WOMANHOOD: THE SERIES, SEASON 2
Sure, the line for the women’s bathroom is shorter, but we’d rather have a seat at the table.
THE PROJECT
Womanhood: The Series, Season 2 is an original anthology film series aimed at inspiring women and girls to overcome the ongoing gender disparity in STEM classrooms and workplaces. The outcome will be five short films used as discussion tools to explore cultural attitudes and biases that hinder women's advancement in STEM fields.
Using comedy to highlight social injustices and biases, this project offers a unique storytelling approach that has already proven impactful. Season 1 received eight awards and over 55 international film festival acceptances, demonstrating that audiences want to see high-quality content with female leads and stories about women.
This groundbreaking project fosters collaboration between two traditionally separate fields—filmmaking and STEM—bringing filmmakers and STEM professionals together to tell stories that help dismantle structural barriers in STEM careers. By working side-by-side, we aim to generate fresh perspectives and promote inclusive representation of women in science and technology.
Once completed, the series will be packaged with a curriculum for classrooms and corporate events, aiming to create long-term impacts through partnerships with educators, businesses, and non-profits.
We’re not making a movie; we’re making a movement.
NEWS
We were funded by a highly competitive grant at the University of Denver to host a writers’ retreat in Evergreen, Colorado, in the summer of 2024. At this retreat, seven STEM professionals, five screenwriters, and two film students successfully gathered to write the five scripts for Season 2.
“It’s two different silos that you never get to see collaborate and get together, and we have way more in common than we ever thought.”
MEET THE FILMMAKERS
Jessica McGaugh - Filmmaker and Professor
Jessica McGaugh is an award-winning filmmaker and a tenure-track faculty member in the School of Theatre, Television, and Film at San Diego State University. She teaches production courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Jessica received an MFA in Film from Syracuse University with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women’s Studies.
Jessica’s work celebrates diversity and inclusion through her use of underrepresented characters, storylines, and project collaborators. Her films have screened across the globe including the Vancouver Film Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, NDTV and Rocky Mountain PBS.
Currently in post production, her most recent film, Tina Tina Bo Bina follows a fictional performance artist struggling to balance the expectations of motherhood with the expectations of being an artist. Jessica created Womanhood: The Series, a collection of comedic short films, aiming to break the taboos associated with women’s bodies and gender expectations. The series is currently released to streaming platforms, and won awards for “Best Series” and “Best Director.” Red Pearl, Jessica’s debut narrative feature-film, was released worldwide to film festivals and streaming services. Her award-winning documentary release, Three Worlds, One Stage, is available through iTunes, Amazon, Roku and Walmart.
Sheila Schroeder - Filmmaker and Professor
Dr. Sheila E. Schroeder has been making films for 30+ years. Her work spans genre (documentaries and narratives) and form (short to feature) and has been accepted by over 100 film festivals across the globe. In 2015 she founded Project DU F.I.L.M. (film initiative linking mentors) as part of her work at the University of Denver where she has taught filmmaking since 1997. The goal of Project DU F.I.L.M. is to change the face of filmmaking both in front of and behind the camera by creating intentionally diverse stories and recruiting a variety of alumni and students to participate in this experiential mentorship program designed to give students opportunities to work on professional film sets. The Project’s films, Hunting Season, Happy F-ing Valentine’s Day, Scary Lucy, and the web series, Breaking the Turfgrass Ceiling, have garnered success around the world, but, more importantly, have provided experiential learning opportunities and career stepping stones for diverse students and alumni alike.
In season 1 of Womanhood: The Series, she wrote the short Judy, Judy, Judy based on her own experiences with menopause and she edited Maid of Honor. In season 2 her responsibilities range from grant writer to workshop producer to screenwriter to producer/director.
Roma Sur - Filmmaker and Professor
Roma Sur is a filmmaker, based in Denver, Colorado. She has taught screenwriting for thirteen years in the Film and Television (FITV) department of CU Denver. Currently she teaches Capstone Production classes and screenwriting at University of Denver’s Media, Film and Journalism department. She is also developing collaborative projects with DU’s Office of Internationalization. Most recently, she has been inducted into Marquis Who’s Who, 125th edition, a humbling recognition of her contribution to the world of arts, academics and internationalization.
