Monique Anair
Dr. Monique Anair is a researcher who uses filmmaking to share the stories she finds. Anair earned her BS in Film from Emerson College and completed her graduate work with the University of New Mexico and the University of North Dakota. She spent a decade in Hollywood as a 35mm motion picture technician and cinematographer for commercials and music videos before moving to New Mexico. After working on the documentary film Colors Straight Up with Director Michele Ohayon in 1997, Anair began to pursue projects that shared student stories from across the United States. She has won awards for her cinematography at the Houston, Sedona, and Willamette Valley film festivals. Anair began teaching in 2000 and has taught cinematography, editing, and film producing for Santa Fe Community College, Institute for American Indian Art, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter, GirlsFilmSchool, and Seattle Film Institute.
Anair’s most recent filmmaking work is linked with her research about non-credit workforce training students in New Mexico https://www.scholars.org/contribution/expanding-opportunity-scholarship-strengthen.
Anair currently serves as the full-time Director of Workforce Development at Santa Fe Community College, where she manages multiple state and federal grants supporting the development of non-credit workforce training programs in industries from filmmaking and artificial intelligence to home energy auditing and fiber optic installation. In May 2025, Anair worked with film Producer, Jon Diener (Los Angeles), Producer and UNM Alumna, Samantha Gordon (Albuquerque), and New Mexico Business Owner, Ryan Halsey (Serious Grippage and Light Company) to pilot a mentorship program for recent film school graduates in New Mexico. Anair’s research and filmmaking have been featured by the Association for the Study Higher Education (ASHE) and the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM).
Anair is a recipient of the New Mexico Women in Film Sage Award, a former Fellow with the Women’s International Study Center and is a recurring guest speaker with the Santa Fe Community Foundation.