LeVar Burton

LeVar Burton launched his acting career while still a student at the University of Southern

California. At 19, he found himself on the cover of Time Magazine, after landing the

groundbreaking role of Kunta Kinte in the landmark television series Roots. A seemingly

impossible act to follow, Burton achieved further global acclaim as Chief Engineer Geordi La

Forge in the iconic Star Trek: The Next Generation television series – a role he reprised in Star

Trek: Picard in 2023. However, it has been his role as host and executive producer of the beloved

PBS children’s series Reading Rainbow of which he is most proud. Airing from 1983 to 2009, it

was not only one of the longest-running children’s television shows in history, but also one of the

most acclaimed, earning over 200 awards including multiple Emmys and a Peabody.

As a lifelong literacy advocate, Burton has dedicated decades to encouraging children to

read. In 2017, long-standing literacy non-profit, Reading is Fundamental, acquired Burton’s

Skybrary reading app in order to provide access to millions of children both at home and at school.

Always committed to improving children’s education through the latest pioneering technologies,

Burton partnered with Osmo’s Reading Adventure, an innovative technology that uses speech

recognition and digital storytelling to teach children to read. In 2023, Burton premiered his first

documentary, The Right to Read, a film that positions the literacy crisis in America as a civil rights

issue. The Right to Read was an official selection at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

and SXSW Edu.

Most recently, Burton launched LeVar Burton Entertainment (LBE) with a mission to create

content that fosters empathy, champions diversity, and builds community. Under this banner,

Burton develops projects in the film, television, podcasting, and publishing space. Now in its 12th

season, the enormously popular LeVar Burton Reads podcast has over 175 episodes in its catalog,

boasting 25 million downloads. LBE’s first Kids & Family podcast, Sound Detectives, will debut

on Stitcher in August of 2023.

Burton continued to exercise his passion for storytelling as the award-winning author of

Aftermath, The Rhino who Swallowed a Storm, and A Kids Book About Imagination. A modernday

griot, Burton launched his first book club with Fable, a digital book club community.

In his partnership with Masterclass, Burton shared the power of storytelling by offering insights

into his own life and the importance of authenticity, and dynamic expression.

As the honored recipient of seven NAACP Awards, a Peabody, a Grammy, and 15 Emmys,

including a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Inaugural Children’s & Family Emmys, Burton

has demonstrated that he can do it all. He is often invited as a keynote speaker at leading education

and technology events, including NASA, ISTE, The National Education Association, FAST

COMPANY’s Innovation Series, and