Diane Robinson
Founder of Yard Girl Productions Miami, FL Award Year: 2021Diane Robinson is a social entrepreneur and filmmaker with over two decades of experience as a teacher and nonprofit leader. A first-generation African-American college graduate and trained system leader, she brings decades of experience working on the front lines of social change in low-income communities. She is a movement builder who has worked extensively in the US and globally to launch and scale high performing organizations like Teach For America, the KIPP Foundation, Teach For All and Global Nomads Group. She founded Yard Girl Productions to develop and produce stories that make a social impact on pressing issues facing society. A believer in the power of film to change mindsets and behavior, Diane is currently working on a documentary entitled The Young Vote, which follows young activists from diverse backgrounds during the 2020 election. She is a Pahara Education Fellow at the Aspen Institute, the co-president of the South Florida Vassar Club and a founding board member of Teach First Jamaica.
Diane used her award to complete her first film, The Young Vote, which follows five young people in during the 2020 election season and reveals structural challenges that are holding back young people from voting as well as inspiring more young people to expand their civic engagement.
The rough cut has received positive feedback and Diane has been encouraged to enter the film in the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. She plans to screen the film in high schools, especially in low-income communities and communities of color.
Diane recently participated in a webinar: Gen Z & the Rejection of Party Politics, with the Open Primaries Education Fund and Civics Unplugged.