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Maribel Marmolejo Reyes (she/her) Youth Media Assistant Maribel Marmolejo Reyes is a Brooklyn filmmaker, photographer, and editor. She was born and raised in Bushwick, Brooklyn NY. With more of an observational approach, Maribel often focuses her lens on themes of the Mexican American/Mexican experience in New York City, self identity, and the practice of giving back. She graduated from Pratt Institute in 2023. Maribel participated in EVC’s Credible Educators program in 2024. (ella) Asistente de Medios Juveniles Maribel Marmolejo Reyes es cineasta, fotógrafa y editora de Brooklyn. Nació y creció en Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. Con un enfoque más observacional, Maribel suele centrar su lente en temas relacionados con la experiencia mexicano-estadounidense y mexicana en la ciudad de Nueva York, la identidad personal y la práctica de retribuir a la comunidad. Se graduó del Instituto Pratt en 2023 y, en 2024, participó en el programa Credible Educators de EVC.

OUR YOUNG PEOPLE Our young people are the beating heart of Educational Video Center. But who are they really? The majority of young people at EVC are Black and Brown. Most are in high-school. Many are living the realities of deep-rooted systemic injustice. Several are “under-credited” – in that their education outside of school has not translated into academic credits. But many of our young people are also “under-credited” because they have not received credit for their resilience, their hard work, their abilities, and achievements. Evidently, “under-credited” can mean different things. At EVC, we recognize that language is powerful. Problematic. And constantly evolving. So, we are committed to regular conversations with our young people to discuss and (re)define how they want to be described. This is a work in process. Rather than label our young people in categories, we see each young person as an individual, with complex intersecting identities, experiences, and connections to different communities. Each young person has their own story: their own journey to – and beyond – EVC. We seek to hold and honor all of this. And we invite you to join us in doing so. What labels do you embrace? What do you reject and why? Tell us how you would like to be seen, described, known. HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF? TELL US

Ambreen Qureshi (she/her) Executive Director Ambreen joined the EVC community as Executive Director in 2018. She has extensive leadership experience in the non-profit and media industry including Magnum Photos and the Associated Press. Ambreen received her M.S. with a concentration in media and culture from the New School and completed her undergraduate studies at the City College of New York. Previously as the Deputy Executive Director of the Arab-American Family Support Center, a trauma informed Settlement House, Ambreen spearheaded the development of innovative youth media programs including “I Need to Be Heard!” a participatory youth filmmaking program and “Stomp the Ban,” a large scale film installation and dance action to protest the travel ban. She also worked for the Jordan Red Crescent Society creating an arts and education program for refugee youth. The social justice issue that Ambreen is most passionate about dismantling is systemic racism and classism. (ella) Directora Ejecutiva Ambreen se unió a la comunidad de EVC como Directora Ejecutiva en 2018. Tiene una amplia experiencia de liderazgo en la industria sin fines de lucro y de medios de comunicación, incluyendo Magnum Photos y la Associated Press. Ambreen recibió su M.S. con una concentración en Medios y Cultura de la New School y completó sus estudios universitarios en el City College de Nueva York. Anteriormente, como Directora Ejecutiva Adjunta del Centro de Apoyo a la Familia Árabe-Estadounidense, Ambreen encabezó el desarrollo de innovadores programas de medios para jóvenes, incluido "¡Necesito que me escuchen!" un programa participativo de cine para jóvenes y “Pisotea la Prohibición”, una instalación cinematográfica a gran escala y acción de baile para protestar por la prohibición de viaje anti-inmigrante. También trabajó para Jordan Red Crescent Society creando un programa de arte y educación para jóvenes refugiados. El problema de justicia social que a Ambreen le apasiona más desmantelar es el racismo sistemático y el clasismo. aqureshi@evc.org

ALUMNI STORIES EVC has impacted over 28,000 youth since 1984. The impact of our work is most powerfully illustrated through the journeys of these young people, represented by the stories of our alumni. Raelene Holmes 2012 EVC Alum Read More Rafael Gell 2013 EVC Alum Read More Christine L. Mendoza 1999 EVC Alum Read More Ines Morales 2005 EVC Alum Read More Kellon Innocent 1999 EVC Alum Read More Shakeima Cooks 2009 EVC Alum Read More MORE STORIES ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

INES MORALES Born & Raised: The Bronx First EVC Project: Sometimes the Silence Can Seem So Loud (Doc Workshop, Fall 2005) Current Occupation: Program Manager, Youth Documentary Workshop and New Media Arts, EVC Education: BFA in Film and Video, City College of NY; MA in Community Organizing, Planning & Development – Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter, 2014 Films: Sometimes the Silence Can Seem So Loud, 2005 Still Standing: Hurricane Katrina, 2005 Ines' Story Ines Morales is a Latina native of the South Bronx. Her Puerto Rican mother and Ecuadorian father taught Ines to be proud of her heritage and identity and to value hard work as the pathway to great things. For Ines, growing up in the South Bronx was a rich and complex experience. She saw both the negative and positive aspects of her community. She remembers walking up to her fourth-floor apartment and encountering drug users shooting up in the hallway, needles covering the stairway, and her mother constantly warning her to not touch anything—especially the needles. Ines also remembers happy times, enjoying their inflatable indoor pool, nights out on the fire escape, and hot summers playing in the “pump” (fire hydrant). To Ines, all of these things, the good and the bad, were normal parts of her life. Ines didn't realize that her community was facing so many disparities until, as a teenager, she joined a youth activist group called A.C.T.I.O.N (Activist Coming To Inform Our Neighborhood), which taught her how to organize for change and to understand the power she had to improve her neighborhood. Ines brought these experiences with her when joined EVC as a high school senior. She had never considered filmmaking but a counselor at A.C.T.I.O.N. suggested it. She was very excited to learn filmmaking. She co-created Sometimes the Silence Can Seem So Loud, a video on teen suicide. During the production process she became particularly interested in editing. For her next film, Ines worked with five other youth to create Still Standing, an award-winning documentary about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. During production, she traveled to New Orleans to shoot and to engage in community service there. EVC showed Ines that activism can be creative, and she credits her work on Still Standing with opening her up to the world. Ines went on to work on EVC’s partnership with Black Entertainment Television (BET) on their Youth Vote Campaign. BET hired six EVC youth producers to create shorts encouraging young people to get out and vote. From there she attended City College, earning a BFA in film and video. Ines believes her time at EVC gave her an advantage in college: EVC showed her how to be a leader and to work with others. Ines eventually earned a Masters in social work from Hunter College, with the goal of using her degree to help communities tell their own stories for social change. Ines currently works as the clinical director of a congregate supportive housing facility. From time-to-time, she continues to work at EVC as a media coach. Most notably, she recently co-taught an EVC program at Harlem NeON, an alternative-to-incarceration initiative. Favorite EVC Project: "Definitely Still Standing. The topic was relevant and I learned so much. I learned how to work with different people. It also took me out of my comfort zone. When we went to New Orleans after Katrina we had to sleep in an abandoned school in a communal situation and it was weird to me with coed bathrooms and outdoor showers but afterwards I relaxed into it and realized what an amazing experience it was. My last year of college I decided to do a short documentary study program in India for a month. Because of my experience with EVC, I was able to handle new and different situations in India much better than a lot of my classmates." Proudest Youth Media Moment: "I think it would be when “Still Standing” won the Jury award for the Media that Matters Film Festival. I didn’t know how important this festival was until after we won. I really felt like a professional – the other films there were from all over the country and most of the films were by adults. And at EVC we had control over our project. When I think about it now, I realize “Wow, that’s a great accomplishment!” YO-TV was just an internship. I didn’t think it would go that far. And now it’s been all around."

