social impact Archives - New York Women in Film & TelevisionNew York Women in Film & Television

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Ayo Oti

Welcome to NYWIFT, Ayo Oti! Ayo Oti is a media creative, social impact professional, and emerging filmmaker. She publishes Sounds Like Impact, a curated resource for social impact podcasting, and hosts Audio For Action Live. Previously, she produced for How to Save a Planet and Degrees: Real Talk About Planet-Saving Careers. Ayo is currently developing two documentary films: one exploring first-generation Nigerian identity and another examining African American creatives inspired by Mexico and its artistic practices. Beyond her own work, she collaborates on social issue documentaries as a producer, supporting projects across production, strategy, and impact distribution to help stories reach and engage audiences.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Asha Dahya

Welcome to NYWIFT, Asha Dahya! Asha Dahya is a social impact filmmaker and storyteller. She is the director and producer of an award-winning short documentary about later abortion called Someone You Know, which premiered at the 2024 Athena Film Festival. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for My Name Is Siri, an autism awareness documentary that premiered on PBS. In 2025, Asha executive produced and co-hosted an award-winning audio and video series about Latin America’s Green Wave abortion rights movement called Green Tide Rising. Her latest short documentary is A Tiny Revolution, the story of how Meg Crane invented the first home pregnancy test.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Marianna Olinger

Welcome to NYWIFT, Marianna Olinger! Marianna is an artist, producer, strategist, and visionary who evaluates media projects for their potential impact on society and social change. Marianna worked as lead impact producer for two Oscar-shortlisted documentaries, including The Territory (Sundance, Peabody, Emmy winner). As co-director at Earth Alliance, Marianna proclaims: ‘I am nature, and nature is in me.’ In our interview, she reflects on the pilot initiative, Indigenous Impact Alliance, through Doc Society's Climate Story Unit, and her work as co-producer of the short documentary Sankofa. Read on to learn about the work Marianna’s most excited to bring to life next.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Anna Bick Rowe

Welcome to NYWIFT, Anna Bick Rowe! Anna is an Emmy Award-winning producer and Head of Production at Smartypants Pictures, an Academy Award-winning production company based in Brooklyn. She thrives on being “multilingual” within the industry, seamlessly navigating between commercial, nonprofit, and documentary projects. Anna has worked on a wide range of high-profile projects, including serving as Executive Producer alongside Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai on Stranger at the Gate, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2023. In addition to her documentary work, Anna has produced content for brands such as Adidas, Delta Air Lines, The Lincoln Motor Company, Macy’s, Snapchat, Cadillac, Indeed, Cooper Tires, and Ford Motor Company, as well as films for dozens for nonprofits. In our interview, Anna shared her journey into producing, what working on the Oscar-winning documentary All the Empty Rooms meant to her, and her approach to social impact storytelling.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Kash Blagrove

Welcome to NYWIFT, Kash Blagrove! Kash is a New York City–based producer with a background in advertising and a strong commitment to authenticity, diversity, and inclusion in media. Over the past decade, she has produced campaigns for major brands including eBay, European Wax Center, Peloton, and the WNBA, working across projects ranging from small-scale productions to multi-million-dollar campaigns. As a champion of body positivity, Kash brings a thoughtful perspective to her work, advocating for greater representation both in front of and behind the camera. Her work on the WNBA’s Line ’Em Up campaign earned multiple honors at the 2025 Clio Sports Awards, reflecting the real impact the project had beyond the screen. In our interview, Kash discussed her journey into producing, her commitment to inclusive storytelling, and the projects she’s excited to bring to life next.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Khrystyna Komarovska

Welcome to NYWIFT, Khrystyna Komarovska! Khrystyna is a New-York based filmmaker, actress, and digital strategy leader, where her work touches on the intersection of storytelling, audience growth, and social impact. Her projects explore human connection, contemporary relationships, and mental health through narrative film and digital projects. Alongside her creative work, she leads digital strategy for brands and founders, informing how projects are positioned, distributed, and scaled. Khrystyna is the creator of the short series Nina’s Files, which has received festival recognition and media attention. She is also currently developing new narrative work focused on Gen Z audiences and intentional storytelling. In our interview, Khrystyna discusses her background, recent projects, and what she has learned from working in the media industry.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Nadia Voukitchevitch

Welcome to NYWIFT, Nadia Voukitchevitch! Nadia is an award-winning filmmaker with over two decades of experience across film, television, and branded content. She is the founder Nadia Films, a creative content production company and boutique agency that produces globally focused, multicultural, and multilingual work across media. Through Nadia Films and its newly launched division, The Creative Collective, Nadia brings together collaborative teams of creators to craft meaningful, commercially viable work rooted in powerful storytelling. Her projects often intersect with social impact, advocacy, and cultural history, reflecting a deep commitment to human rights, women’s voices, and education-driven narratives. In our interview, she reflects on her filmmaking journey, the responsibility of telling stories rooted in lived experience, and the projects she’s most excited to bring to life next.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Cecilia R. Mejia

Welcome to NYWIFT, Cecilia R. Mejia! Cecilia R. Mejia was born and raised in Brooklyn, a first-generation Filipino-American. She has worked in development for several non-profit organizations, including NGOs affiliated with the United Nations. She’s worked with several grassroots organizations focusing on underrepresented communities, which lead to her working on a short documentary about the struggles of detained undocumented families, jumpstarting her film career. Cecilia has produced a number of short films focusing on critical social impact issues like mental health and gender inequality. She’s won several awards as the lead producer for the upcoming Yellow Rose and as Social Impact Producer for the award-winning doc Call Her Ganda. She currently serves as the creative lead on several other projects working on the creative, funding and social impact components of films. Now, she is Vice President of External Affairs, American Documentary | POV. Cecilia is combining her love of film with the goal of focusing on social impact stories that inspire change, most specifically with under-resourced youth through her non-profit organization Art of Me as creative director, helping students turn their stories into high-quality short films. Get to know her in our latest interview!

NYWIFT at DOC NYC: In Conversation with Producer Cheryl Staurulakis

NYWIFT member Cheryl Staurulakis recognizes the power of documentary film to change hearts, minds, and even governmental policies – and it’s what drives her as a producer. Her latest film, Phyllis Ellis’s feature documentary Category: Woman, is a perfect example of Staurulakis’s commitment to social impact filmmaking. The film takes a hard look into the racist and sexist policies in global sports and the devastating personal consequences they have inflicted on women athletes around the world. Staurulakis spoke to us about her 2022 DOC NYC screening, racial and gender discrimination in sports, and how she hopes to save the world one documentary at a time.

Recognizing Our Shared Humanity: Idil Ibrahim on Her Film “Sega”

Women filmmakers throughout history have often been at the forefront of advancing social change, and NYWIFT member Idil Ibrahim is no exception. Ibrahim sat down with us to discuss the making of her award-winning short film "Sega" and how she hopes it might change viewers’ perception of modern immigrant stories.

NYWIFT Blog