Festival Organizers
Sarah Koenigsberg, Festival Director
Sarah is an award-winning filmmaker, photographer, and educator whose work centers on stories of art, environment, and community in the American West. Her films and teaching cross disciplines, illuminating the power of storytelling as a medium through which to explore complex social, science, and policy issues. Sarah’s film work has screened in Festivals worldwide and for professional venues such as the National Climate Adaptation Forum and the North American Congress of Conservation Biology, while her photography has been featured in publications such as Science, High Country News, and the National Climate Assessment. Her feature documentary The Beaver Believers has been honored with the Green Spark Award from the American Conservation Film Festival, it’s lead character received the EcoHero Award from the Portland EcoFilm Festival, it has won multiple audience choice awards, and it was a finalist in the Banff Mountain Film Festival, London Eco Film Festival, and the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, among many others.
Sarah is a member of the Her Wild Vision Initiative, the world’s first comprehensive directory of female and female-identifying conservation filmmakers and photographers. She is a founding board member and the Communications Director for The Beaver Coalition, a non-profit dedicated to promoting co-existence with wildlife, beaver-based restoration efforts, and climate adaptation strategies. She regularly presents on science communication and storytelling for universities, land management agencies, and restoration practitioners, and has developed multiple project curriculum and workshops in audio and video production for Whitman College. You can learn more about her past and future work online through the Tensegrity Productions web site.
DR Linda Gunshefski, President, Network of Exceptional Women
Dr. Linda Gunshefski was born and raised in New Jersey. She attended the Johns Hopkins University and graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering, then worked at the United Nations International School before attending the Robert Wood Johnson Rutgers Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. She did a general surgery residency at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas and an Ophthalmology residency at Northwestern University. In 1996, Linda moved to Walla Walla, Washington where she served the local community as an Ophthalmic Surgeon. For ten of those years, in addition to practicing medicine, she assumed the role of small business owner and managed her practice under the name of Eye and Laser Physicians. Recently, she has completed course work in Astronomy at Whitman College and the University of Hawaii. Dr. Gunshefski is married to Dr. Tim Caudill and they have 2 sons, Tim and Michael. Their family enjoys traveling together, skiing, and scuba diving. In 2017, she co-founded the Network of Exceptional Women to assist women in preparing for leadership roles and running for political office. She has also started PAC for Science to advocate for the inclusion of Science in politics. Now retired from her work in medicine, Linda’s primary goal is to leverage the breadth of her professional and professional experience to encourage other women to enter politics and STEM professions.
Dr TRACY Williams, Vice President, Network of Exceptional Women
Dr. Tracy Williams is a forward-thinking Senior Executive and Educator with more than 35 years of success spanning all levels of education and leadership. Leveraging extensive experience in collaborative engagement, Tracy is a valuable asset for teams requiring expert assistance with talent recruitment and management, troubleshooting, forecasting, or assessment. Her broad areas of expertise include education, tech, communications, event planning, grant writing, and educator training.
Throughout her executive career, Tracy has held leadership positions with Seattle Pacific University, Walla Walla School District, Pacific Rim Instructional Management, and the Spokane Public School District. As the Director for the Spokane Public School District, she was responsible for designing, funding, and supervising instructional coaches for Title I schools, as well as collaborating to serve homeless students and fund extended transportation. Her program schools received seven state awards of excellence for leading academic achievement gains and working to improve schools and the community. Tracy also served as Chair of the Master’s in Curriculum & Instruction degree program at Seattle Pacific University, where she developed one of the nation’s first hybrid degree programs in Teacher Leadership. She is now the CEO and Digital Coach at Pacific Rim Instructional Management and the Founder of BlueSquadWA.
Tracy holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Washington State University and a BA in English and Physical Education from Whitworth College. She was named a Faculty Servant (2013) at Seattle Pacific University, a AERA/UCEA David E. Clark Scholar (2009) at Washington State University, and received the Walla Walla Public Schools Staff Achievement Award (2005), and the Partnership Award (2001) from the Saturn and National Education Association. Her current focus is on elevating women in leadership, specifically the leadership of BIPOC women, and she is a Co-Founder of the Opportunity-PAC and the Opportunity Leadership Network. In the first six months, these organizations supported the election of 9 Black women in Washington State and raised over $300,000 to promote the leadership of BIPOC women and the non-profits they run.
Anne Maxham, PhD, Filmmaker Liaison
Anne is an enthusiastic viewer of films and has fond memories of going to drive-in theatres in her family’s packed ’65 Ford Country Squire Wagon. A New Jersey Native, Anne migrated to the Pacific Northwest in 1990 to teach at Washington State University. After a 10-year stint as Associate Director of Composition, Anne moved to Seattle and to Antioch University, where she’s developed courses and programs for adult learners through innovative and progressive education. She currently works remotely and is Director of Writing for the Antioch University system of campus and online programs. Anne moved to Walla Walla in 2017 and soon joined the Network of Exceptional Women to meet kindred spirits supporting progressive politics and women’s empowerment. Proud of her NJ accent, Anne often quips: “You can take the girl out of Jersey but not the Jersey out of the girl.”
Special thanks to our film festival mentors!
Dawn Smallman, Festival Director, Portland EcoFilm Festival
Dawn works at the intersection of art, storytelling and environment. She is the Festival Director/Programmer of the Portland EcoFilm Festival, the premiere environmental film festival of the Pacific Northwest. Dawn has produced and directed documentary films for museums and public lands visitor centers including a film on climate, landscape and indigenous wisdom for Alaska's Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center in Juneau, AK and films about the cultural and historical contributions of working cowgirls for the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Ft. Worth, TX. Dawn is a certified interpretive naturalist inspired by nature's infinite wisdom and networks.
Jennifer Lee, Executive Director, American Conservation Film Festival
Jennifer lives in Clarke County, Virginia, where she grew up and fell in love with woods, animals, fields, rivers, and bugs. She has worked in development, event planning, and outreach for national and local non-profits dedicated to environmental or historical preservation for most of the last 25 years. She has served as a columnist and contributing editor to the local newspaper, photographs community events, and holds a Communications degree from George Mason University and a Master Gardener’s certification. In 2014 she started as the Development and Communications Director with the American Conservation Film Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and was appointed Executive Director in 2018.