SELECTED EVC AWARDS OVER NEARLY 40 YEARS, EVC FILMS HAVE WON 130+ AWARDS. Over nearly 40 years, EVC films have won 180+ awards and official film festival selections worldwide. Below is a listing of some of these distinctions. HIGHLIGHTS EVC youth films awarded New York Area Emmy Award, 1988. “We the People,” awarded American Indian Film & Video Competition, Student Award,1993. “All That I Can Be: Military Recruitment From a Youth Perspective,” footage by EVC youth included in Eugene Jarecki’s “Why We Fight”, grand-jury award winner at the Sundance Film Festival, 2005. “Quaranteens” officially selected for the Socially Relevant Film Festival, 2021 ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us.

CHRISTINE L. MENDOZA Born & Raised: Brooklyn First EVC Project: Milleniphobia (Doc Workshop, Fall 1999) Current Occupation: Youth Media and Education Consultant Education: BA, Media Studies, Hunter College; MA, Comparative Ethnic College, Queens University Belfast Films: Milleniphobia, 1999 Tough on Crime, Tough on our Kind, 2001 Christine's Story Christine was an enthusiastic and eager teenager growing up in New York City. Without the proper guidance she needed to thrive, she ran away from home and dropped out of high school. Ending up in a group home at the age of 16, Christine received a conditional release to live with her mother with the stipulation she attend City-As-High School. There she pursued her internship-based education, rekindled her love of learning, and found her way to EVC. In 1999, she took an internship at EVC’s Youth Documentary Workshop (YDW) and became hooked on filmmaking. She was never late and never missed a day. She returned the next year for EVC’s then advanced program, YO-TV. By receiving high school credits through EVC, she became the first in her family to graduate from high school. Equally as important, Christine attributes to EVC developing the necessary critical thinking skills and confidence to successfully pursue post-secondary education. In 2005, she graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Media Studies from Hunter College. In 2008, she earned her masters from the Comparative Ethnic Conflict program at Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Christine’s story illuminates not only the ways in which EVC empowers young people, but also how EVC alumni leverage the leadership skills they gain from EVC to pay forward and empower other young people. Christine found through EVC not only her passion for film production but also her belief in the significance of education for young people. After graduating from EVC youth programs, Christine returned to EVC as an instructor to give back and inspire the young people coming up behind her. As an educator with EVC, Christine taught YDW, as well as international filmmaking workshops with Finnish youth; Protestant and Catholic youth in Belfast, Northern Ireland; and South African youth in Soweto. In the fall of 2010, Christine became EVC’s co-director of Youth Documentary Workshop and educational program manager. Christine transitioned to Film at Lincoln Center in 2015, where she eventually was elevated to direction of education. She was director of development and programs with the Coalition of Immigrant Freedom from 2020-21, before taking her current position as executive director of Urbanworld Film Festival. She is also on board of directors for UNESCO’s International Center for children and Young People. And she continues to be actively involved with EVC, including an inspiring board membership from 2019-21. Favorite EVC Project: “Tough on Crime, Tough on Our Kind” (YO-TV 2000-01) because I was exposed to a part of American society that many people do not have the opportunity to explore and learn about. My views on the juvenile justice system changed dramatically from when I started the project to when I completed it. I began as an unsympathetic person who did not care about societal injustices, and through my research and interviews, my views changed. I became angry at what was going on and realized that incarceration is punishing young people, when the original intention was to rehabilitate them. Also, it was my favorite because of the friendships I created, which I still have today. The experience was also instrumental in shaping how I lead as an educator and, currently, as executive director of Urbanworld, whose mission is to redefine and advance the presence and impact of the multicultural community in cinema and cross-platform media." Proudest Youth Media Moment: “My dad passed away in 2020. And one of my most beautiful memories I have of my father was when he came to my documentary workshop screening. I was 17 and my father was sitting in the audience in the front row. He was never a part of my life and never supported me in anything I did. He always thought I was and would be a failure. BUT he sat through it and watched me present my work and he even asked a question, I had a lump in my throat and answered proudly. That was an emotional moment that I will never forget.“

WE'RE HIRING Looking to make a change in the lives of young people? Have a passion for storytelling at the intersection of social-justice and equity? Then EVC is the place for you! ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us.

