Cindy Mori is an award-winning media and events professional with more than three decades of experience. As VP, Events for the Special Olympics 2026 USA games, she is responsible for event planning and strategy, talent sourcing and development, creative direction, venue selection and more. She leads a team of event producers, planners, coordinators and support staff.
Additionally, Mori continues to support talent booking for Oprah Winfrey’s media partnerships, which is creating far-reaching, mission-driven content including exclusive celebrity interviews for Prime Time specials, The Oprah Podcast, Oprah’s Book Club, and previous specials and projects like The Me You Can't See from Executive Producers Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey, The Color of Care for Smithsonian channel, the Sidney Poitier documentary for AppleTV+ among many others.
Previously, Mori was the VP, Global Talent Management and Talent Development for Warner Bros. Discovery where she managed corporate talent booking for a variety of Warner Bros. Discovery networks and platforms. Mori moved into this role after thriving first at The Oprah Winfrey Show and then OWN for 20+ years. While there she held positions in producing, booking and talent development.
Her breadth of knowledge and experience has led to Mori being pursued for outside consulting for the Minnesota Vikings, co-producing USC’s inaugural Next Level Sports Conference as well as numerous panel appearances and speaking engagements. She also serves as an Adjunct Instructor at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Beginning at a young age, Mori was interested in news, sports and current events. She recognized early that media was a powerful tool, which could be used to inform and connect people. This interest led her to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.A. in Journalism. She began her television career at CNN’s Capital Gang & Reliable Sources where she produced live shows featuring politicians and D.C. power players. Later she moved to ABC News, producing live and taped segments for Good Morning America.
Mori is the recipient of several awards and honors including the Ralph O. Nafziger Achievement Award, presented by the UW School of Journalism in recognition of remarkable professional initiative and promise shown within 10 years of graduation. She was also honored in 2022 with the Distinguished Service Award presented to outstanding alumni for achievements in all fields of journalism and mass communication. She currently serves on the UW-Madison Board of Visitors for Student Affairs and the Television Academy Board of Directors.
