Media Projects Inc. and
•The Gender Studies Program, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Texas at Dallas
• The American Studies Program, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Texas at Dallas
•The Galerstein Gender Center, University of Texas at Dallas
•The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas
Present IN HER SHOES - an inspiring film that gives a voice to incarcerated women.
Watch the film from Sept. 18th-Sept. 23rd Register and a link will be sent to your email.
Join us for an in-person panel discussion Thursday, September 22 from 5:30 – 7 p.m. in McDermott Library, room 2.404 (MC 2.404), the CTL seminar room.
PANELIST BIOS:
•Dr. Erin Smith (moderator) is Professor of American Studies and Associate Director of the Gender Studies Program at the University of Texas at Dallas.
•Cynthia Salzman Mondell is the award-winning filmmaker of IN HER SHOES. With Allen Mondell, she has created more than 41 documentaries that have empowered girls and women, brought awareness about depression and suicide, highlighted racial issues, and made history come alive. •Cynthia Salzman Mondell is the award-winning filmmaker of IN HER SHOES. With Allen Mondell, they founded the non-profit organization, Media Projects and created more than 41 documentaries that have empowered girls and women, brought awareness about depression and suicide, highlighted racial issues, and made history come alive.
Her goal now is partnering with people and organizations with IN HER SHOES for virtual showings/events/ Q&A’s. She believes this film can change attitudes and perceptions about people who are incarcerated and support change in the criminal justice system.
•Yolanda Lara-Reyna is recently retired from her position as Director of Inmate Programs for the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, where she oversaw educational and rehabilitative programs for over 6,500 inmates. She holds a B.A. in sociology from the University of Texas at Dallas and a master’s degree in Professional Development. In the past, she has worked as a probation officer, an immigration information officer, a forensics case worker, and an investigator for Child Protective Services and the City of Dallas. She has served in many community organizations, including the Community Advisory Board for KERA Channel 13, the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, the Hispanic Forum of Mesquite, and the Hispanic PAC of Dallas.
•Dr. Anne Gray Fischer is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is a historian of the twentieth-century United States who studies gender, sexuality, and race; law enforcement and the state; and feminist activisms. Her recent book, The Streets Belong to Us: Sex, Race, and Police Power from Segregation to Gentrification, (UNC Press, 2022), explores the sexual policing of U.S. women between the 1920s and the 1980s.
•Dr. Lynne Vieraitis is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Texas at Dallas and former editor of the Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology. Her primary areas of research interest are corrections, gender inequality and violence, criminal justice policy, and identity theft. She is co-author of Identity Thieves: Motives and Methods published by Northeastern University Press.
About the Film Many women speak for the first time about the physical and sexual abuse they endured. They are in jail for crimes like prostitution, theft, embezzlement and drugs. Through this art program they find the confidence and courage to take their next step.
Founded by filmmakers Cynthia Salzman Mondell and Allen Mondell in 1978, Media Projects Inc. produces and distributes films that personalize some of the most searing social issues of our time.
We also create films that celebrate events and people who indelibly touch our lives. Media Projects is a non-profit organization.
