Penny Abeywardena

Founder, Soft Power Strategies, Fellow NYU McSilver, ✍🏽 @Forbes; French Knight, Board of FHI 360 & Center for Repro Rights, Former NYC International Commish

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

Coming 🔜 ✨🫶🏽
w/ @NYUMcSilver

[Aynat⁷ | ⊙⊝⊜ @BTSkiNoona]

Excellent article by @PAbeywardena for @Forbes abt @RecordingAcad

"[...] categories do cultural work beyond their rules. They tell voters why English-language pop stands simply as pop while pop performed in Korean, Japanese or Mandarin arrives with its geography attached."

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

Full article here: https://t.co/hQzEWNmx0L

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

Well, this is fun: my @bts_bighit article is trending on Forbes today.

@BTS_twt didn’t create leverage by saying no to the Grammys. They revealed the leverage they had already built: an audience that could move with them.

That lesson travels far beyond music.

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

.@FreddyLA7 your Buc-ee’s/Waffle House road trip sent me down a full soft power rabbit hole. You inspired a Forbes article!
You’re basically a diplomat now. 👏🏽 #FIFA2026 #worldcup

https://t.co/cQryZT47Fh

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

romance fans are quietly building a vocabulary for trust, restraint, and secure power while the rest of us argue about leadership 😭
“that man knows consent” sent me into a full soft power spiral. wrote about it 💚 #offcampus #garrettgraham #softpower

https://t.co/5pBMMNdGLU

[APB Speakers @apbspeakers]

Millions tuned in to watch #ArtemisII—not just for the mission, but for something deeper. As #APBspeaker @PAbeywardena writes in @Forbes, what stood out wasn’t just what the crew achieved—but how they showed up. They modeled #leadership rooted in humanity. https://t.co/1kcdvwCWXa

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

King Charles with his soft power flex 💪🏽

https://t.co/ztLsnxOh25 #kingcharles

[APB Speakers @apbspeakers]

What makes someone indispensable in the age of #AI? #APBspeaker @PAbeywardena on “the power of presence”—and why human skills like trust, connection & adaptability matter more than ever. https://t.co/g2fbCTSl1J @Forbes #Leadership #FutureOfWork

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

Earth is exhausting so we all looked up 🌖
And discovered something really kind of cool.
When everyone is brilliant, the ones who get chosen are the ones who are decent to work with. @NASA HR knows what’s up 👏🏽

https://t.co/ratiufPa3J

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

Everyone is talking about the jobs AI will take. Almost nobody is talking about the ones it can’t.
New in @Forbes: “The Hardest Skill in the Room.”

https://t.co/IPpeKBm4a9

#PowerOfPresence #softpower

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

Hi Spring. We need you. #NYC

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

Here’s the full conversation:

https://t.co/oQvhpZLoUy

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

The Power Of Being Underestimated 💡👀

happy international women’s day!!

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

It's Monday night. The news is a lot. Your team feels it all, they're just not saying it.
If you have a staff meeting tomorrow, this latest one in @Forbes is for you. #leadership #softpower

https://t.co/T2iIk0CZmf
@apbspeakers

[Amina J Mohammed @AminaJMohammed]

Sitting down with Penny Abeywardena for a conversation of leadership with purpose.

Listen here ⬇️
https://t.co/sHox7Q4Mph

[Juanjo 👨🏼‍🦲 he/him/his @jjlalupu79]

'The long-term goal was never just legal recognition. It was full societal acceptance, getting past the question of 'what’s wrong with me' to knowing there's nothing wrong. That work happens not in courtrooms but in living rooms...' @PAbeywardena

[APB Speakers @apbspeakers]

Power doesn’t always look loud. In #PowerPlay: Soft Power Unpacked, host & #APBspeaker @PAbeywardena opens the series with Diane von Furstenberg—exploring how real #influence is built through self-knowledge, kindness & intention, not authority. https://t.co/3paRc9cQaZ #softpower

[Penny Abeywardena @PAbeywardena]

Thought I was just here for a hockey romance and the sweetest happy ending…Turns out Heated Rivalry soft-powered me into writing a whole Forbes piece about how this show is changing hearts & minds 🧠❤️🏒

https://t.co/8z0mrgsXFn

#HeatedRivalry #SoftPower #ShaneAndIlya

[Martin Kimani @AmbMKimani]

Learned a lot sharing the stage with 3 transformative leaders: @ClaudiaLopez, who as Bogota's mayor shattered barriers, Penny Abeywardena whose diplomatic acumen shaped NYC's global engagement, and Prof Michael Nutter, former mayor of Philadelphia. @ColumbiaSIPA students rock!