1984 Dreams of the Future EVC students explore career options and imagine what their futures will be in this whimsical film. 1985 2371 Second Ave: An East Harlem Story EVC student Millie Reyes documents her family's conditions living in a rat-infested building with no heat or hot water, and leads the other residents to confront the landlord and go on a rent strike. JVC Tokyo Video Festival, President's Award, 1988 London International Annual Film & Video Competition, Gold Seal Award, 1988 National Educational Film and Video Festival, Bronze Apple, 1987 1985 Teacher Training Video Workshops EVC offers its first video workshops and in-class coaching for teachers to integrate student video projects into NYC Alternative High Schools and Programs at Satellite Academy Chambers Street and Bronx Regional High School. This progam is soon expanded with support from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Office of the Superintendent of Alternative High Schools and Programs. 1985 EVC Summer Video Camp Hosted by Marie Cirillo and the Woodland Community Land Trust, EVC students live, learn and produce documentaries in a summer camp together with youth from Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee. 1985 Letta's Family Young filmmakers from EVC's summer video camp in Tennessee document a nearby family's daily struggles amidst poverty and cultural richness in the Cumberland mountains of Appalachia. 1986 EVC Films Hormel Strike EVC students from Bronx Regional HS film the Hormel meatpackers strike in Austin, Minnesota. While there, they meet Jesse Jackson and filmmaker Barbara Kopple. 1987 Awarded JVC President's Prize JVC flies EVC student and staff to Tokyo to accept the top prize in the festival. They spend a week in Japan as the guest of JVC. 1988 Cracks Clouds Featured on Barbara Walters Barbara Walters interviews an EVC youth producer and features his team's documentary on crack in her ABC series, Survival Stories. 13th Annual Council on Foundations Film and Video Festival, 1993 JVC Tokyo Video Festival Special Merit, 1988 National Educational Film and Video Festival, Gold Apple 1989 1988 First Summer Teachers Institute EVC launches its first summer video institute for teachers in partnership with the NYC Writing Project. Teachers collaboratively plan, produce, and edit VHS video projects as they learn to use video inquiry as a strategy for developing student literacy and voice. 1988 Awarded New York Area Emmy Award EVC wins an Emmy for three documentaries featured on the opening program of The Eleventh Hour with Robert Lipsyte on WNET: Crack Clouds Over Hells Kitchen, 2371 2nd Ave: An East Harlem Story, and Life in the G: Gowanus Gentrified. Soon after, they are invited to screen segments of their films on the NBC Today Show with Bryant Gumbel. 1989 AIDS: Facts Over Fear EVC youth travel to Washington, D.C. to interview former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to educate their peers about this new epidemic called AIDS. London International Amateur Fim and Video Competition, Gold Seal, 1990 National Educational Film and Video Festival, Silver Apple, 1990 Canadian International Annual Film Festival, Two Stars Award, 1989 1989 Nicaragua: Through Our Eyes EVC students spend a week visiting the baseball fields, schools and prisions of Nicaragua to tell the story of everyday life there during a time of turbulence. 1990 Melissa Brockett, EVC Graduate, 1990 "Thank you to EVC for helping me pave my early career in media. It was because of my work with you guys that I realized how powerful media can be and that you can change and touch so many lives with just one story." 1990 Hard Times in Cypress Hill Moved by the tragic death of their friend and fellow EVC student, students film this portrait of one student’s daily life in one of the most violent housing projects of the times. Opening her home to her son's friends, the grieving mother shows grace and resilience in the face of the crack and gang fueled gun violence in the surrounding community. Association of Visual Commuicators, Gold CINDY Award, 1991 National Educational Film & Video Festival, Bronze Apple, 1991 IAC International Film and Video Festival, Bronze Seal, 1992 1990 Video Workshops EVC youth producers Derrick Dawkins and Isiah Miller travelled to Croatia to conduct video workshops. 1990 Youth Crime Who's To Blame? Investigating the causes and possible solutions to youth crime, students talk with youth offenders and those working to help them. National Latino Film and Video Festival, Honorable Mention, 1990 Big Muddy Film Festival, Jury Award, 1991 1990 Trash Thy Neighbor EVC youth producers document recycling and garbage reduction, and take their cameras to Staten Island where the largest landfill on the east coast is running out of space. National Educational Film & Video Festival, Gold Apple,1991 JVC's Tokyo Video Festival, Work of Special Distinction, 1990 CINDY Competition, Gold CINDY Award,1990 1991 Black & Jews: Are They Really Sworn Enemies EVC students collect stories from both sides of the conflict between the African-American and Hasidic communitites in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and explore the historical relationship between African-Americans and American Jews. The documentary was screened at both the Jewish Museum and the Black International Cinema in Berlin. 7th Annual Black International Cinema Berlin, 1992 14th Annual WNET Student Arts Festival, 1992 Rochester International Amateur Film Festival, Certificate of Merit, 1992 National Educational Film and Video Festival, Silver Apple, 1993 Birmingham International Educational Film Festival, Finalist, 1993 1991 New York City & The Hudson River EVC youth producers highlight the importance of the Hudson River and examines the causes and consequences of its pollution. The Hudson Riverkeeper warns of the dangers of DDT and other chemicals dumped into the river by GE and other corporate polluters. 1992 7th Annual Black International Cinema EVC youth producer Julius Bogen presented Black & Jews: Are They Really Sworn Enemies at the 7th Annual Black International Cinema in Berlin in 1992. 1992 Unequal Education: Failing Our Children Following two gifted and talented students over their 7th grade year in two schools located in the same Bronx district, one in a low and the other in a middle income community, "Unequal Education" bears witness to the failure of NYC's inequitable school system - a tragedy of national proportion. Finalist,International Monitor Awards, 1993 National Educational Film and Video Festival, Bronze Apple, Best College Documentaries: Society's Concerns, 1993 1992 We the People Produced on the quincennial of Columbus' "discovery" of America, students give voice to Native American youth and elders living in New York City. They also analyze popular culture stereotypes and misconceptions about America's indigenous peoples. National Educational Film and Video Festival, Silver Apple, 1993 Black Maria Film and Video Festival Director's Citation, 1993 The American Indian Film and Video Competition, Non-Indian Production, Student Category, 1997 1992 PBS Listening to America with Bill Moyers Unequal Education: Failing Our Children is broadcast nationally on the PBS series, Listening to America with Bill Moyers. Aired during the1992 Bush-Clinton presidential campaign, the documentary was followed by a debate on educational equity that Bill Moyers moderated between Jonathan Kozol and John Chubb. 