Sylvia Johnson

Sylvia is a filmmaker and impact strategist, and the Creative Director of Free Roaming Studios, a small production company dedicated to visual storytelling to inspire action. An American in the broadest sense of the word, she was born in Bolivia andraised in South, Central, and North America. Her work focuses on humanizing stories of conservation, injustice, and hope while inspiring strategic action towards change. With a background as a 3rd Culture Kid, she brings a unique transcultural perspective to everything she does.

Sylvia’s work has screened at film festivals around the world, US Congress, the Department of Interior, dozens of universities and civic institutions, museums such as SITE Santa Fe and the Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, and theatrically through Gathr Films. Sylvia started her career as a Fulbright Scholar with a project called Media Arts and Education for Social Change in Brazil. As a current National Geographic Explorer, she has created a project about marine plastic pollution in the Mexican Caribbean, and taught Storytelling for Conservation at Akagera National Park in Rwanda. Sylvia holds an MFA in Film and Media Arts from American University, a Certificate in International Development and Social Change from the Middlebury Institute for International Studies, and a BA in International Studies from Middlebury College. She is a member-owner of New Day Films and a member of Her Wild Vision initiative.