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IT IS ABOUT TIME TO HELP OUR FORGOTTEN CHILDREN | Jill Gurr | TEDxCanonDriveWomen

539 views · Published 25 May 2017 · 13:13 · Indexed 21 September 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2017 · Nonprofits & Activism

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​Jill Gurr, Founder and Executive Director of Create Now, has devoted the last 22 years of her life to helping 37,000 of the most troubled children in Los Angeles to heal and thrive through therapeutic programs in the arts.

Founder & Executive Director of Create Now

​Jill Gurr, Founder and Executive Director of Create Now, has devoted the last 22 years of her life to helping 37,000 of the most troubled children in Los Angeles to heal and thrive through therapeutic programs in the arts.

She is a produced screenwriter, having adapted the book Hit and Run by James Hadley Chase into the screenplay Rigged, which stars George Kennedy. This film was distributed internationally by Kodiak Films. She also wrote Socrates, a PBS pilot that stars Ed Asner. Several of her original screenplays were optioned. 

Jill has over 18 years of experience working with top celebrities on award-winning film and TV productions all around the world as a Script Supervisor. She graduated with a B.S. degree in Broadcasting and Film from Boston University, where she was a disc jockey on WTBU radio. Jill also studied at the City of London Polytechnic and received a Professional Producer’s Certificate from UCLA. Jill spent several years traveling and living around the world, including throughout Latin America and Europe. She is fluent in Spanish, French and Italian. 

She was featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360°, locally on KTLA's "Heroes at Home," plus NBC-TV, Fox11 News and ABC-TV, as well as in the Los Angeles Times. In addition, Jill was one of eight people in the country honored by the Simon Wiesenthal Center to be part of an exhibition at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles called “Everyday Heroes.” She was one of the first four Americans ever selected by the British Council to participate in a six-week Global Xchange program in Belfast, Northern Ireland and Durban, South Africa, with 25 representatives of youth organizations from six different countries. 
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She currently gives presentations to international diplomats through the International Visitors Council and the U.S. State Department. Jill has published three books, including one about mentoring youth. CBS Local recently featured her in their article, “Best New Authors You Need to Know About."

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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