Oakland, CA, USA
$750 - $1500 / Day
Request QuoteI'm an independent documentary film director, producer, and editor, and a Berkeley City College faculty member of the Multimedia Department, where I teach video arts. I most recently worked as a Senior Producer for eight years at San Francisco's PBS/NPR affiliate KQED, where my team and I were awarded 17 industry awards, including several Webby Awards, regional Northern California Emmys, and recognition from the Society of Professional Journalism - Northern California. I led arts and culture video coverage and special projects featuring the region’s creative communities and beyond. Documentaries I directed for KQED explored the impact of gun violence on Black and Brown communities, the toxic legacy of uranium mining on Native lands, and recovery in the aftermath of Northern California’s wildfires. I created and senior produced the YouTube series If Cities Could Dance, featuring dancers who represent their cities’ signature moves. Prior to my work with KQED, I directed and produced the national Emmy-nominated documentary “Tulia, Texas” (PBS’ Independent Lens,) documenting a landmark civil rights case exposing racial injustices in America’s War on Drugs. I also produced the national PBS Not In Our Town specials “Light in the Darkness,” and “The Fire Next Time,” (POV), and produced numerous regional episodes of the anti-violence storytelling project. My other producing and directing credits include “Rising from Ruin” (MSNBC’s Hurricane Katrina special,) “Policing the Force” (WNET’s Expose: America’s Investigative Reports,) and “Murder in St. Petersburg” (PBS FRONTLINE World.) My work has been programmed at SXSW Film Festival and at film festivals around the world; broadcast and streamed on PBS NewsHour, the New York Times, and The Guardian. When I'm not making media or supporting my students, you can find me cheering on my teenage son on the basketball court, community gardening, or chilling with my dog and cat, Coco and Diego who went viral on Instagram. (@cocolovesdiego)
The origins and history of lowriding in San Diego and the borderlands are chronicled in Everything Comes from the Streets, including the creative men and women lowriders who pioneered and shaped the unique car customizing tradition among Chicano and Mexican communities.
Produced for KQED
When photo murals of everyday Navajo life began appearing on abandoned buildings, roadside stands and water towers across the Four Corners region, it was a surprise for many in the community to discover it was the work of Dr. Chip Thomas, a long-time resident of the Navajo Reservation known by many as a healer of another kind.
Produced for KQED
Political Commentator Van Jones and Artist Favianna Rodriguez, in conversation, spotlight how creative people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds are helping to move the needle on global warming. I produced, shot and edited this video.
Produced for KQED
As a hip-hop artist and educator, Karega Bailey maintained a message of peace, hope and liberation. But after he lost his brother to gun violence in 2014, his grief tested him; he felt sick with revenge and hopelessness. Bailey’s story is at the center of the Emmy-nominated documentary and Best Short Winner at the National Black Film Festival, which follows his journey to find his voice and purpose again through supporting mothers whose children have been lost to gun violence.
Produced for KQED
Part of the Emmy and Webby winning series, If Cities Could Dance, San Francisco’s La Mezcla dance company, founded and led by Vanessa Sanchez, uses dance and song to tell stories of Chicana history, culture and resistance. Blending tap dance and son jarocho zapateado (traditional footwork from Veracruz, Mexico,) Sanchez describes this unique dance style as “zapatap.”
Produced for University of Miami
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