Category: Pioneers in Skirts

We’ll be in Boulder, CO. June 15-19!

For immediate release: MEDIA ALERT

Special Invitation: Ashley Maria is a director and pioneer for women. An award-winning filmmaker, Ashley realized her confidence and ambition had been slowly chipping away over time. She set out on a journey to find out why it happened and what she can do about it. On a quest since 2012; Ashley is traveling across America speaking to the people who can teach her how to avoid a ‘career-game’ she doesn’t want to play, and find a way to change the game.

What: Pioneers in Skirts is a full feature documentary that follows our Director, Ashley Maria, as she interviews people about the obstacles and setbacks working women face and how to deal with them in the workplace. Pioneers in Skirts follows Ashley Maria as she searches for the answer to her question: “How do we once and for all create an environment that allows me, and all women, to achieve our full career potential?”

Filmed in conversation—style documentary so that it appeals to their audience’s own experiences and emotions, Pioneers in Skirts presents the topic through the eyes of the women who are experiencing these biases now, and finds strategies for successfully overcoming them by interviewing women and men who are experts on the topic. This film shows every woman how to be a pioneer in pursuit of her career — and how to play her own career advancement game.

When/Where: June 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 – 2015 at various Boulder locations including The Foundry Group and downtown

Who/Why: The Pioneers in Skirts crew is traveling to Boulder to interview area experts on the obstacles women experience in their careers.

Film Links:
Teaser: https://vimeo.com/98785658
Website: ashley-maria.com
Twitter: @Pioneersnskirts | Facebook: PioneersinSkirts | Instagram: pioneersinskirts
Director on Twitter: @AshleyMaria

Nonprofit Fundraiser For The Film:
https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/fiscal/profile?id=10872
The team behind Pioneers in Skirts is currently raising funds to finish the film.

Media Inquiries and Pictures: http://www.sleddogg.com/pioneers-in-skirts-media-inquiries/

Who may be contacted you?
Lauren McDonald
Public Relations Major at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Publicity volunteer for Pioneers in Skirts

►To schedule an interview with Ashley Maria during the Boulder shoot please contact the Producers at PioneersInSkirts [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][@] gmail.com.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Growing the story in February

Our crew traveled to Nebraska to interview Major General Heidi V. Brown. The people we met were amazing!

General Brown is the Director of Global Operations, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. She is responsible to the commander on matters of situational awareness, command and control, integrated plans, and global nuclear, cyber, and space operations.

When we met up with her at her home, General Brown had just transitioned from her previous position in Alabama as the Director for Test for the Missile Defense Agency.

Nebraska Update Video (59 sec)

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_vimeo id=”121737694″ width=”600″ height=”350″ autoplay=”no” api_params=”” class=””/]

General Heidi V. Brown is the first —

As Commander of the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade, General Brown was the first woman to command and lead a brigade into combat and has the added distinction of being the first female general in the Air Defense Artillery branch. But does she like being called “the first woman?” Well…it’s certainly nice to be the “first,” but when we asked her, General Brown told us she felt it’s much nicer to be recognized as an accomplished general, no matter the gender.

We got involved in something BIG happening in San Jose, Ca April 23-25! If you’re in the engineering field and are looking to elevate your career — you should attend!With a theme of Lead Beyond, Accelerating Innovative Women Who Change the World, the conference will focus on leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship educational tracks. 500 mid-level to senior-level technical professionals will be attending.Pioneers in Skirts is a proud Media Sponsor of this ‪IEEE‬ event.

Want to go? Use this code to get a 10% discount: WIE2015PIONEERS and click here to register: http://ieee-wie-ilc.org/

What’s happening in March?

In March we’re filming in Raleigh, NC! We will be following members of the Yeti Robotics team at the FIRST Robotics tournament March 19-21.

Check out a short clip about robotic team member Maddy, one of the young ladies we feature in the film.

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_vimeo id=”118851559″ width=”600″ height=”350″ autoplay=”no” api_params=”” class=””/]

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Gerneral Heidi V Brown IEEE WIE Offutt Air Force base

What happened in January? A lot!

