How Do We Know Network

Some of the brightest people in the ecosystem of change – people who create, fund, and need story-based media – contribute intellectual capital to Active Voice Lab. Intergenerational, diverse, and fully committed to social justice, they informally contribute ideas, critiques and opinions to our process.

For almost a decade, we’ve been building trusting, long-term relationships across sectors that share common goals—even when that means recognizing the existence of uncomfortable situations and power dynamics.

HDWK/Philanthropy

These funders of social issue media offer us a wide range of perspective and insight, especially when it comes to the challenges they face when supporting arts and culture.

Julie Parker Benello

Co-Founder, Chicken & Egg Pictures | Founder & Managing Director, Gamechanger Films

Maida Brankman

Founder, Genuine Article Pictures | Board Member, Working Films

Denis Chicola

Director of Communications | Haas Jr. Fund

John Esterle

Co-Executive Director | The Whitman Institute

Ellen Friedman

Executive Director | Compton Foundation

Paula Froehle

Co-Founder & CEO | Chicago Media Project

Valaida Fullwood

Writer, Project Consultant | Creator of The Soul of Philanthropy

Christie George

Director | New Media Ventures

Jee Kim

Executive Director | Narrative Initiative

Lisa Kleiner Chanoff

Co-Founder | Catapult Film Fund

Lyda Kuth

Executive Director | LEF Foundation

Sheila Leddy

Executive Director | Fledgling Fund

Rebecca Lichtenfeld

Director, Social Impact Media | Bertha Foundation

Elyse Lightman Samuels

Communications & Learning Officer | Unbound Philanthropy

Amy Low

Managing Director of Communications | Emerson Collective

David Morse

Chief Communications Officer | Atlantic Philanthropies

Andrea Nemtin

CEO & Founding President | Inspirit Foundation

Richard Ray Perez

Director, Creative Partnerships | Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program

Ehren Reed

Director of Analysis & Insight | Skoll Foundation

Tere Romo

Former Program Officer for Arts and Culture | San Francisco Foundation

Vanessa Whang

Philanthropy Consultant

Amy Yenkin

Philanthropy Consultant

HDWK/Creative

These filmmakers, media makers, and artists are committed to contributing to social change. Their far-reaching and diverse opinions about complex issues like evaluation and sustainability have informed our research to date.

NICHOLAS BRUCKMAN

Founder of People's Television

YAHAIRA CARRILLO

Until We Are All Free

LYN GOLDFARB

Filmmaker, Founder | Lyn Goldfarb Productions and OUR L.A.

TRACIE HOLDER

Filmmaker and Funding Consultant

KRISTI JACOBSON

Founder of Catalyst Films

JESSICA JONES

Video Producer and Editor

RACHEL LEARS

Filmmaker

GRACE LEE

Filmmaker

NATASHA LOGAN

Producer | Question Bridge

KATE MCLEAN

Freelance Journalist and Filmmaker

RYAN PARKER

Manager of Operations and Content Development | Aspiration Media

BETH PORTELLO

Co-founder and Vice President of Marketing & Business Development | Cinema Libre Studio

GINI RETICKER

Co-founder and Creative Director | Fork Films

MARJAN SAFINIA

Filmmaker | The Department of Expansion

CARLOS SANDOVAL

Filmmaker

JOHNNY SYMONS

Assistant Professor and Documentary Coordinator | San Francisco State University

RENEE TAJIMA-PENA

Filmmaker, Professor & Director of Center for EthnoCommunications | UCLA

CATHERINE TAMBINI

Filmmaker

JENNIFER MAYTORENA TAYLOR

Filmmaker, Asst. Prof., Social Documentation & Digital Media | UC Santa Cruz

MARCO WILLIAMS

Arts Professor | New York University Tisch School of the Arts

SHARON WOOD

Filmmaker

PAMELA YATES

Co-founder | Skylight Pictures

HDWK/Learn

We’re thrilled to convene a working group of some of the most innovative evaluators in the intersecting fields of social justice, community change, and entertainment. This unprecedented peer-to-peer network and advisory group offers us candid and independent feedback about our programmatic process and strategies, our evaluative approach, and our ongoing learning about the value of story and strategy in social – and policy change efforts.

TANYA BEER, MPA

Associate Director | Center for Evaluation Innovation

JOHANNA BLAKLEY, PHD

Managing Director | The Norman Lear Center

CATY CHATTOO

Director | Center for Media & Social Impact

JESSICA CLARK

Research Director | Media Impact Funders & Founder/Director | Dot Connector Studio

JARA DEAN-COFFEY, MPH

Principal and Founder | jdcPartnerships

LINDSAY GREEN-BARBER, PHD

Media Impact Analyst | Center for Investigative Reporting

KIEN LEE, PHD

Vice President and Principal Associate | Community Science

DEBIKA SHOME

Senior Consultant | TCC Group

JESSICA SPERLING, PHD

Manager, Evaluation | Duke University, Social Science Research Institute

HDWK/Advocacy

As uber champions of leveraging media to bring people together to solve problems, these high level strategists and decision makers at major national organizations have worked with Active Voice and Active Voice Lab over time. Their feedback is invaluable.