Ann Morgan, a UK editor and author, realized most of the books she read were by UK and North American authors, so deliberately set out to locate and read books from every country in the world, as described in her TED talk in 2015. This sounds like a great project for intercultural communication students.
If anyone wants to follow her example, for themselves or for students, here’s her list. She has created a website and published a book about her year, titled Reading the World: Confessions of a Literary Explorer in the UK, and The World Between Two Covers: Reading the Globe in the US and Canada.
Jim D’Addario has been an awarding winning producer for the Walt Disney Company since 1995. He started his career with Disney Interactive as a Production Supervisor on multiple edutainment projects, including the best sellers Lion King Activity Center and Toy Story Activity Center. Jim was than recruited by Walt Disney Imagineering to produce sound tracks and interactive projects for Walt Disney World, Tokyo DisneySea and Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris. Jim was instrumental in the design of The Buzz Lightyear ride at Disneyland park and The Winnie the Pooh Ride at Walt Disney World. His most memorable moment came when he worked with the iconic Sherman Brothers (of Mary Poppins fame) to produce the new soundtrack for the ride. Jim has recorded with some of the most recognizable talent in the industry including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Rafiki, and Tigger! Jim then jumped ship to work in the online space with Disney Cruise Line, Disneyworld.com, and Disneyland.com creating the first immersive sites for those properties. Jim’s current position is with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Global Broadcast, as a Senior Producer of television and radio commercials, trailers, First-Look programming, in-room videos, online videos, and airport interactive displays. Last year Jim picked up his second Addy award for work on Hong Kong Disneyland.
Zsuzsanna Gellér-Varga studied filmmaking at UC Berkeley (USA) as a Fulbright scholar. Her Screw Your Courage documentary won awards at several US film festivals and was broadcast on public TV. She worked for the New York Times Television as a video-journalist and later directed documentaries including, Once They Were Neighbours, Synagogue for Sale, and Mr. Mom, which were screened internationally and broadcast on public TV. She teaches documentary ethics at the international Masters program, DocNomads. She lives in Budapest Hungary.
Kent Gibson is an Emmy and Grammy winning producer and sound designer. He also is a forensic audio, video, and facial recognition expert. He has a BA from Yale and an MA from Stanford University Film School. He is Owner of Soundesign, owner of ForensicAV.com, was a founding partner in Rosebud Films, and co-founder and president of Cosmos Studios. He has won a Prime Time Emmy Award for the PBS series COSMOS, and been nominated for an Emmy as Executive Producer for Cosmic Journey – the Voyager Interstellar Mission and Message (A&E). He was Sound Designer and Mixer for the Emmy Award winning Galileo, Battle for the Heavens on NOVA. He has a Grammy Award Citation for Gimme Some Truth, the Making of John Lennon’s Imagine Album – long form video; a Grammy Award for Physical starring Olivia Newton-John – long form video disk; a Grammy for The Heart of Rock & Roll, Starring Huey Lewis & The News – long form video; a Grammy Award Citation for Rod Stewart – long form video; as well as multiple Clio Awards and other Emmy Nominations.
Leena Jayaswal is an award-winning photographer and documentarian with deep expertise and interest in issues that intersect race, representation and identity. Her films have been broadcast throughout the country on over 100 PBS affiliates through National Educational Telecommunications Association, and through New Day Films. She was awarded the prestigious Gracie Allen Award from the American Women in Radio and Television. Crossing Lines is currently part of the Smithsonian’s Beyond Bollywood exhibition that has been traveling around the country. Her work has been featured in critical film festivals and newspapers for the Indian diaspora. Her award wining photography has been nationally recognized in galleries around the country, in solo shows at the International Visions Gallery and Gandhi Memorial Center in Washington, D.C., as well as numerous group shows. Currently Jayaswal is co-directing, co-producing with Caty Borum Chattoo a feature length documentary, Mixed, on what it means to be mixed race in America. Jayaswal is a Professor in the Film and Media Arts Division of the at American University. She is the director of the photography concentration and the Inclusion Officer in the School of Communication.
David Magdael has more than 18 years of experience in public relations, strategic planning, development, marketing, community outreach and entertainment and media relations in North America, Europe and Asia. As founder and president of DAVID MADGAEL & ASSOCIATES, INC, Magdael continues to specialize in documentaries, indie films, directors, and public affairs. From developing Oscar® campaigns to festival strategies to theatrical and broadcast press unit publicity, his company has emerged as an important entertainment communications firm boasting a client roster including numerous Oscar® winning and nominated documentary, animated and short films and festival standouts. Magdael is also a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and is the Co-Director for the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival since 1997. He serves as a mentor at the Sundance Institute Documentary Producers Lab and continues to share his expertise in panels and workshops at Sundance Film Festival, South by Southwest (SXSW), Full Frame Film Festival, Silver Docs, Hawaii International Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, AFI Festival Los Angeles, Ashland International Film Festival, Film IndependentForum, Visual Communications, Center for Asian American Media, San Diego Asian Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Film Festival, San Francisco Asian Film Festival, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, the International Documentary Association, Temple University Division of Film, The Documentary Summit at Columbia College of Film and others.
Micheline Maynard is an author, journalist and professor. She has been a correspondent and bureau chief for the New York Times, where she is a contributor, and senior editor at the NPR news magazine Here & Now. She writes for Forbes.com, Medium, Skift, ABC Australia, and teaches at the University of Michigan. Her six books include The End of Detroit, which predicted the bankruptcies at the Detroit companies and the rise of Japanese auto companies, and she is at work on her next books.
Nancy Robinson is Director, Education Programs for the Television Academy Foundation. In this capacity, she oversees the Foundation’s highly rated summer Student Internship Program, the annual Faculty Seminar, the Mister Rogers Memorial Scholarship Program, the Visiting Professionals speaker program, and Alumni engagement. Nancy is also responsible for educational outreach and creating alliances with colleges/universities nationwide. Prior to joining the Foundation’s Education department in 1999, Nancy was Convention Services Manager for a large trade association, planning and executing their annual convention and numerous small meetings across the country. She was also an Awards Consultant with a firm specializing in managing submissions for such companies as the Disney Channel, HBO, and FOX. She began her career as the Primetime and Daytime Emmy Awards assistant for the Television Academy. Nancy is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts/Media Production and a minor in Sociology.
Mary C. Schaffer is a digital media consultant. She was an Associate Professor of New Media at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) for 14 years. Prior to CSUN, she spent 12 years as a New Media Executive (Disney, Viacom, Geocities) and 18 years as a journalist (NPR, CBS and NBC). She is a member of the Producers Guild of America, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the International Documentary Association and Broadcast Education Association.
Richard Trank is an Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker (producer, writer, and director), known for The Long Way Home (1997), Beautiful Music (2005), I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life & Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal (2007), Against the Tide (2009), Winston Churchill: Walking with Destiny (2010), It is no Dream: The life of Theodore Herzl (2012); The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers (2013); and The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers (2015). His newest film is Never Stop Dreaming: The Life and Legacy of Shimon Peres, scheduled for release in late 2018.
Center for Intercultural Dialogue 