Alum News: Agent of Change

Jeanine Daniels Flipping the Script as Screenwriter & Storyteller

By Elan Carson, WriteGirl Volunteer

Former WriteGirl mentee Jeanine Daniels is making headlines for all the “write” reasons. Her latest short film “Social Media Movement” is currently airing on TV One as part of the "Change Agents: History in the Making" series in honor of Black History Month.

Joining WriteGirl in her teens, Jeanine began to hone her gift for crafting stories by working with a mentor who was a professional screenwriter. Though she resisted signing up for the program at first for fear of giving up her Saturdays, she ended up sticking with it for three years.

Once leaving the program, Jeanine went on to further develop her creative writing strengths at Pitzer College, where she received a full scholarship.

Her studies combined with her tenacity to keep moving and creating has helped Daniels launch a successful career. She doesn’t consider herself a screenwriter however, instead opting for the nomenclature “storyteller.”

This suits her well, as last year she was presented with the Rising Star award for African American Women in Cinema Women of Excellence, which honored her for "The Guy" and "The Couple.” The latter short, described as a “groundbreaking web series,” was picked up by HBO for a pilot.

In addition to being a strong force in the film industry in a time where diversity is sorely needed and women are still underrepresented behind the scenes making up only single digit numbers in the television/film industry, Jeanine loves to give back. She volunteers her time representing the program and works with current mentees, offering them the chance to intern on her media projects.

Click to see Jeanine Daniels in Agents of Change

Photo credit: Brandon W Banks