Maggie Stogner Professor Film and Media Arts
- Additional Positions at AU
- Executive Director, Center for Environmental Filmmaking
- Fellow, Center for Media and Social Impact
- Professor, Film and Media Arts
- Degrees
- MA Communication/Documentary Film, Stanford University; BA French Literature/Film, San Francisco State University
- Favorite Spot on Campus
- Anywhere outdoors
- Bio
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Maggie Burnette Stogner is the Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking (www.environmentalfilm.org) and a professor of Film and Media Arts. She brings over 30 years of filmmaking experience to the Center and to the classroom. During her nine years at National Geographic, she produced, directed and wrote numerous documentaries, and was senior producer of the award-winning weekly programs Explorer and Ultimate Explorer. Her recent films include the award-winning "Upstream, Downriver" (2022) www.upstreamdownriver.org, "Unbreathable - The Fight For Healthy Air" (2020) www.unbreathable.org, and "In the Executioner's Shadow" (2018), which are distributed by New Day Films, www.newday.com. She also directed, produced, and wrote the broadcast documentary "Gold Mountain" (2016) about pioneering Chinese in the West. She is founder of Blue Bear Films (maggiebluebear.media) and has an impressive record of creating documentaries as well as immersive media for world-touring cultural exhibitions for National Geographic, the Smithsonian, LucasFilms, and others. Her award-winning work includes two King Tut exhibitions; The Greeks; Real Pirates; Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures; Indiana Jones and Adventure of Archaeology; and Roads of Arabia.
She is committed to creating opportunities for experiential learning through high-impact creative production labs that embrace diversity and inclusion. Her work embodies the belief that compelling storytelling and multi-format media have the power to inspire and to be a catalyst for meaningful change. Collaborating with the next generation of media makers is a critical part of this endeavor.
Her scholarship explores engagement and impact design in film, immersive, and emerging media with a focus on exploring humanistic storytelling through 21st century media technologies. She has published articles in academic journals such as "Curator" and "The International Journal of New Media, Technology and the Artsā.
- See Also
- For the Media
- To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.
Teaching
Fall 2024
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COMM-438 Production Practicum: Archival Storytellng Nat'l Geo
Spring 2025
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COMM-524 Producing for Documentaries
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COMM-638 Production Practicum: Natl Park Service Video Proj
Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities
Selected Publications
AU Experts
Area of Expertise
Environmental, conservation, nature, science, social documentary filmmaking and communication strategy. Climate communication, film & digital production and industry, visual & immersive storytelling, independent filmmaking.
Additional Information
Maggie Burnette Stogner is the Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking (www.environmentalfilm.org) and a professor of Film and Media Arts at American University in Washington, D.C.. She brings over 30 years of filmmaking experience to the Center and to the classroom. She was on staff at National Geographic TV & Film for nearly a decade where she produced, directed and wrote numerous documentaries, and was senior producer of the award-winning series EXPLORER. In 2005, she launched the independent media company Blue Bear Films (http://www.bluebearfilms.com/), creating films and immersive media for world-touring cultural exhibitions for National Geographic, the Smithsonian, LucasFilms, and others. She creates documentaries and outreach campaigns that inspire and inform, including the award-winning "Unbreathable - the Fight For Healthy Air" (2020), "In the Executioner's Shadow" (2018), āGold Mountainā (2016), and others. Her leadership at the Center For Environmental Filmmaking seeks to empower media makers to be advocates for our planet and catalysts for positive change. CEF builds diversity and equity through its programs, experiential learning, and inclusive filmmaking. Through its research, the Center propels a leading vision for the future: CEF - Impact Media Report2020: Creative, Collaborative & Outreach Strategies for Nature, Environmental and Science Films. She is a judge for the Emmy Awards and Jackson Wild Media Awards; a senior reviewer for the International League of Conservation Photographers; Advisory Board Member of DC-Environmental Film Festival; voting member of the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences; and an Executive Member of Women in Film and Video.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.