Amy Hartman

Describe your background in community and/or social action causes.

While I was completing my bachelors degree at Montana State University in Bozeman, I was fortunate enough to work with various outreach programs, including the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Relay for Life. I made a few short videos for these programs, and it inspired me to take an honors corse in global poverty alleviation.

Through this class I was lucky enough to visit the Dominican Republic and shoot a short video about an ecolodge, Tubagua, and a micro-finance organization, Esperanza. My university used this video to attract students to the class in following years.

Currently, I am working with one of my professors at NYU Tisch Asia to host a fundraiser for Film Aid, a global media education program.

What current issues are of interest?

I am very interested in woman’s issues world wide, specifically increasing young girls education and micro-credit organizations who focus on woman as primary lenders. I am most inspired by the work of Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute, the initial work done by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, and the ground breaking success that Geoffry Canada has achieved with the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York.

Ultimately, I hope to use film making and media production as a tool to raise not only awareness for these and other similar programs, but also funding and support. I believe through creative producing and fund raising, the arts could work to give back to the world.