Who We Are

We are helpers, thinkers, and doers who love what we do. 

Our approach is collaborative and responsive. We draw on 25+ years of experience in the impact and engagement field to support films with vision and perspective. Our team understands the power of a good narrative. Our operating principle: We help build mutually beneficial, respectful partnerships that support communities.

ELIZA LICHT

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Eliza has been working in the social-issue documentary field for 20 years as an engagement strategist, impact producer, and television executive. She works closely with clients to develop their goals and vision for engagement and impact to maximize the impact and visibility of their films. At Red Owl, she creates and executes campaigns that implement overall strategy, partnership development, the production of high-quality educational resources, as well as tracking, measuring, and evaluating impact. Before Red Owl, Eliza spent 17 years building and expanding the community engagement and education department at the PBS documentary series POV. As Vice President of Content Strategy and Engagement, she set priorities and direction for the organization, along with EPs and fellow executive staff, oversaw the Community Engagement, Communication, and Programs departments, worked closely with the programming team on series selection, and spearheaded broadcast campaigns for over 250 films. Under Licht’s leadership, POV saw a 1000% increase in events, including over 800 screenings annually, and over 46,000 direct engagements with in-person audience members. Eliza has served on juries for DOC NYC, Hot Springs Film Festival, and Brooklyn Film Festival, and on funding panels for the National Endowment of the Arts, Black Public Media, and the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage.

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ALICE QUINLAN

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Alice is an impact and engagement consultant with more than eight years of experience using storytelling to drive social change. At Red Owl, she leads campaigns with responsive strategies and an eye for creative partnerships and community-based work. Previously, as the Director of Community Engagement and Education at POV, Alice developed strategic national engagement campaigns for POV documentaries, produced resources around POV's features, shorts and digital projects, and facilitated 700+ free screenings nationwide every year with her team. Prior to joining POV in 2014, she founded the KRTS Youth Media Project in Marfa, TX, a part of PBS Student Reporting Labs, and managed the American Graduate campaign at Marfa Public Radio, a project of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Her reporting work has appeared on Monocle Radio, Marfa Public Radio, PRX: ReMix with Roman Mars, Fronteras: The Changing America Desk and in Wherever Magazine and The Big Bend Sentinel. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in Philosophy.

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NYASHA LAING

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Nyasha Laing is a seasoned impact strategist who brings experience as a documentarian, international lawyer, and cultural practitioner into her innovative work to drive inclusion and transformation through storytelling. She has worked with award-winning artists and intergovernmental, academic, and cultural institutions in over 10 countries. Nyasha’s independent storytelling has been featured in dozens of film festivals and on public television and radio. She is a graduate of Yale University and NYU School of Law.

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JAVIER RIVERA DEBRUIN

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Javier Rivera DeBruin is an impact producer and audience engagement strategist. Recent documentary campaigns include PHILLY D.A. (2021, Sundance Film Festival, Independent Lens), DISCLOSURE (2020, Sundance Film Festival, Netflix), BEDLAM (2019, Sundance Film Festival, Independent Lens), ROLL RED ROLL (2018, Tribeca Film Festival, POV, BBC), and TRANS IN TRUMPLAND (2021, Topic). They participated in the Fledgling Fund’s 2018 Engagement Lab to maximize social impact in film. Prior to this they implemented fundraising and engagement tactics in broadway and national non-profit theatre with Roundabout Theatre Company and Center Theatre Group. Javi holds a BA in Theatre and Latin American Studies from Smith College.

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LILY DONNELL

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Lily Donnell works as an impact coordinator for Red Owl. She holds a B.A in French Language and English Literature from Lewis & Clark College and spent a year studying at Université de Strasbourg in France. After moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles, Lily interned briefly in the legal field before transitioning into impact coordination for films like Roll Red Roll and on Red Owl's various projects. These experiences have solidified her interest in working on documentary films with a social issue focus. A new voice in the documentary space, she continues to broaden her knowledge and experience in social impact and engagement strategy while contributing to impact campaigns as a part of the Red Owl team.

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VIE DARLING

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Vie Darling works as an impact coordinator for Red Owl. Vie is currently wrapping up a BFA in New Genres with a minor focus in Film & Screen Studies. While Vie is emerging in the realm of documentary, they have been operating in social impact as a community organizer and activist since 2012, specializing in event production and mutual aid efforts. They often use arts activism as a means for addressing topics such as mental health and illness, human rights (especially BIPOC and LGBTQIA+), environmental justice, and promoting accessible education. As an Impact Coordinator, Vie uses their research and design skills to deepen into the possibilities of intermingling entertainment media and social impact in meaningful ways.

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KATIE SOLITO

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Katie Solito is an accomplished educator, with fifteen years of experience in diverse public high schools and adult education settings. Holding a Masters in Secondary English Education, Katie brings her knowledge of curriculum design, learner theory, and engagement strategy to the impact space. Hailing from the South, Katie has the gift of gab and an understanding of folks from all political persuasions. She is excited to further her reach beyond the classroom by supporting activism and outreach for issue driven films. Katie has worked on the impact campaign for the Emmy Award winning documentary BELLY OF THE BEAST as well as developing curriculum and outreach strategy for the docudrama INTO DUST. She supports the team at Red Owl with her thorough research, design skills, and discerning judgment.

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MADELEINE CLAIRE KELLEY

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Madeleine comes from a background in impact and community engagement in theater, and worked previously for The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, whose mission is to humanize global politics through performance by cultivating a community of artists, activists, and citizens to create art that sparks transformation and change. Her theater-making, artistic learning facilitation, and production work has engaged her with diverse global communities in differing contexts. Madeleine holds an MFA from the NYU Graduate Acting Program, and a BA from Georgetown University.

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