Resume — Elizabeth Stanton

I work at the intersection of storytelling and change. Let’s work together.

CURRENT & RECENT PROJECTS

Journalist/Documentary Producer/Content Creator

Freelance January 2016 - Present
• Projects span from reporting on the lack of representation of women in statues in Chicago for WBEZ/Curious City to field production of the story of a young Paralympic athlete for the 2020 Netflix documentary film Rising Phoenix.

• Current and recent past projects range from writing, reporting, and researching, to production in the fields of journalism, documentary, audio, and multimedia with Kartemquin Films, WBEZ/Curious City, The Poetry Foundation, YWCA, CS Magazine, ENA Foundation, and Tomboy Films UK.

The Through Her Eyes Project

Present

∙ Founded a nonprofit to tell the stories of the importance of including sports in the lives of girls and women, train them to tell their own stories, and help fund their play. Project was started in Ecuador and has since expanded around the world.

∙Currently editing a series of profiles of female Fijian athletes for display online and on the ground.

∙Working on expansion of the project for growth in the U.S. and beyond through our Sister Teams and Your Story journalism workshops.

Kartemquin Films

Co-Producer, Al Jazeera America Documentary Series – duPont Award Winner, 2013 -2015

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∙ Co-producer of Hard Earned, a six-part vérité documentary series about hard working, low wage workers who are searching for the American dream, but coming up short. Collaborated on story development and shoot direction on five stories, and coordinated and worked with directors in various cities.
∙ Researched and developed macro fact content, and worked with graphic designers to bring facts to life on screen.

We the Economy, Short

Chicago/Seattle, 2014

Producer

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∙Produced a short film, The Value of Work, with director Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Life Itself, The Interrupters) about the debate over raising the minimum wage in Seattle, the city leading the fight for a $15/hour minimum wage. The film was part of a series of 20 films about the economy titled We The Economy and produced by Cinelan and Vulcan Productions. ∙Responsible for securing all interviews, conducting pre-interviews with experts, collaborating with local unions and worker organizations to secure interviews with minimum wage workers in Seattle. Carried out work from production through delivery.

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U.S. State Department/espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program

Various U.S.cities, Fall 2013

Producer/Director/Shooter/Editor

∙Produced, directed, shot, and edited videos and photographs in 10 cities to capture the experiences of sixteen international women and their corresponding mentors throughout the course of the 2013 Global Sports Mentoring Program. The program aims to mentor and empower emerging leaders from countries around the world by pairing them with mentors in the United States. Funded by the U.S. State Department and espnW.

The Through Her Eyes Project Exhibit Tour

Chicago, Illinois 2010 - Summer 2013 (Ongoing project)

∙ In Summer 2011, presented an exhibition of 50 large scale photographs and over 75 documentary profiles on a six city tour of Ecuador; December 2011, the exhibit was selected to be showcased at the South American Beach Games in Manta, Ecuador; June 2012, the exhibit was shown in the U.S. for the first time in a solo show at the Chicago Art Department; November 2012, the exhibit was selected and showcased in the Chicago Art District showPODs, a public art space.

The Undocumented, PBS Documentary

New York, New York, January 2009 - June 2009

Field Producer

∙Responsible for coordinating and carrying out field shoots in Mexico with families whose relatives died while trying to cross the U.S./Mexico border illegally and with families in the U.S. who have missing relatives.∙Conducted on the ground interviews with Mexican families, and served as additional camera on Mexico shoots. ∙Documentary aired on Independent Lens/PBS in April 2013. Film was awarded an Honorable Mention for the Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights at the 2013 Full Frame Festival.

Departure Films

New York, New York, January 2008 - December 2009

Freelance Field Producer/Coordinating Producer

∙ Researched, co-wrote and field produced four hour-long biographical documentaries for broadcast on A&E Biography Channel on the music bands: The Who, The Rolling Stones, Motley Crue and Pink Floyd.

∙ Researched and developed a documentary television series for A&E Television about restaurant inspectors and the work they do on a daily basis to keep the retail food industry clean and safe. Scouted cities to visit and film inspectors on the job. Formed relationships with various departments across the country in preparation to launch the series.

BeCause Foundation

New York, New York, Summer/Fall 2008

Researcher/Writer

∙ Researched topics and wrote treatments for a series of short documentaries highlighting the work of pioneering individuals and organizations working in social change.

