Cathy Applefeld Olson

Cathy Applefeld Olson is a veteran entertainment industry journalist and the founder of Hollywood & Mind, a venture that works across the music, entertainment and other industries of influence both to elevate their role in breaking stigma and uplifting mental health and to improve wellbeing within their own circles. Hollywood & Mind is a force for sparking deep intersectional dialog and spurring action through events, initiatives and media. Beyond its annual Summit, hosted in May at UTA in LA, the Hollywood & Mind Tour is launching in October 2025 in cities including Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas, Washington, DC and Chicago. Previous speakers have included Demi Lovato, Marlon Wayans, Mike Posner, Tiffany Haddish and Alyson Stoner.

Cathy is the author of the Forbes.com column Mind Reading, where she interviews culture influencers about their mental health journeys. She’s also a frequent contributor to Billboard.

Cathy is a graduate of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.