Sur writes young adult and female driven dramas with levity that are a cross-pollination of her immigrant experience of living in the US for twenty years, and her childhood in India. She also enjoys writing historical fiction. Her feature screenplay, The Rock Within, has been acknowledged by the Sundance Asian American lab, Stowe Story Labs, India’s leading pitch market, Film Bazaar, and Screencraft’s Funding contest. Her adapted feature screenplay titled ‘Shillong Times’, was a finalist at the Final Draft Contest. Her recent documentary, MAA has screened at multiple global film festivals, including the 42nd Breckenridge festival. She co-directed and co-produced Three Worlds One Stage, a documentary that is currently streaming on Amazon and iTunes. She is currently in development for her new film, QUEEN OF HEART, a short narrative that comments on gender based domestic abuse in Asian cultures, through a comedic lens. In Season 1 of Womanhood: The Series, she wrote Core.
Cat Dale - Filmmaker and Professor
An eternal optimist, writer/director Cat Dale creates characters obsessed by hope in dark worlds. Her writing has won the ScreenCraft Pilot Launch, Shore Scripts, Sidewalk Sidewrite Film Festival, been a Nicholl Fellowship Quarterfinalist, featured on The Black List, and part of the CANNESFILMS UNLIMITED writing residency. Her three-short films, RUBBER & GLUE, WILDCAT, & TOUCH have won numerous awards, and screened both nationally and internationally. She is currently producing co-written features film Beasts Undiscovered in partnership with the Jim Henson Creature Shop & Myriad Pictures, as well as feminist western, Clara Boone.
She has been a second-round script reader for the Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition, reader for Stowe Story Labs, and was on the Sidewrite Screenwriting Jury for the Sidewalk Film Festival.
A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin MFA in screenwriting, she is currently a professor at the Montana State University where she adores working with her students in film production.
Elisa Herrmann - Filmmaker and Professor
Elisa Herrmann is a filmmaker from Brazil, with a degree in Art Education from Federal University of Parana, a specialization in Audiovisual Communication from Pontifical Catholic University of Parana, a Master of Fine Arts in Mass Communication and Media Arts from Southern Illinois University, and an EdD in Higher Education Leadership from Sam Houston State University.
In the past years, Elisa produced and directed several short films that screened in festivals worldwide. Elisa’s awarded short documentary “Rodrigo Herrmann – Life and Works” premiered in Curitiba, Brazil, during the prestigious 34th Music Festival of Curitiba, and screened at several international film festivals, including the 2016 Cannes Film Festival – Short Film Corner. Elisa is also an awarded screenwriter with her short screenplay “Death Expectancy” and feature screenplay “The Great Adventure of the Bentley Girls”. Elisa’s first feature documentary about the Brazilian religion Umbanda premiered at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston as part of the Afro-Atlantic Histories exhibition. Elisa’s latest short documentary “Undocumented: A Dream of Education” has been screened in festivals and conferences worldwide and has won multiple awards.
Elisa is an Associate Professor of Mass Communication and the Coordinator of the BA in Film at Sam Houston State University, where she teaches film production, advises students, promotes the program, and continues to produce her own films.
Sophia Holt - Filmmaker and Student
Sophia Holt is a writer/director whose work ranges from nuanced social commentary pieces to comedic film noir parodies. An undergraduate Film Studies and Production major at the University of Denver, she cares deeply about telling stories that matter. She is a part of the graduating class of 2025 and has minors in English and Marketing as well. A queer, woman of color; representation is something that has been a guiding force in the works she has created and collaborated on.
Under America’s Radar (2022), Black Box (2022), Murder on High Street (2023), & The Cab Driver (2023) are student short films where she is credited as writer and/or director. Currently (alongside her work on Womanhood: The Series), Sophia is directing her Narrative Capstone short film. Entitled, With Liberty and Justice for All – it is a 1970’s coming of age tale of Black university students forming community, a script which she has written herself. Coming June 2024. . .
