Kelly Whalen

Kelly Whalen is a non-fiction film director and producer, and a Berkeley City College faculty member of the Multimedia Department, where she teaches video arts (film production, cinematography and editing.) She recently co-created and produced a PBS Digital Studios' health and wellness social media series for women, Wellness Inside Out, the studio's second-most engaged with social series during that period. Previously she worked for eight years as a senior producer for San Francisco's PBS/NPR affiliate KQED, and worked as an independent filmmaker for more than a decade. At KQED, she led arts and culture video coverage and special projects featuring the region’s creative communities and beyond, and created and senior-produced the YouTube hit series If Cities Could Dance, featuring dancers from across the country who represent their cities' history and identity through their signature moves. She and her KQED team were awarded 17 industry awards, including several Webby Awards, regional Northern California Emmys, and recognition from the Society of Professional Journalism - Northern California. Documentaries. Kelly's work has examined crucial issues of our times, including hate-motivated violence, corruption in drug law enforcement, the impact of gun violence on Black and Brown communities, the toxic legacy of uranium mining on Native lands, and recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and wildfires in Northern California. Her work has been programmed at SXSW Film Festival and at film festivals around the world; broadcast and streamed by MSNBC, PBS NewsHour, the New York Times, The Guardian, and the San Francisco Chronicle. When she is not making films and video or supporting her students, Kelly is cheering on her teenage son on the basketball court, community gardening, or chilling with her dog and cat, Coco and Diego who went viral on Instagram.