Walter O'Brien Receives the Humanitarian Award at North Hollywood's 5th Annual 'NoHo CineFest'

Renowned computer scientist honored for dedication to humanitarian efforts to halt kidnapping and human-trafficking.

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Apr 10, 2018, 11:30 ET

LOS ANGELES, April 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Walter O'Brien, founder and CEO of Scorpion Computer Services and Executive Producer of CBS's hit television show "Scorpion," received the Humanitarian Award at the fifth edition of the North Hollywood CineFest for his donated time and expertise to advise, provide intelligence to, protect the identities of and execute anti-kidnapping and anti-human trafficking missions for over a decade.

Scorpion Walter O'Brien with Los Angeles Councilman Paul Krekorian and director Gustavo Sampaio.

"It is an honor and privilege to be recognized for my work in these areas," said O'Brien. "I hope to set an example and inspire others to lend their talents towards positive social missions that go beyond their day-to-day professional work."

The CineFest awards show was new to NoHo's program this year and took place at the El Portal Theater on March 30, 2018. CineFest gave three special awards. In addition to the Humanitarian award, an "Innovation & Inclusion Award" was presented to MinTIC Colombia for their program Cine Para Todos, a phone app that syncs to the movies in the theater and provides closed captioning for the hearing impaired and an audible description of action for the vision impaired. Last, the "Visionary Artist Award" was presented to Siddhali Shree, director of Stopping Traffic, a documentary about human trafficking.

This is not the first time O'Brien has been honored for his humanitarian efforts. In April of 2017, O'Brien became the youngest recipient of the Celebrity ICON Humanitarian Lifetime Achievement award at Unite4:Good's Unite4:Humanity gala for his work in charitable ventures which create positive societal change. His other philanthropic works are numerous, including Code Wars, California State Science Fair, MENSA, MIT Technology Review, the Junior Achievement Conference, Project ECHO, Superhero Brain and Houston Technology Center.

He also received C-Suite Quarterly's Visionary award in 2017 and funded Kilkenny's Taxi Watch, a suicide-prevention program that has saved more than 130 lives since its inception in 2014.

ABOUT NORTH HOLLYWOOD CINEFEST

Located in the heart of the NoHo Arts District in Los Angeles, the North Hollywood CineFest has established itself as a premier event for independent cinema from all over the world.

By combining a vibrant local social scene with a state-of-the-art cinema, every filmmaker and film lover is sure to be impressed and delighted with the theater and surrounding location. The combination of great film screenings, press and red carpet events, parties, seminars, all offered in this seven-day event, is what makes this a dynamic and must-go film festival.

ABOUT WALTER O'BRIEN

Walter O'Brien is the founder and CEO of Scorpion Computer Services, Inc., and CEO of Scorpion Studios. He is the Executive Producer and the inspiration behind the hit CBS television drama, Scorpion, with over 26 million viewers in the U.S. and airing in 188 countries. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has certified Walter O'Brien as being a person of national interest to the United States and granted him an Extraordinary Ability EB 1-1 Visa. He has worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, plus Navy and Air Force systems to deploy artificial intelligence that protects American military personnel. Walter was recently recognized by the Fort Wayne Base Community Council for saving countless lives and awarded a member's Combat Infantry Badge and Battle Dress Uniform from Operation Desert Storm. The Northeast Indiana Defense Industry Association recognized O'Brien's tremendous support of defense initiatives.

Walter was the youngest recipient of Unite4:Good's Humanitarian Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2017 won C-Suite Quarterly's Visionary award. In addition, he has worked with multiple Fortune 500 companies including the world's largest mutual fund, Fujitsu, Trados, Oracle Corporation, Baltimore Technologies and Critical Path. O'Brien serves as chairman or former board member for Strike Force Solutions, Talentorum Alliance, Lawloop and previously served on the boards of Houston Technology Center, American Environmental Energy, Starglobe and Toin Corp.

O'Brien regularly donates his time to charities and the community in general, to encourage all generations to celebrate intelligence. O'Brien provided the seed funding for TaxiWatch Kilkenny, a suicide prevention program that has saved over 133 lives since its inception in 2015. Often appearing on CNBC, Fox News and CBS as an expert on computer security, O'Brien has contributed to XPRIZE selection as part of XPRIZE Visioneering.

Press contact:
Jordan French
[email protected]
www.scorpioncomputerservices.com

SOURCE Scorpion Computer Services, Inc.