1993 Home Sweet Gone Angry at the abandoned buildings and vacant lots in their neighborhoods in the early 1990s, youth producers investigate poor housing conditions in New York City owned apartments and bank “redlining” policies that prevent investment in low income housing. 10th Annual Suffolk County Film and Video Festival, 1st Prize, Student Documentary 1993 That's What They Call Art! A collaboration between YO-TV and The Whitney Museum of American Art documents the making and unmaking of the controversial 1993 Whitney Biennial, interviewing the curators and artists as they are installing, and in some cases, even creating their works. Among the artists interviewed by the students are: Janine Antoni, Jimmie Durham, Glenn Ligon, Byron Kim, Zoe Leonard Leone & Macdonald, Daniel Martinez, and Pepon Osorio. 26th Annual Sinking Creek Film/Video Festival, Juror's Merit Award International San Francisco Film Festival, Golden Gate Awards, Special Juy Award, 1994 National Educational Film & Video Festival, Gold Apple, 1994 1994 Student Portfolio Assessments The Center for Children and Technology conducts a study of EVC's inquiry based documentary workshops and supports the staff in developing its portfolio assessment process for students to collect evidence over time of their learning and creative work at EVC. The Nathan Cummings Foundation supported the project, which EVC still uses to asses student learning. 1995 Interview with Secretary of Health and Human Services EVC youth producers travelled to Washington, DC to interview the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala, for their documentary The Vicious Cycle of Domestic Violence. 1995 New Home: School for the Physical City EVC moves into shared space in Manhattan's Flatiron district in the newly built School for the Physical City. The partnership not only includes shared rent free space, but also shared methodology with its inquiry based, expeditionary learning, alternative school, educational philosophy. 1995 Co-Sponsored National Conference EVC co-sponsors the National Conference on Media Education and School Reform with the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Wingspread near Racine, Wisconsin. The gathering brought teachers, media activists and education reformers together at the Johnson Foundation's Frank Lloyd Wright designed conference center. 1996 Coming Up Taller Ceremony at the White House First Lady Hillary Clinton congratulates Steve Goodman at the White House Reception 1996 Students at the Center Initiative A 4-year grant from the DeWitt Wallace Reader's Digest Fund enabled EVC to provide professional development for teachers in small and reforming schools throughout the city as part of this national "Student and the Center" Initiative, in partnership with the NYC Writing Project, the Social History Project, the City College Workshop Center, and others. 1996 Media Education: Culture and Community in the Classroom This essay lays out the guiding principles and practices of EVC's pedagogy. As a manifesto of sorts, it calls for a pedagogy that teaches both with, and about, media arts, and engages students and teachers in critical explorations of their local community that engender reflection, dialogue, and action. 1996 ATL Youth Media Exhibit in New Museum EVC and youth advisors are invited to co-curate a selection of video projects in this groundbreaking exhibition at the New Museum. EVC youth produced videos are also featured in the exhibition. 1997 US/UK Models of Media Education Executive Director Steve Goodman co-taught "Media Education and Media Studies: Comparative Views," an undergraduate course at New York University and University of London, Institute of Education - London Study Abroad. 1997 Disorderly Conduct: Are the Police Killing Us? COTV community activist documentary the growing epidemic of police violence in poor neighborhoods and communities of color and those organizing to resist it. 1997 Young Gunz Combining images of violence in the media, poetry and brutally honest interviews, students interweave stories from victims of gun violence, some who admit to shooting others, and those who struggle to survive. 1998 Out Youth in Schools Weaving together moving personal stories, archival news footage, street interviews and dramatizations, this documentary examines the critical problem of homophobia in schools and the national movement of gay/straight alliances that has grown up in response. Featured: Nashville Independent Film Festival, Best Young Filmmaker; 2nd Annual Urban Visionaries Video Festival 1998 AWOL: From the Fatherhood EVC youth producers set out to find whether the role of fatherhood has become an outdated concept. Interviews and family self-portraits among the youth team help address their documentary's question. 1998 Hidden Faces: Women Seeking Refuge COTV community activists explore the lack of serious U.S. immigration policy regarding gender-based persecution, and look at women's rights as human rights. Featured in: Other American Film Festival, Esperanza Center; South Bronx Film & Video Festival 1999 Featured in NY Times: "Video Verite" EVC is featured on the front page of the New York Times Education Life Section. EVC is described as, "A media literacy program [that] helps teenagers document their lives on cameras and discover truths about themselves along the way." "Video documentary enables students to bear witness to their social conditions and look for solutions," says Steven Goodman, the center's founder and executive director. 1999 Shared Space: University Neighborhood High School University Neighborhood HS generously provides space for EVC's workshops. YOTV and the Documentary Workshops are temporarily relocated in the new school on Manhattan's Lower East Side. 1999 Hip Hop: A Culture of Influence Commissioned by the Brooklyn Museum of Art for an exhibition on Hip Hop and African American fashion, this documentary includes interviews with Mos Def and Talib Kweli, among other hip hop artists and music critics, to give a critical look at hip hop culture while celebrating Hip Hop as a unifying force among youth of different backgrounds and communities. Featured In: CINDY Competition, Silver Award; 43rd Rochester International Film Festival, Honorable Mention; 34th BAC International Film & Video Festival; Fledgling Film Festival; H20 Hip Hop Odyssey International Film Festival, Honorable Mention 2000 New Home: Satellite Academy HS EVC moves to Satellite Academy HS midtown site 2000 Toronto Youth Literacy Summit EVC presented on its methodology at the "Toronto Media Literacy Conference Summit 2000: Children, Youth and the Media, Beyond the Millennium" Conference 2000 EVC Staff Retreat Blue Mountain, NY 2000 Turn On The Power! With an introduction by community media pioneer George Stoney, this guide is an indispensible resource for grassroots community activists who want to use media production for community empowerment and social change. Funded by the New York Foundation, this handbook was disigned to support EVC's COTV (Community Organizers TV) training program. 