Dawn Valadez

DAWN VALADEZ, PRODUCER/CO-DIRECTOR, is a filmmaker, social worker, artist, youth development specialist, resource wrangler and impact strategist. Her award-winning feature documentary GOING ON 13 premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. It follows the stories of four girls of color as they transform from 9 year old little girls into 13 year old teen-women, examining via an intimate, verite-driven approach the experience of young women growing up in America.
In addition to spearheading THE PUSHOUTS impact campaign, Valadez is in production on her feature documentary TEACHER LIKE ME, which she is directing and producing. The film tells the stories of five leaders of color striving to become teachers in a system that once failed them. Once wrapped, TEACHER LIKE ME will complete Valadez's trilogy on race, class, education and coming of age in the 21st Century U.S.

AAPF19 Closing Session

The PUSHOUTS
​Join RAPSA in welcoming Dawn Valadez a filmmaker and activist who produced the award-winning documentary, THE PUSHOUTS.  The film tells the story of the one-in-three Latino and Black students nationally who do not graduate, are pushed into low-paying jobs, and - too often – the criminal justice and mass incarceration systems.  She will be providing a private screening of her film “The Pushouts” to close the Policy Forum on Friday, November 15 and will answer questions about what the movie means and how you can use it in your communities to tell the stories of at-promise students and help bring focus to our work.  Plan on staying until the end of the conference.  You don’t want to miss the film or the conversation with Dawn Valadez.  THE PUSHOUTS captures the story of your students with an unusual degree of hope and inspiration, systemic critique, and aesthetic nuance.