Introducing myself and my journal

About Me:
I am a young filmmaker and promoter of social justice! I love to travel the world, and most of all meet new and wonderful people.

I graduated from UCLA in 2009 earning a BA in International Development Studies, with a geographic focus on North Africa and Sub Saharan Africa. After graduating I embarked on a volunteer trip in Burkina Faso, West Africa, working with a French Nonprofit which organized farmers unions to grow organic crops for export. While volunteering in Burkina Faso, I befriended the village women, and together we formed a women’s bead – making cooperative. With the support of the French Nonprofit L’Orange Bleue Afrique I formed Bead for Development, buying the products from the village women and selling them in the states to return funds to their cooperative. I continued with this project for a year while living in California, and it has since been absorbed as one of L’Orange Bleue Afrique’s social enterprise projects. The women’s collective can be seen in this short video created by L’Orange Bleue Afrique.

My work with women’s collectives in Africa inspired me to pursue similar projects, leading me to the SPIRAL Foundation, a social enterprise NGO that works in Nepal, Vietnam and Italy. In 2010 I volunteered for the SPIRAL Foundation’s project in Vietnam, working to help with business development, marketing, product development and communications. While starting as a 6-month volunteer, I was then brought on as a year-long employee. In Vietnam I learned many valuable lessons about working over cultural and linguistic barriers.

Upon returning from Vietnam last summer, I moved to Portland where I enrolled in the NW Documentary Center’s DIY Documentary class. I also interned at the NW Film Center as the Social Media, PR/Marketing Intern. In December, I visited the SPIRAL Foundation’s project in Rome, and created a short documentary in English and Italian for a fundraising event held in Rome, and to be posted on the website. I am currently working on some of my own film projects and honing my story telling skills. I am in the process of editing a short documentary that I shot in France, which tells the story of life in Normandy, France during the German occupation of WWII. It is told from the perspective of an elderly French woman looking back at her experiences as a 14 year old living in a house occupied by German soldiers.

I am enthusiastic about applying my knowledge of development work and intercultural relationships, to media projects the help to give voices to those who are not always heard. I have always had a natural inclination to work with women’s groups, and felt the need to tell stories in ways that they can be shared.

My Passions:
Film, dance (West African), art, travel

My Challenges:
To improve my journalism skills and connect with stories worldwide

My Vision for the Future:
Beauty!

My Areas of Expertise:
International development, film, graphic design