2000 ICC: A Call for Justice Produced in collaboration with the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, EVC students report on the need for the International Criminal Court through stories of Chilean survivors of Pinochet's torture chambers of the 1970s. This film was screened at the Hague, in the Netherlands where the ICC sits. Featured in: Human Rights Watch International Film Festival; 4th Annual Urban Visionaries Video Festival; 4th Human Rights in Images Festival, Lisbon 2001 Tough on Crime, Tough on Our Kind YO-TV producers examine the New York City juvenile justice system incorporating personal stories of incarcerated youth and interviews with lawyers, community activists and social workers. While producing their documentary, the crew also gives video training workshops to court involved youth participating in the CASES alternative to incarceration program. Featured in the 6th Annual Urban Visionaries Youth Film Festival 2001 Coming Up Taller EVC was awarded the "Coming up Taler Award" sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities 2003 Whose Streets? Our Streets! The True Face of Youth Activism Youth producers skillfully weave a historical overview of student and social protest movements together with current testimonies from young, outspoken New York City activists. 2003 Teaching Youth Media Published Published by Teachers College Press, EVC Executive Director Steve Goodman's book "Teaching Youth Media: A Critical Guide to Literacy, Video Production and Social Change" explores the power and possibilities of using media education to help students develop their critical thinking and literacy skills. Foreward is by Maxine Greene. 2004 National Youth Media Staff Retreat EVC staff and students attend a national youth media staff retreat at Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky. 2004 Back Off: The Inside View on Youth Anger EVC youth producers go behind the scenes of youth violence and investigate how many young people are raised to deal with their anger. Feature in: Tribeca Film Festival, Urban Visionaries Film Festival, Museum of Television & Radio, NYC 2004 Actions of Today, BluePrints for tomorrow With funding from The Ford Foundation, on the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decisions, EVC youth producers examine the current state of this civil rights cause -- equitable school reform. In their documentary, they examine school reform through the perspectives of education youth organizers from 'Make the Road by Walking,' and 'Sistas and Brothas, United' who were starting new schools. Featured In: Human Rights Watch International Film Festival; San Diego Latino Film Festival; Brooklyn Arts Council International Film Festival; Urban Visionaries Film Festivals, Museum of Television & Radio, New York City; Westport Youth Film Festival, Most Outstanding Documentary Award 2004 All That I Can Be Segments of All That I Can Be are featured in Eugene Jarecki's critically acclaimed film, Why We Fight, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005. The documentary follows the stories of William, Dorian and Shinel as they embark on a separate journeys with the U.S. Army. Their stories shine a light on the problem of the economic draft as they enlist with few options in a time of war and economic downturn. Featured in: Los Angeles Film Festival; Tribeca Film Festival; Media That Matters Film Festival, Economic Justice Award; Human Rights Watch International Film Festival; Council on Foundation Film Festival. 2004 Alienated: Undocumented Immagrant Youth Alienated gives voice to undocumented youth immigrants facing life after high school with no options for legalized work or college. Featured in: Urban Visionaries Film Festival, The Museum of Television and Radio (2006); Brooklyn Arts Council International Film & Video Festival (2006); 12th Annual Los Angeles Film Festival (2006); 24-Hour Film Festival (2006); Locomotion International Youth Film Festival, Short Documentary (2006); Ocean County Library Festival (2007); New Orleans Human Rights Film Festival (2007). 2005 Patriarchy is Malarkey EVC youth producers weave interviews with peers, feminist scholars and social workers, and join a demonstration in Washington to examine the causes of discrimination and violence against women. Featured in: Human Rights Watch International Film Festival; Women of African Descent Film Festival, Juror's Choice Award for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary; Locomotion International Youth Film Festival; Brooklyn Arts Council International Film Festival; 2nd International Children's Film Festival, Istanbul, Turkey 2005 The Practice and Principles of Teaching Critical Literacy Using examples from EVC's Documentary Workshop contextualized by Dewey and Freire's learning theories, this chapter explores the ways in which EVC's dialogic pedagogy teaches students multiple literacies, continuous inquiry and reflection. 2005 2nd International Children Film Festival, Istanbul Turkey Invited by the Istanbul University Faculty of Communication, Executive Director Steve Goodman speaks about EVC's methodology and its role in the youth media field. 2005 Fifth Annual Media That Matters Film Festival EVC documentary 'All That I Can Be' awarded and screened at the Fifth Annual Media that Matters Film Festival. 2006 Youth Powered Video Curriculum Published EVC publishes 'Youth Powered Video: A Hands-on Curriculum for Teaching Documentary.' This guide offers a collection of over 200 pages of lesson plans, hand-outs, assessment rubrics and model student journals. Two DVDs accompany this guide: one for teachers showing EVC instructors guiding their student groups through project activities, and the other for students giving models from student videos of documentary elements such as narration, interviews and edit styles. 2006 London Educators at EVC Summer Teacher Intsitute EVC facilitates intensive "Youth Powered Video" workshops for London teachers and youth workers. EVC provides follow-up coaching remotely, with support from Adobe Youth Voices 2006 Keeping America Open, OSI U.S. Programs Tenth Anniversary Report Amplifying Young People's Voices provides an overview of the goals and impact of the youth media field that had grown with the support and leadership of OSI's Youth Initiatives program. Youth Initiatives included both the Urban Debate Program and the Youth Media Program, which was established in 1999 to place young people at the center of public discourse, promoting youth development, raising visibility of youth voices and youth-generated media more generally. 2006 Still Standing Still Standing provides an intimate portrayal of the challenges faced by Hurricane Katrina survivors six months after the storm. Featured in: The Soros/Sundance Documentary Fund - A Tenth Anniversary Film Festival; Cine, Golden Eagle Award; Reel Teens Festival, Best Short Documentary; Media That Matters Film Festival, Jury Award; Los Angeles Film Festival; Tribeca Film Festival; Oakland International Film Festival; Worldfest - Houston International Film Festival, Bronze Remi Award 2007 Council on Foundations' 40th Annual Film & Video Festival Grantmakers in Film and Electronc Media select the EVC documentary 'All That I Can Be' to be featured in The Council on Foundations 40th Annual Film and Video Festival. The festival celebrates films of independent filmmakers that were made possibly by the support of the Council's funds and philosophy. Selections cover a broad range of issues; economic justice; the impact of incarceration on adults and children; identity; human rights; genocide; and immigration. 