game-changing communities to tell our stories of building the next generation of digital communities online.
Writing
MY MOMENT
THE HUFFINGTON POST | NOV 22, 2017
"Food connects us. Time connects us. Humanity connects us. In thinking about your own personal Thanksgiving, I encourage you to try a “strangegiving” of sorts in the coming weeks. Open yourself up to creating spaces imbued with new perspectives and new individuals who could contribute so much to your world."
WHEN THE UNTHINKABLE BECOMES THINKABLE
THE HUFFINGTON POST | AUG 16, 2017
"Let’s start conversations. Let’s talk with others who might think differently than ourselves. Let’s talk with those across the aisle, from both the right and the left, who are currently being tuned out by the violent. Let’s not lose faith that human beings have the capacity for love and human kindness. And let’s try to slowly lower our fingers and point towards our shared humanity, because we have way more in common than we might currently believe."
It’s Time To Strengthen Our Own Belief Systems Through The Exploration Of Others’
THE HUFFINGTON POST | NOV 9, 2016
"I realized that social media are oftentimes polarizing. Social media are a vehicle through which most of us re-inculcate ourselves with the same ideologies every day. Right now, as you are scrolling down your newsfeeds, you might not even realize, but you are internalizing, and sometimes adopting, everything you read and “like.” With this in mind, I decided that this could be the start of something new."
LET'S PLAY A CONNECTION GAME
The huffington Post | aug 17, 2016
"Want to play? I think you’d readily be shocked and happily surprised by the little we truly know about the people around us. Once you play, then the next person will, and before we know it – eyes across the world will start opening to the people around us and those eyes will be quickly inspired to find out more."
Press
