It is 7 a.m. on a Friday, and Kristen L. Pope is with her 3-year-old daughter, Lily, talking about movies. Soon, Pope will move to her home office to produce social media content for the Harvard Division of Continuing Education (DCE) and for her multimedia company, Pope Productions Inc. She might look at her list of career goals on the wall and feel inspired to continue her work. Later in the still-early morning, Pope happily plans an evening showing of “Black Panther” for her standing movie night with her husband and Lily, who serves as her ultimate source of daily inspiration.
“I started my career in journalism because I wanted to tell previously untold stories to the masses, especially stories of people in underrepresented communities. These stories, they inspire me,” Pope said. “Yet, my family is the driving force behind everything I do. My work supports my family, my work leaves a legacy for my family, and my work in the community plants a seed for my family.”
As a result of her industriousness, Pope was recently named one of the Class of 2020’s top “Forty Under 40” alumna of Hampton University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism in 2005. She was also honored as one of 2020’s “Top 50 Most Influential Business People of Color” in the Boston suburbs by the Newton-Needham Regional Chamber.
“To be recognized as an influential person in business is humbling. It reminds me to stay the course. I feel like I am just scratching the surface of my potential,” she said.