2007 5th World Summit on Media for Children, Johannesburg, South Africa EVC staff present a workshop and panel at the 5th World Summit on Media for Children in Johannesburg. While there, they also lead a three day documentary production workshop for young adults in Soweto, sponsored by the US Consulate and the Hector Pieterson Museum. 2007 Production of Documentaries: Bangalore, India Teachers and youth workers, trained by EVC staff, created documentaries on issues in their communities. The project was supported by Adobe Youth Voices and explored runaway children, railway stations occupants and globalization in India. 2007 Shame on You: That Can Be Reused! Shame On You: That Can Be Reused! uses interviews, puppetry and even a recycling game to teach about environmental justice and recycling in NYC's urban communities, with a focus on the South Bronx. 2008 It's Not About Sex Shocked by the statistic that more than half of all rapes happen to people under 18, student producers search for the roots of the violence. They examine why many survivors are afraid to report their assaults, and challenge their own assumptions, while calling for society to take prevention seriously at an earlier age. 2008 Open Society Institute Youth Initiative's BarCamp: Istanbul, Turkey EVC alumni Luis Arcentales presents EVC documentary 'Still Standing' and co-facilitated a workshop on youth media and activism at the Open Society Institute Youth Initiative's BarCamp in Istanbul. 2008 Harlem 2 Guadalajara EVC youth producers worked with Major League Soccer and travelled with a Harlem-based youth soccer team to Guadalajara, Mexico, to document their community service for an orphanage there. 2008 Drop It to the Youth: Community Based Youth Video as a Tool for Building Democratic Dialogue in South Africa Reflecting on their experiences teaching video workshops to young adults in Soweto, EVC staff and graduates propose strategies for using video more broadly to promote community dialogue. 2008 Outreach Campaign: Clevland and Columbus, Ohio; Philadelphia, PA EVC youth producers travel to Ohio and Pennsylvania to screen 'Journeys Through the Red White and Blue' and register first-time voters. 2008 People's Inaugural Ball: Washington, D.C. EVC students present their documentary 'Journeys Through the Red White and Blue' at the People's Inaugural Ball. This was an alternative, grassroots event for people who couldn't afford to attend the official festivities of President Obama's inauguration. 2008 Journeys Through The Red White and Blue Exploring young adults understanding of, and complex relation to, the voting process, this film captured the hope and enthusiasm of the 2008 presidential election. Youth producers screened it in Ohio and Pennsylvania to register young voters and at the People's Inaugural Ball in Washington, D.C. when President Obama was elected. 2009 Participatory Media Forum: England, United Kingdom EVC presented a case study of its methodology and model of work at this international Participatory Media Forum in England 2009 The War Within: Youth Depression YOTV producers focus on the problem of depression among youth of color and collect powerful stories of their experiences and the treatments they have found to cope with it. 2010 Media Artist Residency EVC Director Steve Goodman is an Artist in Residence at Muhlenberg College and gives a lecture on youth media, critical inquiry and social change. 2010 Shadows of Ignorance Combining personal stories with historical and contemporary struggles for gay rights, EVC youth producers give voice to the discrimination and in some cases, acceptance, that LGBT youth experience with their friends and family on a daily basis. 2010 Crossing Waters Liberian immigrant youth tell stories of their struggles to heal from the traumas of war and make a new life here in Staten Island, support of their local school and community center. Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting provided mentoring for the project. 2010 As the Sun Comes Up, the Bricks Fall Down Through the process of exploring gentrification in their own Bronx and Brooklyn neighborhoods, landlord harassment, and neighborhood displacement, EVC students discover critical information about how long-time tenants can maintain their homes and their civil rights. 2011 A Clouded View In partnership with Harlem Hospital, EVC students investigate why, every day, thousands of teenagers pick up their first cigarette, what addiction means for them and their families and how they can kick this habit. 2011 Our Inheritance: Growing Up in a Decade of War EVC students producers explore what 10 years of war have meant to today's generation of youth both here and overseas. 2011 The Great Divide: Wealth Inequality in America Interviews with Professor Fances Fox Piven, David Jones of Community Service Society, and Occupy Wall Street protestors give a critical perspective on the growing wealth gap. 2011 Mad Hard Fun: Building a Micro-culture of Youth Media in NYC Transfer Schools A case study that takes a close look at the challenges and success two transfer schools experience bringing EVC's student-centered media program into their classes for overage and under-credited students. 2011 Mortgage Mayhem EVC students investigate the foreclosure and predatory lending crisis in New York City and document a crew member's own family struggles to hold on to their home. 2012 New Home: City-As-School EVC moves its offices and workshops to City-As-Schools HS. Along with generously sharing space with EVC, City-As-School shares EVC's values and practices. Its students and teachers have participated in EVC workshops for the past three decades. As CAS Principal Alan Cheng says, "EVC has been a tremendous resource for our school community. We are excited to be entering the next stage of this collaboration. 2012 Under 21 Turning their cameras on themselves, the team creates an intimate portrait of how two youth get access to alcohol, why they drink and the potential consequences. 2012 Life Under Suspicion The NYPD stopped and frisked nearly 700,000 people in 2011 in an effort to remove guns from the streets. But 90 percent of those stopped are black and Hispanic males. In this powerful film, EVC youth producers give a human face to this critical problem that is criminalizing and dehumanizing their generation. The Manhattan Borough President's Office and the NYCLU were among EVC's partners on this project. "The Educational Video Center has done a remarkable job empowering youth in our community," says Melissa Mark-Viverito, Speaker of the NYC Council.. "This project is giving voice to those who are most victimized by the alienating stop-and-frisk policy. These young people are being trained to be journalists and documentary film makers who can fight this injustice and make a difference." Winner of Honorable Mention in the New York Civil Liberties Union’s 2012 Freedom of Expression Contest Media for a Just Society Award, 2014 2012 Not Me, Not Mine: Adult Survivors of Foster Care Nine years after the production of Some Place to Call Home, the YO-TV crew set out to learn what happened to the seven youth who originally appeared in this documentary. As the, now adult, survivors reflect on their struggles to "age out" of foster care and move on to their current realities, we gain a profound understanding of the long-term challenges facing both foster care youth and the policy-makers working to support them and to reform "the system." 