August 14th, 2016
The F.R.A.M.E. program’s partnership with Scenic Hudson resulted in an incredible professional film that’s covered here.
“Called Poughkeepsie, Connected, the nine-minute film follows two teenagers (Christopher Bird and Constantine Jackson) as they walk southward along the riverfront, from Walkway Over the Hudson through Upper Landing, Waryas and Kaal Rock parks. In addition to exploring these existing assets, the youth learn about the need to provide better links between them and the downtown.”
Read the rest of the article here.
July 14th, 2016
Northhampton University (UK) covers the 7th Biennial Slayage Conference On the Whedonverses (it briefly mentions the paper I presented with Dr. Lorna Jowett).
April 13th 2016
I was invited to La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA to give a plenary address as well as give a guest lecture to an undergraduate seminar.
September 2015
Spark Media Project received an award commending the organization for its institutional inclusivity. We’re proud to work with a very diverse group of people and we celebrate our neuro-divergent team members!
March 2015
June 19th, 2015
I had the chance to design a series of Shakespeare residencies in 12th grade ELA classes revolving around adapting the bard’s plays into stop-motion animation shorts.
Read the Poughkeepsie City School District’s write-up here.
http://sparkmediaproject.org/shakespeare-in-motion/
January 24th, 2015
Hudson Valley News Network covered the ribbon-cutting even officially celebrating the switchover from Children’s Media Project to Spark Media Project. And I got to hold the oversized scissors!
http://hudsonvalleynewsnetwork.com/2015/01/24/spark-media-project-inspires-hudson-valleys-youth/
November 21st, 2014
In collaboration with the Beacon Indie Film Festival, I taught a “weekend whirlwind” filmmaking intensive workshop at the Howland Library in Beacon that caught the attention of Hudson Valley News Network. The fabulous Donna Reyer brings you the story…
Read the write-up and watch the video here. To hear me wax pedagogical over digital media and 21st-Century learning trends, skip to 1:19.
June 22nd, 2014
I delivered a talk entitled “It’s About Power: Critical Race Theory Across The Whedonverses” as a featured plenary address at the 6th biennial Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses. The below is the journal’s coverage of my speech.
Read the rest of the official Slayage conference report here!
Read a review of SCW6 by the brilliant Jennifer K Stuller’s write-up here.
October 1st, 2014
Hudson Valley News Network produced this video about Spark Media Project’s 2014 Reel Expressions International Youth Film Festival (I’m onstage at the Bardavon at 3:30). On a side note, it’s odd and unsettling to think of Spark now under its old name, Children’s Media Project. Feels wrong.
February 26th, 2014
Vassar’s Miscellany News provided the following writeup of a panel in which I participated, “Diversity In Nerd Culture,”at NonCon 2014.
December 10th, 2013
” . . . thank you for taking the time to come and speak with my Juvenile Delinquency class this semester. It was a perfect presentation to what we have studied about youth, their struggles, and community efforts to support them. It was particularly relevant as I found myself frequently referring back to your program and its components throughout the rest of the semester. It is a good example of many areas that we study and students always remember lessons that include a hands-on learning experience. So I am very grateful to you for coming and hope that I might call upon you again next Fall [semester] when I teach the course again.”
— Donna Chaffee, LCSW, Professor/Concentration in Human Services, Department of Sociology, SUNY New Paltz
December 4th, 2013
” . . . we would like to thank you for your participation in the 5th Annual Youth Forum for High School Students. We appreciate the time you spent with the Forum attendees. They really enjoyed the activity on stop-motion animation. You gave the attendees the ability to critique advertising messages and images that could cause stress and you raised their awareness of misleading messages and images that could cause stress and you raised their awareness of misleading messages that often appear in advertisements.
Once again, thank you for the time and energy you gave to share your knowledge and services with Dutchess County’s youth.”
— June Ellen Notaro, Director of Division of Youth Services / Noah Merritt, Executive Director of Educational Programs, Dutchess B.O.C.E.S., after a hands-on workshop for over 100 youth on November 20th 2013.
August 7th 2013 Vassar Newsletter
In which I am quoted regarding the benefits the Vassar Community Fellows Program bring to Children’s Media Project and to Poughkeepsie nonprofits in general.
March 2nd 2013 Times Daily News (Florence, AL):
March 1st, 2013 Country Wisdom News (Kerhonkson, NY)
Continue reading here:
http://www.countrywisdomnews.com/2013_03_01_archive.html
February 27, 2013
“Mary Ellen has an uncanny ability to dive into the most complex, controversial areas of human identity and cultural construction, and to guide adolescents through lessons that lead to self-discovery and profound insights about how our minds are influenced by media messages and dominant cultural symbols. A passionate educator, she makes this information immediate and relevant to their lives by incorporating pop culture analysis (such as “The Rue Snafu”—the ignorant public response to the film The Hunger Games) and stretching their minds to take a second look at cultural constructions that can be taken for granted and internalized. While many shy away from tackling these issues of stereotype and prejudice in the classroom, Mary Ellen’s professional presentation, extensive knowledge base, and compassionate demeanor make the experience of venturing into these sometimes rough waters not only a feasible task, but also an immensely rewarding learning experience. Students and educators alike will benefit from Mary Ellen’s work, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with her on such meaningful learning.”
– Beck Rourke-Mooney, 8th grade ELA teacher, Poughkeepsie Day School, after guest lecture and workshop on stereotypes and media
June 2012 Breaking the Silence (WHVW 950 AM)
Guest Appearance on AM radio show, in which I speak about popular culture’s tendency to trivialize domestic violence and its impact on everyday behavior.
Listen here:
August 2010 Hudson River Valley Institute Newsletter
Excerpt from review of 2010 Teaching the Hudson Valley conference: “Mary Ellen Iatropoulos gave a great presentation on how to integrate video editing, literature, and the environment into a single lesson.”
http://www.hudsonrivervalley.org/about/pdfs/newsletters/summer2010newsletter.pdf
March 2008 READ.IT.NOW.Zine
READITNOW Interview 2008 (PDF)
June 2007 Poughkeepsie Journal