The New York Times

New York, New York, June 2007 - January 2008

Reporter/Researcher

∙ Worked on an investigative reporting project to interview the more than 200 prisoners exonerated since 1989 by DNA evidence. Conducted interviews with exonerees in one of the most extensive looks to date at what happens to these exonerated inmates once they leave prison.

∙ Gathered information on how many of them have struggled to keep jobs, pay for healthcare, rebuild lives and shed the psychological effects of questionable or wrongful imprisonment. Evaluated the findings of interviews and research done on 115 of the former inmates we were able to interview.

∙ Collaborated on an article about the findings and wrote biographical profiles of the former inmates.

∙ Worked with audio and web producers to create an interactive media site to showcase the findings on nytimes.com.

Towers Productions

Chicago, Illinois, Summer 2004 - Spring 2007

Associate Producer & Field Producer

∙ Developed, field produced and co-wrote a History Channel documentary on the Yungas Road in Bolivia - commonly referred to as one of the world’s most dangerous roads. Coordinated and field produced a month-long shoot in Bolivia. Work on program included pre-production research, booking, conducting on-camera interviews, on ground research in Bolivia, shooting, script writing and edit supervision.

∙ Researched, wrote, booked interviewees, conducted interviews and worked location shoots for various programs as a field producer and AP including the Weather Channel series: Animal Storm Stories and the Outdoor Life Network series: Outdoor Investigations.

The Through Her Eyes Project

Quito, Ecuador/Chicago, Illinois Spring 2002 – Winter 2003

Producer/Director of Photography/Director

∙ Developed and created a multimedia project to tell the stories of girls and women in the developing world who play sports in order to share how sports empower women and examine the barriers they face to play.

∙ Secured international support and assistance from the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee.

∙ Filmed, photographed and conducted interviews with over 100 subjects in Ecuador.

∙ Traveled throughout South America to research expansion of project.

The New York Times

Chicago, Illinois Fall 2000 – Spring 2002

Full Time Stringer/Midwest Bureau

∙ Researched, reported and wrote articles in a 13 state region. Worked directly with the Chicago bureau chief, national assignment editor, and national reporters. Contributed string and research to articles on a daily basis.

∙ Identified major news in region and completed research for in-depth coverage by bureau.

∙ Pitched and wrote bylined articles for National, Business, Science, Circuits, Home, and Sports.

∙ Worked as a freelance reporter for paper through February 2003.

The Tico Times

San José, Costa Rica Summer 1999 – Fall 2000

Reporter

∙ Reported, photographed and wrote for Central America’s leading English weekly newspaper.

∙ Wrote weekly articles, including a two-part series on a low-income housing shortage and history of public housing and several articles on the underreported Caribbean Coast.

∙ Traveled throughout Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua to write travel articles for the Weekend section.

∙ Contributed articles and reviews for the newspaper’s Guide to Costa Rica, 2000.

Education

Emory University

Bachelor of Arts, International Studies
Member of inaugural class of 15 students selected for the James M. Cox Jr. Journalism Program

Additional Education & Skills

Banff Adventure Filmmaker Workshop, Banff, Canada, November 2014

Selected as a participant for a week-long filmmaker workshop held concurrently with the 2014 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival at the Banff Centre. Attended workshops, classes, and discussion groups focused on the skills and techniques necessary to make great adventure films.
Worked with a team to create a three minute film which was shown at the film festival as an unofficial film festival entry which won second place in the unofficial category.

• Fluent in Spanish • Experience shooting with various cameras & DSLRs and editing with Final Cut and Premiere • International experience working and traveling throughout Central and South America, and Europe • Creative development • Innovation, leadership, team building and management • Television production • Film production • Digital production • Product development • Project Management • Production Management • Live Event and Location Management • Not for Profit business management

Additional Experience

Adjunct Lecturer - Medill School of Journalism - Northwestern University, Evanston/Chicago, Illinois January 2019 - March 2020

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∙ Taught a variety of courses for both undergraduates and graduates in the Medill School of Journalism. Past courses included: Introduction to Multimedia Journalism (undergraduates) and the Master’s of Journalism Final Quarter Project with a documentary focus. ∙ Developed the course for the Spring 2019 Master’s of Journalism Final Quarter Project with a documentary focus. The course focused on teaching the fundamentals of documentary while guiding Master’s students through the creation of a short documentary over the course of the quarter for presentation to the NU/Medill Master’s Committee. ∙ Served on the 2019 Spring Quarter Master’s Committee.