2012 Breathing Heavy: Breathing Easy: Environmental Hazards in Public Housing EVC students partner with West Harlem Environmental Action to investigate the harmful impact that lead poisoning, mold, and pesticides in low-income housing have on the health and wellbeing of their communities. They report on a team member's family suffering from asthma and a widespread infestation of black mold in their apartment. 2013 Beyond Buillying Through personal stories of their friends and family members, youth producers challenge the common idea that the bully and victim are dissimilar. 2013 Critical Teaching in Action: Los Angeles, CA Executive Director Steve Goodman participates in Mount St. Mary's College conference on Teaching, Technology and Social Justice as the keynote speaker. 2014 The International Forum on the Development of Children's Films EVC travels to China to present "Youth Media Trends in the USA" at The International Forum on the Development of Children's Films supervised by the Film Bureau of State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film & Television, People's Republic of China. 2014 Unequal Education Revisited EVC youth producers reunite 22 years later to film the followup to Unequal Education. This film bears witness to the long-term impact that inequities plaguing our society -- in education, justice, and healthcare -- have on those struggling to survive poverty without a safety net. 2014 High on Perceptions Turning the cameras on themselves and their friends at home, in therapy offices, and secret hangout spots, EVC youth producers give an intimate portrayal of teens and their families trapped in a world of pain and addiction. 2014 Gender Power Through startling interviews with street harassers and the harassed, the EVC team investigate the causes of street harassment and possible solutions for creating more equitable gender power relations in society. 2014 US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Recognizes EVC US Senator Gillibrand congratulates EVC saying: For three decades The Educational Video Center (EVC) has been a transformative force in the lives of our youth... It is my hope that all your efforts inspire others to be as impactful in their communities as you have been in New York City. 2014 EVC 30th Anniversary EVC celebrates its 30th Anniversary at the Film Society of Lincoln Center 2014 Media for a Just Society Award EVC youth producer Raelene Holmes accepts a "Media for a Just Society Award" on behalf of her team for their stop and frisk documentary, Life Under Suspicion, at the National Council on Crime and Delinquency gala in San Francisco, CA. 2014 Conversations Across Cultures Youth Media Visions Co-sponsored by Teachers College Columbia University and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, this publication grows out of an international symposium where EVC was invited as one of the only seven participating youth organizations. EVC's chapter describes the pedagogic possibilities of its work teaching youth with and from media. 2014 Spaces of Action: Teaching Critical Literacy for Community Empowerment in the Age of Neoliberalism Featured in the English Teaching: Practice and Critique journal, this article examines the theories of critical literacy, identity and communities of practice that effect the development of youth voices and social activism. 2015 BronxNet’s OPEN 2.0 Following the broadcast of the documentary Making A Way, focusing on college access, YDW co-director Tanya Jackson and Youth Producers Giovonni Rodriguez appeared on BronxNet’s OPEN 2.0 television program to discuss the film. 2015 Media Lab Capital Project Thanks to capital funding from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and New York City Council Member Corey Johnson, and in partnership with City-as-School EVC renovated our media lab with new production, digital editing, and archive facilities. 2015 16th Vermont International Film Festival, Burlington Vermont EVC documentary 'All That I Can Be' was screened at the 16th Vermont International Film Festival. 2015 Video Workshops: Belfast Ireland EVC staff and graduates were invited by the Nothern Ireland Film and Television Commission and the British Film Institute to give video workshops for Protestants and Catholic youth in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 2016 Know Your Rights: Transfer School Students and Police presentation Three transfer school students who were involved in the making of “Policing the Times,” Orlando Ramos (Innovation Diploma Plus), Jordi Perez (High School for Excellence and Innovation), and Sharington Haynes (City-As-School) were invited to participate in a screening and panel discussion for teachers and principals at the annual Transfer School Conference. 2017 We Are All Connected revived EVC revived it’s urban rural exchange program from the early ‘80’s. Youth from NYC and Appalachia lived and worked together during the summer and winter breaks to collaboratively produce documentary films and websites focusing on the opioid crisis, as well as the digital divide. 2017 Harlem NeON Arts premiere at National Black Theater Court involved youth participating in EVC’s program with Harlem NeON Arts premiere their community inquiry film on gangs at the National Black Theater. 2017 EVC films air on Manhattan News Network EVC Youth Documentary Workshop films “Family Portrait: Growing Up With Divorce and Family Separation” and “Moving Without Direction” air on Manhattan News Network, Manhattan’s public access TV station. 2018 Steve Goodman retires, Ambreen Qureshi welcomed as new Executive Director After almost 35 years at the helm of the organization, EVC’s incredible founder Steve Goodman retires. Ambreen Qureshi, is welcomed as EVC’s new Executive Director, the first woman, person of color, and immigrant to lead the organization. 2018 20th Annual Allied Media Conference Youth and staff across all EVC programs facilitate 3 workshops at the 20th Annual Allied Media Conference in Detroit, MI. This national convening cultivates media-based organizing strategies for a more just and collaborative world. 2018 “It’s Not About Grit” by Steve Goodman Published Teachers College Press published “It’s Not About Grit: Trauma, Inequity, and the Power of Transformative Teaching” by our founder Steve Goodman. This overview of EVC’s work over 35 years, shares the stories of our youth and their formidable resilience and sense of agency, and references the scholars and education movements that have informed EVC’s pedagogy. 