Erin Potts
Writing and conversations about music, movements, culture, impact, and what 35 years of doing this work has taught me.
I have spent my life seeing how powerful change can be when it begins in cultural spaces. Today, I write, speak and work with artists, organizers and cultural leaders to help turn creative ideas into hope, action and change.
Take a look at some of my work below, and reach out if you want to explore any of this together.
ABOUT ME
At 21, I co-founded the Milarepa Fund and Tibetan Freedom Concerts with Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. Later, I co-founded Revolutions Per Minute with some folks from Pearl Jam and R.E.M., and spent nearly twelve years working with musicians, and eventually comedians, who wanted to bring the same care, imagination and ambition to their activism that they brought to their art.
Since 2016, the circle of artists I have worked with has widened to include writers, actors, visual artists, chefs, filmmakers, storytellers and other cultural leaders, alongside organizers, organizations and funders.
In 2026, I created Freedom Needs a Soundtrack, a six-part documentary podcast and ongoing anniversary project about the music, activism, friendships and Tibetan resistance behind the Tibetan Freedom Concerts, and what that story can teach us about culture, solidarity and collective action today.
My ideas about cultural strategy, narrative change and impact storytelling have been used in academia, but I am most excited when they help artists, activists and audiences create change in the world.
I write and work with people who are trying to make sense of complex questions about culture, impact, strategy and change. That can take the form of a talk, interview, facilitated conversation, retreat or other strategic engagement.
Freedom Needs a Soundtrack
A six-part documentary podcast about the music, activism, friendships and Tibetan resistance behind the Tibetan Freedom Concerts.
Selected Writings
Essays and reflections on music, movements, culture, power, impact and change.
Spotlight on Impact Storytelling A report mapping the narrative and cultural strategy field and what it needs to grow stronger.
A Conversation About Cultural Strategy An essay defining cultural strategy and clarifying how story, narrative and culture work together.
Gen X Questioned Power. Now We Hold It. What We Do With It Matters. On what it means for Generation X to move from questioning power to holding it, and how the values that shaped us might guide how we use influence now.
The Power of Music: Why Freedom Needs a Soundtrack Why music matters in struggles for freedom, and how culture can help people move from awareness to solidarity and action.
Adam Yauch, Activism & Fake Mustaches A reflection on friendship, loss and what Adam Yauch taught me about working hard, taking risks and making change without losing humor or joy.
The Storytellers’ Guide to Changing the World A practical guide for storytellers, organizers and cultural strategists working to create more compelling stories about the future and the world they want to build.