Paola Mendoza

Artistic Director for the Women’s March, Critically Acclaimed Director & Author

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Biography

Paola Mendoza is a film director, activist, author and artist working at the leading-edge of human rights. A co-founder of The Women’s March, she served as its Artistic Director and co-authored the New York Times best seller Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard around the World. Read More >

Paola’s most recent book Sanctuary was released to critical acclaim by Penguin. Ms. Mendoza is also a film director whose films have premiered at the most prestigious film festivals around the world. Her films have thoughtfully tackled the complex issues of poverty and immigration on women and children in the United States.

She was named Glamour’s Woman of the Year in 2017 and one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. She is a co-founder of The Soze Agency and is a co-founder of The Resistance Revival Chorus, the critically acclaimed women’s chorus that believes, “Joy is an act of resistance.” Read Less ^

Speaker Videos

Artist… We Need You

UnidosUS Annual Conference Latinas Brunch

Speech Topics

The Role of the Artist in Times of Crisis

As the Artistic Director of the Women's March, a critically acclaimed filmmaker and author, and an immigration activist, Paola's unique perspective and experience allows her to delve into the importance of art and the artist in times of crisis. Paola is an activist and a mother determined to raise a son that is not only a feminist and social justice warrior, but someone who is committed to eradicating inequities. Her son's first protest was when he was six months old and he has accompanied her to many more in his 8 years of life. Paola discusses how she is raising a son that believes that Black Lives Matter, Immigrants are welcome here and we should all be feminists, through art, culture, and organizing. In this compelling presentation, Paola discusses the role that the artist plays in times of crisis, drawing on her work at the Soze Agency, a worker-owned creative social impact company that tackles issues with awareness-raising campaigns, and her unique personal story of resilience, compassion and dedication to change.