Holly Lehren is a graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, specializing in Documentary. She currently serves as the Videographer and Media Manager for CivicStory in New Jersey, producing segments on ecology and civic engagement, such as her piece NJ Mini Forests. Holly previously interned at CNBC’s Long Form Programming Unit, where she supported the production of documentaries, including Inside Track: The Business of Formula One.

At The New School in New York City, where she earned an advanced certificate in Documentary Media Studies, Holly produced two award-winning student documentaries. Her short film Why You Have to Be Black and Gay—an exploration of South African drag queen Odidi Odidiva’s life during apartheid—was selected for festivals in New York and Los Angeles and won "Best LGBTQ Short" at the Independent Shorts Awards. Her documentary, Are You There, Andy?, a first-person narrative on the legacy of comedian Andy Kaufman, won “Best Student Documentary Short” at IndieX Film Fest and “Best Web and New Media” at both the Independent Shorts Awards and Indie Short Fest.

Holly holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Theatre from Muhlenberg College and was a semi-finalist for the Fulbright Scholarship (2020, 2021, 2023) to study documentary filmmaking in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Katie Cline

Co-Director, Producer

Katie Cline is a filmmaker and writer who tells nuanced stories about the LGBTQ+ community, internet culture, and disability. Katie received a B.A. in Anthropology from Dartmouth College and a M.S. in documentary filmmaking from Columbia Journalism School.

Tania Rashid

Advisor

Tania Rashid is an award-winning journalist who presently works as a special correspondent for PBS Newshour. The focus of her work has been on human rights, and women's issues. She has contributed to networks like the Channel 4, The National Geographic Channel, Vice, Mic, and CNN International.

Born in Saudi Arabia to a Bangladeshi father and Pathan mother, Tania Rashid moved to Utah at a young age. She remembers watching Christiane Amanpour on TV and being inspired to similarly travel the world to tell stories. Journalism was not an encouraged path in her household since Rashid's parents wanted her to be a doctor, engineer, pharmacist or lawyer.

But during her undergraduate years at University of California Los Angeles, where she studied global studies and history, she started to see opportunities unfold. Her initial internship at Nightline ABC further ignited her spark for journalism and storytelling. She then went to Columbia University where she received her masters in Broadcast Journalism and documentary. Shortly after graduation she moved to South Asia and lived there for 4 years.

Her breaking story was at at Al Jazeera English where she was the first female journalist on the ground at the collapse of "Rana plaza" the largest industrial disaster in Bangladesh which killed thousands of factory workers. She also followed the life of sex workers, toxic tanneries, and child marriage in the region. Her work has also taken her abroad to South Africa, India, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.