Eternal Optimism: Stretching to Meet Each Moment — with Natalie Tran
How do we balance the need to pause and the need to act?
In this episode, Lucy is joined by Natalie Tran, Executive Director of the CAA Foundation and Co-Founder of Civic Alliance and I am a voter.
Natalie is a powerful leader, philanthropic advisor, and advocate. In this conversation, she shares how her parents’ immigration from Vietnam instilled her with a sense of optimism, why she treasures the evolution of her 17 years at CAA, and everything she’s gained from learning to pause and ask for help.
No matter how you’re feeling as we near the end of 2025, this episode will meet you in the midst of it. Tune in for a reminder of both the power of sitting with our emotions and the importance of meeting each moment with aligned action.
Jump into the conversation:
[6:00] Letting go of the plan & sitting with your feelings
[12:30] The power of hope & optimism
[16:00] What CAA & the CAA Foundation do
[27:30] Natalie’s career journey & why someone took a chance on her
[35:00] How to supercharge your collaborations
[42:15] Natalie’s Board of Advisors & how she asks for help
[44:00] Learning through observation
[48:00] Making a big ask & salary negotiations
[52:00] How to create what you truly want next in your life
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More about our guest: Natalie Tran serves as Executive Director of the CAA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of leading talent and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). The Foundation activates the power and reach of the entertainment, media, and sports industries to create systemic social change for a more equitable and optimistic future. Its efforts are focused on public education, civic engagement, climate, and in times of critical need, mobilizing into action through crisis response. Based in the Los Angeles office, Tran consults clients, executives, and corporations on their philanthropic and pro-social initiatives.
In 2023, the CAA Foundation was named the one of Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators. In 2020, Tran led the formation of the Civic Alliance, a non-partisan coalition of businesses united by a commitment to a thriving democracy. Since its inception, the Civic Alliance has grown to over 1,350 companies with a reach of 5.6 million employees and was named as one of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas. In 2018, Tran co-founded I am a voter., a nonpartisan awareness campaign that aims to create a cultural shift around voting and civic engagement by engaging brands and talent. Since its launch, the campaign has activated hundreds of brand partners and influencers to help increase voter turnout in every state.
She also serves on the Board of The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), Power the Polls, Turnaround Arts CA and is on the Advisory Board of the Black Economic Alliance. Her work has been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, Leaders Magazine, Chronicle of Philanthropy, WORTHY, and The Hollywood Reporter. She is a native of Los Angeles and is a graduate of the University of Redlands with a degree in Business Management, Creative Writing, and Art History.