We’ve been doin’ it in January? Pioneers in Skirts exhibits the “empowerment of choice” by meeting the women who have, who are, or who will be facing choices in their careers. How did they do it and how can we learn from them? With that in mind, we hit the ground running on January 2nd to continue to follow teenagers Maddy & Sophia and new mom Lily!

What’s next? In February we head to Nebraska. Why would this crew (who loves being in warm weather) go to Nebraska in February? Well…there’s a special story there that just can’t wait. We’ll share that with you next month!

When we told Lenovo that we needed laptops to travel with us to film sets you won’t believe what we got! Thank you Lenovo!!

A ThinkPad Yoga 2-in-1 convertible notebook with a high-end processor AND a Yoga Tablet 2 Pro with built in projector and JBL speakers!

One of our Experts in the film, Kat Cole keeps inspiring us. Cinnabon’s current President, Kat Cole, was promoted to take on a larger role with the parent company as Group President, FOCUS Brands!

What Can You Do?

Write about us! Interview us. We WANT to share what we’ve learned!
Invite us to present our findings at your next meeting or convention!
Help us to find sponsors and donors! Monetary and in-kind support ensures the success of this film.
Sponsor the making of Pioneers in Skirts!

To SPONSOR or to DONATE, please click here!

WHO ARE THEY?
Maddy & Sophia, both 14, have had to decide what career to go after. Yes! At 14! Even though they should be just now discovering their career goals – they both had an opportunity they could not pass up. We continue to follow them to find out what happens. They are confident and determined, and we show in the film how they found their voice at such a young age!Lily is a millennial who recently had her first child. We first met Lily before she became pregnant. Soon after she found out the good news, she decided to wait to announce her pregnancy in fear that her employer would not grant her the promotion she so deserved. Why did she feel she needed to keep it a secret? We followed her and learned that her instincts were right. Now that she’s had her baby, what’s next for Lily and her career? Is she already experiencing the “motherhood penalty”? Is this Lily’s future?

WHO IS THAT IN THE BANNER PICTURE?
Well that’s Nicole Jefferies – a global business executive. On weekends she is a high performance driving coach for national motorsports organizations and a volunteer instructor for teen defensive driving schools. In September we visited Nicole at work and on the track. We learned how she applies her racetrack skills in the workplace; how she stays focused and present at work.

Thanks for reading! And thank you for being in our corner!!
Ashley & Lea-Ann

The film encourages every woman to be a pioneer in her own career.

A film funded with grants and individual & corporate donors, our aim is to better prepare the next generation of working women for these obstacles so that one day these obstacles will become a thing of the past. You can watch a promotional trailer for Pioneers in Skirts here: https://vimeo.com/98785658.

Holiday Greetings from Pioneers in Skirts

Season’s Greetings

As you celebrate the holidays, know that we are grateful for YOU!

Ashley, Lea-Ann and the team at Pioneers in Skirts wish you an enjoyable and festive holiday and best wishes for the new year.

We’ve been filming since 2012. In the coming year we will continue to film women around the country and enhance the story with expert interviews. Follow along and be part of it!

Thank you to YOU!

Dear Pioneers in Skirts Family,

In this time of gratitude we reflect on the things we are most grateful for:

– the generosity of the many people who have shared their knowledge, personal journeys, and lessons-learned with us

– the women who help to bring the story to life on camera

– those who believe in Pioneers in Skirts — and in us!

2015 is going to be a busy year for the film — and we know you’ve got our backs! Thank you all for that.

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_youtube id=”25LClcHR3cg” width=”600″ height=”350″ autoplay=”no” api_params=”” class=””/]

Featured “Behind The Scenes” Video

About the film:

Pioneers in Skirts is a feature documentary aimed at preparing a next generation of women to achieve their potential in the workplace.

On behalf of the team dedicated to bringing Pioneers in Skirts to you, we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.

Ashley Maria and Lea-Ann W. Berst

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]