Sherry Simpson Dean

Senior Director, Engagement and Impact Innovation

ITVS

Sherry Simpson Dean is currently Senior Director of Engagement and Impact Innovation for Independent Television Service (ITVS). She is a recognized leader at the intersection of media and social change. Most recently she has instituted an impact innovation pilot, Town Hall in a Box, to amplify the power of documentary films and community conversations to bridge divides and to build ally ship.

Her expertise has been honed over the last fifteen years, during which time she has developed and secured financing for multiple film, television and music projects. This list includes her production AMANDLA!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, for which she won an Emmy and Sundance Film Festival Awards. Following the success of this film, she was deemed a subject-matter-expert on South Africa’s human rights struggle and lectured globally on the impact of reconciliation through film, arts and culture.

Participating Sessions

VALUES AND ETHICS IN DOCUMENTARY: THE WAY FORWARD

In this open roundtable, American University researchers Patricia Aufderheide and Marissa Woods host an interactive discussion about the challenges and opportunities in creating shared standards for documentary ethics. Participants include members of the Documentary Accountability Working Group, the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective, FWD-DOC, International Documentary Association, Beyond Inclusion, Allied, and representatives from different public broadcasting entities. This roundtable is presented in partnership with the Center for Media & Social Impact.