Damien Navarro

Damien S. Navarro is a native Angeleno and graduate of film studies from California State University, Fullerton. In 1998, Damien founded the Los Angeles based award-winning media + technology studio, Brighter (nee Earthbound Media Group), departing after its sale in 2013. Since then, he has been tapped as a c-level executive for several mid-sized corporations as well as consulted recently for the Sundance Institute, The Academy of Motion Pictures and BAFTA on DEI and artist-sustainability initiatives. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. In 2019, he was selected by the Board of Outfest (est. 1982), a globally recognized media, arts, and entertainment non-profit organization, as their chief executive. Damien was listed in Out Magazine’s, 2020 Out100 list of Most Influential LGBTQ+ People and in Instinct Magazine’s 2020 15 Queer People of Color to Follow. He has been quoted in national publications (Forbes, KCET, LA Times, NBC, Variety) as well as industry white papers such as Winterberry’s: State of the Agency (2008), Carol Shumate’s: Secrets of Top Executives (2015) and Sundance Institute’s: Restoring the Future of Entertainment (2021). Damien is regularly tapped as a public speaker for university keynotes as well as opening events for industry conferences, including NAB, CES, CASE, and SXSW. He has appeared on morning news and talk shows, guest lectures and industry panels. His body of work includes award-winning (Cannes Lions, Addy, Telly) docu-series, commercials, live events, enterprise websites, OTT platforms, experiential media, and ad campaigns for some of the world's largest brands, institutions and publishers.