Sophia also works for the Daniels College of Business as an engineer and editor of the Voices of Experience Podcast and tacks on a producer credit as well for the school’s Entrepreneurship@DU podcast! She is the president of the University of Denver’s Black Student Alliance and the vice president of DU’s Film Production Club.
Her special interests include musical theatre, audio design/engineering, and fruit flavored candies (no chocolate!)
MEET THE STEM PROFESSIONALS
Virginia Rhodes -
Virginia Rhodes (she/her) is the Project Director for the Women in Engineering ProActive Network’s (WEPAN) ADVANCE Resource and Coordination Network (ARC Network), a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant-funded project focused on advancing the culture of inclusion and diversity within science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines.
Virginia received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame in 2017 and completed her Master of Science in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in 2019. Prior to joining WEPAN, Virginia was the Project Coordinator for IUPUI’s NSF ADVANCE Adaptation grant as well as a Research Associate at the STEM Education Innovation and Research Institute.
Her background focuses on workplace diversity, leadership development, and creating inclusive environments, where she applies psychological concepts and interventions to address gender and racial disparities throughout multiple STEM fields. She is passionate about creating organizational change related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and strives to build more intersectional and informed communities of practice.
She is fascinated by the world of film and specifically interested in utilizing visual mediums to promote equity in STEM spaces. She believes messages conveyed through a video format can be more accessible and have a significant impact on fostering diversity and inclusion and is excited to share her experience and expertise as a contributor to Womanhood: The Series, Season 2.
Lynda Weist -
Lynda Wiest, Ph.D. is a professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she has been a faculty member since 1996 and currently serves as Chair of the Department of Educational Studies. Her work centers on mathematics education, educational equity, and teacher education. Dr. Wiest served as lead editor on a recent two-volume series titled Out-of-School-Time STEM Programs for Females: Implications for Research and Practice, which aligns with her experience as Director of the Nevada Math & Technology Program she founded in 1998. During her career, she has received numerous local through national awards for her work. Outside of academia, Dr. Wiest's interests include various types of sports and recreation, animal welfare, and narrative nonfiction writing.
Rachel Roper -
Dr. Roper is a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at East Carolina University (ECU) in the Brody School of Medicine. She received her B.S. from Texas A & M University, and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry where she received the M.A. Hare Research Excellence Award. She received her post-doctoral training at the NIH Lab of Viral Disease and was awarded an NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence. Dr. Roper was part of the team that first sequenced and analyzed the SARS Coronavirus genome and oversaw SARS vaccine development and testing. She is an inventor on the patent, as well as patents on poxviruses.
Dr. Roper has received funding from foundations, industry, the US NIH and NSF and has served on national and international grant panels, Editorial Boards and is Chair of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) poxvirus section. She has published on flavivirus, coronaviruses, poxviruses, and oncolytic viruses and been cited more than 7,000 times.
She is a member of the National Academy of Inventors, an ECU Woman of Distinction, and recipient of the School of Medicine Women’s Advocacy Award and Faculty Senate Extraordinary Service Award. Dr. Roper became interested in faculty gender issues in her roles Chairing: School of Medicine Women’s Faculty Committee, Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Women, School of Medicine Promotion & Tenure Committee, Department Personnel Committee, and Faculty Welfare Committee. She was one of the Principal Investigators on a National Science Foundation grant to advance Women in Science, Engineering, Technology, and Math. She serves on the American Society for Microbiology Inclusive Diversity with Equity, Access, and Accountability (IDEAA) Committee of the Board.
Anna Sher -
Anna Sher Simon is a full professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Denver, where she has been faculty since 2003. For the first seven years she held this position jointly as Director of Conservation and Research at Denver Botanic Gardens. She founded the STEM Women’s Faculty Association and is a vocal supporter of both tenure and teaching line faculty in the sciences. Dr. Sher is now the Faculty Director and Co-PI for DU MERISTEM, an >$1mil. NSF-funded program to increase representation and advancement of women and other historically groups among STEM faculty, a grant she initiated and led.
