Correction appended
Monica Lewinsky could run a charity one day.
The onetime White House intern told the audience at the Forbes Under 30 summit in Philadelphia Tuesday that she’s become a much more public person since last year’s speech at the same summit drew worldwide headlines. And after a question from Forbes Magazine Editor Randall Lane about whether she’d ever seek to run one of the charities with which she’s involved, Lewinsky’s answer wasn’t quite yes — but it definitely wasn’t no.
“One thing I’ve learned from the last few years: I have no idea what the future is going to hold for me,” said Lewinsky, who says she’s now a contributing editor to Vanity Fair magazine and has done consulting work with the British telecom company Vodafone. “If (running a nonprofit) happens, it would be great. I want to continue to give a purpose to my past. The right opportunity will unfold.”
Lewinsky said she took comfort a year ago in the youth of the Forbes event audience — the Summit is aimed at entrepreneurs and professionals under age 30.
“The audience came to my story through a different lens, knowing about me through rap songs,” Lewinsky said. As a result, she said, she’s heard that last year’s speech and her resultant TED talk was heard by many.
“I was incredibly touched and honored to hear that Caitlyn Jenner had found solace in my TED talk,” Lewinsky said. “I’ve had a lot of experiences which have led me to feel… privileged to sometimes help other people feel less alone.”
Lewinsky’s talk at the Summit, held through tomorrow at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, capped a busy day at the Summit, with panels that included such diverse personalities as Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Barbara Bush, model Ashley Graham and the CEO of Tinder.
Correction: The initial version of this post said Lewinsky may run for office; Billy Penn was clearly not listening closely, and regrets the error.
