BIO

Kalina Silverman is a documentary journalist, entrepreneur, speaker, and creator of Big Talk (@makebigtalk)—an award-winning viral media project that highlights meaningful conversations to foster empathy and human connection. She is also an upcoming author, with a Big Talk book set for release under Penguin Random House (Tarcher) in 2026.

A Fulbright Scholar, Ambassador, and Public Speaker, Kalina has traveled globally to deliver Big Talk workshops and presentations, including at Fortune 500 off-sites, universities, and mental health organizations. Her TEDx talk on Big Talk has 7 million views, and her social media content has reached 500,000 followers and 125 million+ views. Big Talk has been featured by Good Morning America, TIME, People, USA Today, NBC, and more.

Most recently, Kalina partnered with GoFundMe to interview survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires and Hurricane Helene, creating viral videos that helped raise over $2 million in relief funds and garnered international attention.

A Northwestern University broadcast journalism graduate, Kalina worked on documentary films in Ecuador and Germany focused on education and the Holocaust. As a Fulbright Research Scholar in Singapore, she studied how to establish cross-cultural empathy through Big Talk. She also co-founded MIXED, Northwestern’s first-ever Mixed Race Student Coalition.

Beyond journalism and advocacy, Kalina is a model and commercial actress, having appeared in campaigns for Nike, Upwork, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Google, Meta, Sony, and more.

Kalina is passionate about bridging cultures and communities through media, education, and the arts, as well as combating modern-day loneliness and disconnection. An adventurer at heart, she stays active through surfing, Taekwondo, tennis, and dance while also nurturing her creativity through painting, songwriting, and playing piano and guitar.

Contact Note: For team-building workshops, speaking engagements, and other professional inquiries, please email kalina@makebigtalk.com. To join Kalina’s Big Talk Newsletter, subscribe at https://buttondown.com/kalina

POSITIONS

2025 (US) Big Talk Instagram videos creator (@makebigtalk), Preparing for Big Talk Book Release in 2026 (Penguin Randomhouse - Tarcher Perigee).

2024 (US) Fulbright Ambassador leading Big Talk workshops for 1500 PhD and Master’s students worldwide, and recipient of the City of Santa Monica Art of Recovery Grant. Freelance Model.

2023/’22/’21 (US) BIG TALK educational program development and video content creator. Public Speaker. Model for Minelli Management.

2020 (US/Australia) BIG TALK public speaking engagements (including WeWork, Elite SEM, Adobe, and Google).

2019 (US/Kazakhstan) BIG TALK educational program development, and documentary filmmaking for the “New Silk Road’s.” U.S. Fulbright Alumni Ambassador presenting on Capitol Hill. Speaker.

2017/2018 (Singapore)  U.S. Fulbright Research Scholar in Singapore, model with Basic Model Management (Singapore), Artist in Residence at Vagabond Hotel with Un-canned Art.

2017 (Los Angeles)  Creative Resident at 72andSunny. 

2016 (San Francisco) Facebook Stories intern.

2015 (Los Angeles)  Model, TEDx Speaker for BIG TALK. 

2014 (Chicago) Broadcast Journalism student at Northwestern University. NU in Qatar Ambassador. Founder and president of MIXED.

IN THE NEWS

• @Good Morning America features @makebigtalk interviews with Fire Victims

• @People features Kalina’s @makebigtalk interviews with Fire Victims

• @Time features Kalina’s @makebigtalk interviews with Fire Victims

• Big Talk in Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper

• Los Angeles Times

• Quora Sessions Host featured on Forbes

• Huffington Post

• USA Today College

• Right This Minute

• Business Insider Germany

• Lifehacker

• BIG TALK Featured in TARA, Norwegian Magazine

• Kalina Silverman for Icebreaker Southern Chronicles

• NBC News Asia America

• A Sharks Perspective Podcast Interview

• Big Ten Network

• The Mixed Show

• Northwestern Sophomores form group for Mixed Race Students

• TEDx with over 6.5M YouTube views

• Washington Post Article on the Big Talk Question Card Game

AWARDS

• Commendation - Big Talk for the Community from the Santa Monica Mayor

• Grantee - Fulbright Research Scholarship & Alumni Ambassadorship

• Winner - Ozy Genius Awards

• Semifinalist - McKinsey Women’s Impact Awards

• Winner - Northwestern Creative Arts Festival

• Semifinalist - Adobe Design Achievement Awards for Social Impact Design

CLIENTS / PARTNERSHIPS

• NAMI WLA (National Alliance on Mental Illness)

• GoFundMe

• Instacart

• FireAid

• Upwork

• Interstellar Foundation / UNESCO

• Chai Ventures

• City of Santa Monica Art of Recovery

• U.S. State Department

• Foundation for Social Connection

• California Marital and Family Therapist Association

• Healthcare Management Administrators

• Santa Monica Civic Well-Being Partners

• Institute of International Education, USA

• WeWork Melbourne, Australia

• Acelero Learning

• US Embassy Tashkent, Uzbekistan

• Smile Train, NYC

• USC Trojan Support

• Narxoz University in Almaty, Kazakhstan

• Adobe Women, SF

• "Take a Northwestern Direction" - Northwestern Global Outreach Video Campaign (Hero Student)

• Elite SEM, NYC

• Fulbright / US Embassy, Singapore

• Edovo Jail Educations Solutions (Big Talk partnership)

• USC Annenberg Innovation Lab, LA