Director of Youth & Artistic Development

Dawn D Valadez

she/her/ella

Dawn D. Valadez is the Director of Youth and Artistic Development at BAVC Media. She is responsible for the youth programs in San Francisco and the East Bay including Reel Stories. Youth programming includes out-of-school time programs, summer camps, and in-school residencies. Dawn co-directs national artistic programming such as the Media Maker Fellowship, Media Maker Connect, and others.

Dawn is a queer Xicana and an award-winning documentary director and producer. She is the Producer/ Co-director of The Pushouts (2018) a film about Dr Victor Rios. Her award-winning first film, Going On 13 (2008), premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She is a producer on several film projects including Madres Qué Luchan with Rodrigo Reyes about the mothers who are fighting for justice for their daughters who have been murdered in Mexico.

Dawn’s work has received awards, funding, and residencies from many incredible organizations and initiatives. She is a member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, FWD-Doc, Film Fatales, the Bay Area Women’s Director Collective, and BAMMS. Dawn received her Master’s degree in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley.