B.S.: Beyond Stereotypes · BSing with Adrienne Lawrence
As an award-winning on-air commentator and diversity, equity and inclusion advocate, Adrienne Lawrence does more than just talk. In fact, she does a lot of everything—and she does it well. The former “big law” litigator is passionate about reaching minds and audiences through informative, thought-provoking conversation—particularly on matters impacting women and people of color in their professional lives.
After going public in 2017 about the rampant sexual harassment, misogynoir and gender discrimination at her former employer ESPN, and subsequently becoming the first on-air personality to sue ESPN for sexual harassment, Adrienne wrote Staying in the Game: The Playbook for Beating Workplace Sexual Harassment, a first-of-its-kind survival guide published by Penguin Random House’s TarcherPerigee on May 12, 2020. Staying in the Game has been heralded as “a must-read for any woman in any workplace” and “[a] highly readable and informative introduction to managing workplace harassment.”
When she’s not writing on diversity and equity, Adrienne is engaging audiences online and in person. She can be seen as a regular host and legal analyst on The Young Turks where she connects with audiences in a new digital segment called Overruled. She also contributes her insight to outlets such as NPR and Buzzfeed.
Adrienne also makes time to share her knowledge to groups at forums such as South by Southwest (SXSW), The Amber Rose Los Angeles Slutwalk, Women’s Media Center Progressive Women’s Voices, among others. She also frequently speaks at colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad.
As a consultant, Adrienne educates executives and professionals around the world on achieving diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. She has the unique skill of connecting with people of all walks of life, creating comfortable safe spaces in which they can open up about their uncertainties and struggles as it concerns issues surrounding race and gender.
Merging her on-camera skills with her passion for change, the skilled communicator also works with companies in creating and hosting informative and impactful workplace anti-sexual harassment, diversity and communication training programs used by the majority of Fortune 100 companies.
As General Counsel and Director of Outreach for BetterBrave, Adrienne supports the needs of the non-profit organization focused on providing young professionals with strategic and effective tools for beating workplace sexual harassment and discrimination.
Holding onto her east coast ties, she also serves on the board of directors for Dress for Success in Hartford, Connecticut, where she uplifts women seeking to re-enter the workforce after enduring economic setbacks.
A northern California native, Adrienne graduated high school at the age of 16 after skipping a grade, earning her B.S. cum laude from Cal State Sacramento (Criminal Justice) at the age of 19, an M.A. from City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice (Criminal Law & Procedure with Dean’s Honors), and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School. After completing her legal education, Adrienne clerked for Chief Judge Eric T. Washington of the D.C. Court of Appeals and went on to work for several major law firms.
In May 2015, Adrienne completed the M.A. specialized journalism program at the University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, subsequently putting her thesis on hold to join ESPN as a legal analyst and anchor. After settling her lawsuit against the sports network in 2019, she finished her thesis at USC, receiving her second master’s degree in 2020.
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