2019 We Are All Connected on MNN Manhattan Neighborhood Network’s Artists Forum program featured two films made by EVC students in the We Are All Connected Program. EVC Youth Producers Mediba, Yhenni, and Illiana appeared on the program to discuss their experiences working collaboratively with students in Central Appalachia. 2019 Inaugural District 79 Film Festival EVC’s Professional Development Program organizes the first District 79 Film Festival as part of their spring art show “Changing the World With Our Work,” at the Queens Museum. 2019 Represent Film Festival Selection The Ones Who Bought Bushwick is an official selection at the Represent Film Festival in Los Angeles. 2020 EVC receives Google News Innovation funding EVC is one of 33 organizations in North America to receive prestigious Google News Innovation funding to encourage diversity and sustainability in local media. 2020 EVC alum profiled as Filmmaker Making a Social Impact EVC alum and staff member, Raelene Holmes, profiled in Authority Magazine and related publications as a filmmaker making a social impact. 2020 Youth Eco-media in Appalachia article published “Connecting Youth, Eco-Media and Resilience in Appalachia” article collaboratively written by EVC’s We Are All Connected teams in NYC and TN published in the Journal of Sustainability Education. 2021 EVC alumni speak at Media Literacy and Social Justice Conference EVC alumni from the films Cops Are(n’t) Colorblind and What’s Gender Got to Do with It? speak on a panel at the 2021 National Association for Media Literacy Educational annual conference. 2021 EVC youth in conversation with Abigail E. Disney EVC youth producers in conversation with documentary filmmaker Abigail E. Disney, about the future of documentary filmmaking and the importance of young people’s voices in media. 2021 EVC films selected for BHERC Youth Diversity Film Festival EVC films The Ones Who Bought Bushwick, Cops Are(n’t) Colorblind, Melanated: The Color Underneath, and Living with the Enemy are official selections at the 11th Annual Black Hollywood Educational Resource Center Youth Diversity Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Educational Video Center using documentary filmmaking to challenge structural inequities and harmful narratives that disadvantage young people of color in education, careers, and life. ABOUT Educational Video Center challenges structural inequities and harmful narratives that disadvantage young people of color in education, careers, and life. We do this by teaching documentary filmmaking to help young people thrive as learners, artists and social justice leaders; building the capacity of teachers and public schools to create youth-centered, culturally responsive classrooms; mobilizing youth-produced media to inspire action; and disrupting systems that harm BIPOC youth, their communities, and the world. MISSION Founded in 1984, Educational Video Center is a non-profit youth media organization dedicated to teaching documentary video as a means to develop the artistic, critical literacy, and career skills of young people, while nurturing their idealism and commitment to social change. VISION A just and equitable world created by young people and the power of their stories. OUR HISTORY VIEW TIMELINE WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO We live in a profoundly unequal and unjust society. Our education system, and the media, are built upon systemic oppression. They perpetuate inequities that many young Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and their communities face. For instance, New York City, despite its vast racial diversity, has the most segregated education system in the country. Our young people, 95% of whom are BIPOC and in public schools, struggle to excel in classrooms that didn’t originate from a place of equity and, despite the efforts of educators, have largely not evolved. At the same time, despite being the global majority, only 2.5 out 10 US film directors are people of color. So our youth rarely see themselves on-screen; when they do, the depictions often perpetuate racialized stereotypes. As a result, their self-perceptions are frequently negative and inaccurate. But we know that our transformative teaching approach can change minds. In our classrooms we are all equally learners, teachers, and collaborators. Here, young people discover the power of critical thinking and storytelling: they can change the narrative. Together, we can create a more equitable playing field and change the world.

MJ Small (he/him) Alumni Advisory Council Films: Black & Blue: The Traumas of Police Violence in New York City (2018), The Ones Who Bought Bushwick (2019). MJ was an EVC youth producer while attending City-As-School high school, and he worked on two award-winning films. MJ is a popular speaker at EVC film screenings and worked as a teaching assistant in EVC’s flagship program Youth Documentary Workshop. The social justice issues MJ cares most about are ones having to do with African Americans and people of color in the United States. (él) Consejo Asesor de Ex-Alumnos Películas: Negro y Azul: Los traumas de la Violencia Policial en la Ciudad de Nueva York (2018); Los que compraron Bushwick (2019) MJ era un productor juvenil de EVC mientras asistía a la escuela secundaria City-As-School, y trabajó en dos películas premiadas. MJ es un orador popular en las proyecciones de películas de EVC y trabajó como asistente de enseñanza en el programa insignia Taller Documental Juvenil de EVC. Los problemas de justicia social que más le importan a MJ son los que tienen que ver con los afroamericanos y las personas de color en los Estados Unidos.

Raelene Holmes (she/her) Alumni Advisory Council EVC Films: Life Under Suspicion: Youth Perspectives on the NYPD’s Stop and Frisk Policy (2012), Breathing Easy (2012), Beyond Bullying (2013). Creating three consecutive documentaries on topics that personally affect her, Raelene began her social justice journey as a high school student at EVC. She participated in a wide variety of EVC programs including the Youth Documentary Workshop (YDW), New Media Arts Apprenticeship (NMA), and Professional Development Program (PDP). Raelene worked as a teaching assistant in YDW, co-instructor in PDP, and co-host of EVC’s Docs and Dialogue screening series. She went on to pursue a Baccalaureate Degree in Theater to advocate for social change through acting, directing, and most importantly, playwriting. (ella) Consejo Asesor de Ex-Alumnos Películas de EVC: Vida bajo Sospecha: Perspectivas de los Jóvenes sobre la Política de Detención y Registro de la Policía de Nueva York (2012), Respirando Tranquilo (2012), Más Allá del Acoso Escolar (2013). Al crear tres documentales consecutivos sobre temas que la afectan personalmente, Raelene comenzó su viaje por la justicia social como estudiante de preparatoria en EVC. Participó en una amplia variedad de programas de EVC, incluido el Taller Documental Juvenil (YDW), el Aprendizaje de Artes Mediáticas (NMA) y el Programa de Desarrollo Profesional (PDP). Raelene trabajó como asistente de enseñanza en YDW, co-instructora en PDP y co-anfitriona de la serie de proyección Documentales y Diálogos de EVC. Luego obtuvo una licenciatura en teatro para abogar por el cambio social a través de la actuación, la dirección y, prioritariamente, la dramaturgia.