Melanie Judd Porter

Melanie Judd began her career working on education programs in Philadelphia and internationally and then at Teach For America. As the co-founder of Media Ties, she launched media projects in refugee camps in Africa and then built a media center in Phnom Penh that is still operating 25 years later. Subsequently as a filmmaker, Melanie produced the fiction feature film, Day Night Day Night, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2006, winning the Prix Jeune. Melanie was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. She previously produced Moment of Impact, a feature documentary which won awards at the Sundance Film Festival, Cinema Du Reel, Karlovy Vary, and the Munich International Documentary Festival. She was also co-creator and producer of the award winning 5 Minute Project, a compilation of 20 films by women from 20 countries, and co-founder of Jumbo Films, co-producing and directing Girl Adopted, a documentary which told the story of international adoption and filmed across Ethiopia and the United States. With the rise of digital media, Melanie transitioned to storytelling and production for new platforms and for the last several years she has led international growth and strategy for a digital media startup, Overtime, building a global social media strategy and driving partnerships with both regional and national organizations. Melanie studied at the Annenberg School Communications/University of Pennsylvania and lives in Brooklyn, NY with her family.