Michelle Ann Williams
2302 Colston Dr. #102 Silver Spring, MD 20910 * 770.778.7012 * michelleann86@gmail.com
PUBLIC OUTREACH & MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Office of Public Affairs, Greenbelt, MD
Goddard Earth Sciences & Technology Center, Research Faculty Fellowship, University of Maryland Baltimore County
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is one of the premiere institutions for earth science and climate research. The Goddard production team elevates the visibility of NASA remote sensing and ground-based science and is responsible for producing cutting-edge videos that communicate science for targeted audiences and the general public.
Earth Science Multimedia Producer (January 2009 – present)
- Develop, write, produce, film and edit video and multimedia products for broadcast, web and print distribution.
- Develop and maintain both internal and external partnerships with scientists, educators, media and NGOs.
- Coordinate outreach materials to formal and informal education outlets.
- Supervising multimedia producer, NASA’s Operation IceBridge; traveled to Greenland to cover the mission
- Supervising Producer, Science for a Hungry World, a six-episode video series highlighting NASA’s role in ensuring global food security (over 500,000 viewers on YouTube in three months).
VideoTakes, Inc., Arlington, VA
An award-winning, woman-owned small business (six employees), VideoTakes produces digital video and new media products ranging from feature-length documentaries to internal training and social advocacy videos focusing primarily on environmental and conservation issues, but also encompassing health, education and advocacy.
Producer/Writer/Editor (August 2007 – January 2009)
- Produced twelve videos accepted and screened at domestic and international film festivals as well as broadcast on LinkTV, Direct TV, Dish and cable networks.
- 2009 DC Environmental Film Festival and 2009 EcoFocus Film Festival selection for Nora! (Producer, 2009).
- CINE Golden Eagle, Children’s National Medical Center: Bereavement in the NICU (Producer, 2007).
Associate Producer (August 2006 – August 2007)
- Chief contact for client communication on multiple projects.
- Four-time international award-winning Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives: The Environmental Footprint of War (Associate Producer, 2007).
- Responsible for company-wide research, development and proposals for grant funding.
- Developed and managed budgets (up to $350,000).
- Scheduled and organized location shooting; conducted preliminary and on-location interviews on a wide variety of subject matters.
Discovery Communications, Inc., Silver Spring, MD
Discovery Communications is home to the Discovery Channel and fifteen other cable networks and interactive websites. Discovery is one of the leading sources of science-based content and entertainment programming in the world.
Assistant Network Manager (May 2006 – August 2007)
· Liaison for the Discovery Production Group and The Science Channel & Discovery HD Theatre.
- Maintained post-production workflow.
- Ensured effective client communication and satisfaction.
Production Coordinator (August 2004 – May 2006)
· Produced five- and ten-second Ad Sales Billboards for air on all fourteen Discovery networks (average 50 spots per week).
· Organized and implemented new company-wide post-production projects: the Squeezed Credit Initiative and Programmable Credit Bed project.
Intern, Duplication and Quality Control (May – August 2004)
OTHER EXPERIENCE
Founder, DC Media Collective (September 2009)
- Admit It, a multimedia campaign focusing on exploring the causes and implications of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Washington, DC by using new media, social networking, blogs and print media (In Development, September 2009 – present).
Board member and juror, EcoFocus Film Festival, Athens, GA (2008 – present)
Volunteer, International Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula, MT (May 2007)
Staff, Canyon Lodge, Yellowstone National Park (May – August 2001)
EDUCATION
M.F.A. Film and Electronic Media, School of Communication, Center for Environmental Filmmaking, American University (August 2008)
- Thesis films: Restoring Dyke Marsh (TRT 15:00) and Cutting Edge Conservation: Science at the Smithsonian (TRT 12:00).
- Founder, student club Filmmakers for Social and Environmental Action.
B.S. Ecology, Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia (May 2004)
- HOPE Scholarship (1999-2004), Dean’s List (2001, 2003), Presidential Scholar (2003).
- Tropical Ecology study abroad program, University of Georgia Biological Station, San Luis, Costa Rica (2003).
HONORS & PUBLICATIONS
Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders, Class of 2009-2010
- Planning and executing a two-year conservation campaign to restore wild populations of the Yellow-headed Amazon Parrot in Belize. Collaborating with local NGOs, researchers and government organizations to implement ranger training opportunities and a multimedia campaign aimed at educating people about poaching.
Co-author, “Food Preference and Bioenergetics of Golden mice (Ochrotomys nuttalli) and White-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus),” Georgia Journal of Science (2004)
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Bio
Michelle is a video and multimedia producer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. She produces videos about earth science-related topics including climate change, remote sensing, the water cycle, statistical modeling, agriculture and the Cryosphere. The multimedia products are distributed on the web, special venues and to local and national news outlets. Michelle traveled to Greenland as the multimedia producer for NASA’s Operation IceBridge, planned the public showcase for the Earth System Science at 20 Symposium at the National Academy of Science and has given presentations about multimedia at Goddard.
A Bachelors of Science in Ecology from the University of Georgia is the foundation for Michelle’s dedication to environmental and conservation documentary filmmaking. Michelle has been pursuing this interest since she created her first documentary in 2003 about the Ecotourism industry in Costa Rica during a Tropical Ecology study abroad program at UGA.
Upon graduating from UGA, Michelle was selected for the competitive intern program at Discovery Communications where she worked in the Discovery Production Group. She was trained in Quality Control, which has served her well since the internship. At the conclusion of the internship she accepted a full-time position with Discovery and served as a Production Coordinator and eventually an Assistant Network Manager for the Science Channel and Discovery HD.
In 2005 Michelle was accepted as a Masters of Fine Arts candidate in the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at the School of Communication at American University. During her time at AU, Michelle established the student group Filmmakers for Social and Environmental Action in partnership with the Center for Environmental Filmmaking. Her two-part thesis documentary film focused on two successful conservation projects in the metropolitan Washington, DC area.
Michelle left Discovery in 2006 for a position at VideoTakes, Inc., an award-winning media production company based in Arlington, VA. As an Associate Producer and within a year a Producer, Michelle wrote, directed and produced videos for a wide range of clients including award-winning pieces for the American Prairie Foundation, SAIC, the Wallace Genetic Foundation and the Fund for Sustainable Tomorrows.
Michelle completed her M.F.A. in Film & Electronic Media with a concentration in Environmental Filmmaking from AU in August, 2008. In January, 2009 Michelle accepted her current position as an Earth Science Producer for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
In 2009, she co-founded the DC Media Collective, a group of the area’s most talented and creative multimedia professionals. Admit It, a social media campaign addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in our nation’s capital, is currently in development.
Michelle was accepted as a member of the 2009-2010 class of the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders. This initiative brings together emerging leaders in conservation for capacity building and training. Michelle is working with her EWCL group to develop a fundraising and media campaign to conserve wild populations of the Yellow-headed parrot in Belize.
She looks forward to combining her background in ecology with the skills she has gained in the filmmaking industry to continue creating meaningful, effective and entertaining science-based and social media for video and web.
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Select Client List
- The Alice Ferguson Foundation
- American Prairie Foundation
- American University Center for Environmental Filmmaking
- Children’s National Medical Center
- DC Water and Sewer Authority
- FRESHFARM Markets
- Fund for Sustainable Tomorrows
- Rare Conservation
- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
- Wallace Genetic Foundation