Off-campus, Anna is very active in her communities to promote equality. She and her wife Fran Simon have received awards for their work testifying for civil unions, and they were given the honor of being the first couple in the state to receive one, May 1, 2013. The Simons have given dozens of media interviews and presentations to groups about LGBTQ+ equality, acting as a literal “poster family” with their son, Jeremy. Anna also serves on the board of Judaism Your Way, a non-profit dedicated to making Jewish life inclusive and accessible.
Dr. Sher’s academic research has focused on restoration ecology and invasive plant species, but she also has published works on a variety of ecological conservation topics. Her lab is the first to use human manager traits and project organization to predict restoration outcomes, work funded by an NSF Coupled Natural and Human Systems grant. She is author of the best- selling textbook An Introduction to Conservation Biology (3e, Oxford University Press), as well as the lead author of Ecology: Concepts and Applications (9e, McGraw Hill Education). She teaches Conservation Biology, Invasive Species Ecology, and Advanced Research Methods and Analysis, and mentors research by both undergraduates and graduate students.
Sara Adibi -
I am an Assistant Professor at San Diego State University (SDSU). Prior to joining SDSU, I was an Assistant Research Professor at the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) at Mississippi State University (MSU). I was a postdoctoral fellow at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, a visiting research fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Houston in the department of civil and environmental engineering prior to joining CAVS. I obtained my PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in collaboration with the Institute of High-Performance Computing (IHPC) in 2015. I received master’s and bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Isfahan University of Technology (IUT), Iran. I conduct research on data-driven and physics-based multiscale material modeling.
Donna DeMarco-
Donna is a tenure-track Computer Science Instructor at Kutztown University teaching software engineering, information technology, and programming language courses. Using project based learning and student driven learning, her mission is to mentor and empower students so they have the skills, creativity, and confidence to solve our wicked problems. Donna is most proud of her students’ Demo Day, a public presentation where software engineering students showcase their products. She also works with St. Luke’s University Healthcare Network Simulation Center’s 3D and Print Innovation Lab “The Cauldron” helping students create prototypes for the healthcare industry, focusing on patients and caregivers needs.
Donna is passionate about STEM education for middle school and post-secondary students. She volunteers with various STEM organizations mentoring students and making them aware of the multitude of STEM careers. Along with Dr. Lisa Frye & Chris Brutschea, Donna started the Girls in CS Symposium, an annual event introducing female high school students to local companies with cool STEM careers.
Donna has over 30 years of high-level project management, software engineering and team building expertise. In 2005, she co-founded Viddler, a video-based platform that enables an employee engagement platform, engaging training delivery, skills coaching, and practice reinforcement. During her career, Donna has provided management, software engineering and team building mentoring to Fortune 100 clients. As an instructor and consultant, she taught and mentored over 2,500 engineers, developers, and managers. Donna worked with and guided clients in the analysis and design of their systems, the adoption of software methods, and building successful teams.
Gertrude Fraser -
Ms. Gertrude Fraser earned degrees from Bryn Mawr College and The Johns Hopkins University, where she completed her Doctorate in Anthropology. She is a tenured associate professor in the department of Anthropology at the University of Virginia.
Within Anthropology her primary area of work has been on the culture of American medicine, with a specialization in reproduction, the ethnohistory of African American’ encounter with the health care system and the work of rural African American midwives in the early to mid twentieth century. Beyond her appointment as a member of the professorate, Dr. Fraser has served in leadership roles at her university as Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and as a Program Officer in Higher Education at the Ford Foundation.
She is P.I. and writer of a five year 3M NSF grant to identify barriers to and improve recruitment and advancement of women faculty in the sciences, engineering mathematics and social sciences. Her current project explores failure narratives in the oral histories of women faculty in STEM. Failure and Failure discovery in STEM is the subject of a recent NSF conference grant, titled “Disclosing Failure, Benefit or Hazard for STEM Women Faculty? Advancing An Equity and Inclusion Perspective.” The conference is scheduled for June 10-12 at the University of Virginia
https://www.failuredisclosure2024.com
Dr. Fraser earned degrees from Bryn Mawr College and The Johns Hopkins University, where she completed her Doctorate in Anthropology.
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