Vera Institute of Justice

Skylar Economy picked up her first camera in middle school -- sparking her ever-growing interest in digital storytelling. Since then, she has worked in the media and film industry with both grassroots organizations and large corporations. In May 2016, Economy graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in Film & Media Studies, while maintaining multiple leadership roles in film and media organizations on campus. She spent two summers with the CNN Documentary Unit assisting on more than 20 films, in both New York City and Atlanta. With Outside the Lens, a nonprofit media literacy organization, she helped teach photography empowerment workshops to young women in Syrian refugee camps in Jordan, and has also traveled to Bosnia-Herzegovina, in order to assist U.S. and Bosnian high school students create a short film for the Mediteran Film Festival. Post-graduation, she has worked for award-winning filmmakers, Lucy Walker, Charles Ferguson, and Katy Grannan. She is the founder of Photogenie Films, LLC, a film production company and rental service, and serves as a director and producer for client-based film work. In 2015, she began producing and directing FITE Film (From Incarceration to Education), a film project about formerly incarcerated student meant for those impacted by mass incarceration. She is a selected Commitment Maker for the Clinton Global Initiative in 2016 for FITE Film, and a finalist for the Red Bull Amaphiko Academy for Social Entrepreneurs.