Emmy winning filmmaker, writer, storyteller for Essay Tutoring

Elena M.

I’m a 6-time Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. I’ve produced films and series for platforms including CBS Reports, 60 Minutes, ABC, and PBS. I’m also a published author. I’m working now on a new feature doc and book project. I bring exceptional experience in print and video to helping high school, college and graduate students starting their own journeys.

I have a B.A. from Smith College, where I majored in political science, and an M.A. in International Politics from Johns Hopkins S.A.I.S. I set out to become a journalist, initially thinking of print, but got a job in documentary film and found my career, which called for both visual and written narrative ability as a teller of real-life stories. I’ve authored two books released by mainstream publishers.

I’ve shared my skills in print and video as an adjunct professor at three universities. Between projects, I’ve taught semesters of undergrad broadcast journalism at NYU, undergrad News Literacy at Stonybrook, and graduate video memoir production at The New School, a course which focused on one-on-one interactive coaching through the editing and writing of first-person narration.

I welcome opportunities to coach college essays, written or on video. I find great satisfaction in the interactive process, guiding students to find the story they want to tell and do it with clarity and impact. I am an expert interviewer, able to draw people out and be themselves. I take time to tease out the most compelling aspects of your life story. Then we work through the process. I help you to find the best narrative structure and story-telling techniques which will impress admission officers. I’m a supportive mentor. I want the creation of your essay to be an exciting journey as we go through revising and editing until there’s a polished final product that makes us both proud.