Keisha Senter is a visionary cultural strategist, executive and producer with experience turning bold ideas into real-world impact. As SVP of Culture and Impact at Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, she leads the work that transforms the company into a cultural institution and tastemaker, where storytelling extends far beyond the screen. Keisha’s work builds lasting connections with audiences through strategy, partnerships, and initiatives.
She’s led some of Monkeypaw’s most powerful cultural moments, from Candyman Impact Campaign to Jide Osifeso x NOPE’s award-winning streetwear capsule and an interactive virtual reality world in partnership with Meta. She launched the NO DRAMA short film initiative to support the next generation of genre filmmakers and is an executive producer of High Horse: The Black Cowboy.
Prior to Monkeypaw, Keisha built programs for Gucci, the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative and The Rockefeller Foundation. Keisha produced the Insight Dialogues digital content- series featuring visionaries such as Robin Wright, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jada Pinkett Smith. As the founding director of President Bill Clinton’s Clinton Global Initiative University, she produced global convenings that brought together young entrepreneurs to tackle social challenges through innovation. Keisha began her career in politics at the Center for American Progress and in the Office of United States Senator Charles E. Schumer.
She’s a Presidential Leadership Scholar and she has been recognized as a Top 50 Women In Los Angeles by Women We Admire magazine. Keisha is a proud Florida A&M University and Dublin City University alumna, and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She has been featured by Vanity Fair, GQ, Fast Company, Essence, and The New York Times for her work at the intersection of culture, entertainment, and impact.
I began my career in Senator Charles E. Schumer’s office, where I first saw how storytelling could move power in real time. A young filmmaker, Keith Beauchamp, brought us his documentary The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till and urged the Senator and Congressman Charles Rangel to push the Department of Justice to reexamine the case more than 50 years later. They listened, and the federal government reopened the investigation. In that moment, it was clear to me that stories don’t just shape culture; they can reshape history.
That experience set the course for my career. Moving between entertainment, philanthropy, and public service, I’ve always tried to translate values into action — using art and culture as tools for real-world change. Whether building pathways for emerging entertainment leaders at the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation, connecting storytellers with philanthropy through a digital content series at the Rockefeller Foundation, or launching a global network of young entrepreneurs around urgent social challenges for President Clinton, my work has been grounded in lived experience. I return again and again to the same questions: whose story is centered, whose is missing, and what truth sits at the core?
Those experiences ultimately led me to build the Culture & Impact department at one of the industry’s most exciting production companies. We make engaging entertainment, but we also take seriously our responsibility to stay connected to culture and to center people and stories that are often pushed to the margins. That means creating partnerships, content, convenings, and cultural moments that invite people in – not just as viewers, but as participants. For me, stories aren’t just meant to inspire; they’re meant to activate.
For me, intentional community building begins with being deeply rooted and proud of who I am, where I come from, and the Black women whose shoulders I stand on. My mother was the first Black teacher to integrate two schools in our small Kentucky hometown, and she and my sister paved the way for me at HBCUs. Those experiences taught me that community is lived, nurtured, and passed down; and I carry that legacy into every space I enter.
Because of that grounding, I see community as essential to shaping the industry’s culture. When it is authentic, audiences feel truly seen. That’s why I reach across cultural lines, especially when a story is not rooted in my own experience, to partner with voices that are central to the story and the community it represents. Real cultural change grows when people and ideas are resourced and supported.
I’ve had the privilege of working closely with some of the most powerful people in the world – from presidents of billion dollar companies to presidents of countries. Early on, I believed leadership meant certainty and always having the answers and projecting confidence. However, experience has taught me the opposite. Real leadership requires humility, listening, and a willingness to evolve. Influence isn’t about control. It's about trust, built through consistency, respect, and how people feel after working with you.
There have been many moments when I was the only woman, the only young person, and/or the only person of color in the room. In those spaces, I learned that my power lies not in fitting in, but in staying rooted in who I am and leading in a way that makes it easier for others like me to be there next time.
My secret is simple but not easy: always leap.
I think leaping has always been in my DNA. When I received a scholarship to study in Ireland, I said yes before I had everything figured out. I landed in Dublin with only a few days of housing, but my plan was to follow my gut, knowing that on the other side of that “yes” could be one of the best experiences of my life. It was.
I’ve built my career the same way – stepping into rooms, roles, and opportunities I could never have planned for, often while feeling scared or uncertain. Leaping has consistently been my greatest teacher.
So I encourage myself, and those I mentor, to leap: trust your instincts, trust your preparation, and trust yourself. Even if you stumble, you’ll learn, adjust, and leap again, a little stronger each time.
Hands down, the women of the Senter family.
I come from a lineage of firsts. My mother was not only an educator, she was also the first person on both sides of our family to attend college. Around her were nurturers and entrepreneurs (long before the word was common) — my grandmothers who created small in-home business opportunities for our family where none existed. These women took leaps long before society made space for them, and their faith, resilience and bravery have shaped who I am today.
I can’t live without deep conversations. The kind of conversations that challenge us and deepen our understanding. Connecting with people fuels my creativity, my relationships, and my work. Whether they are professional or personal, I want to truly connect with the people I’m engaging with. Life moves fast, and I try not to miss opportunities, big or small, to have a real human experience with others.
It’s been fun to watch the return of “2016 energy” in social media and digital culture. I’ve enjoyed watching creators revisit that moment through fashion, photos, and storytelling. It’s been a bit more than nostalgia for me. It’s been a reminder of what felt possible ten years ago.
From Beyoncé’s Lemonade to the final year of the Obama presidency to Moonlight, we were experiencing the alignment of powerful cultural, political, and artistic moments. Seeing people reflect on that era reassures me that cycles of change are real and that momentum, imagination, and progress can rise again.
A television show that shaped me both personally and professionally is A Different World.
I come from a family of HBCU graduates — Tennessee State University and Florida A&M University — so I grew up seeing the power and importance of those institutions long before I ever stepped on campus. Watching the show each week made that world feel inspirational, joyful, and possible. It showed me that college could be intellectually challenging, culturally rich, and extremely fun. And that brilliant, ambitious Black students could be fully centered and supported!
When I finally arrived at FAMU, it felt familiar. In many ways, A Different World planted the seed for my career by revealing how culture on screen can shape who we become and how we imagine our futures.
