ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
The Face of a Protector: Stories from Standing Rock is a project curated in partnership by Tania Ellersick, Heather Wilson, Aiden Korotkin, & Maggie Lemere. Visit their websites to find out more about their individual work.
Heather Wilson is a documentary-style photographer and digital strategist working on the frontlines of justice movements. Transforming public narrative and policy through digital organizing and storytelling that centers underrepresented voices, she has honed her creative eye and aptitude for campaign strategy while working with communities in Flint, Ferguson, Standing Rock, the U.S.—Mexico border and Afghanistan.
With over fifteen years of experience spanning four continents, Heather is recognized for her innovative multi-platform approach, and deep commitment to amplifying grassroots voices through community-based initiatives and collaborative digital storytelling — transforming complex topics into engaging and actionable content.
Most recently, she has worked on a broad range of digital story-based campaigns including the Flint water crisis, curating veteran voices against the border wall, stopping deportations, protecting public lands from fossil fuel extraction, accountability for police brutality, banning the 'formerly incarcerated' check box on federal job applications, protecting the Affordable Care Act, voter registration, environmental justice, and water rights.
Aiden Korotkin is a DC-based award-winning Director of Photography and Editor. Originally from Michigan, he grew up in the northern suburbs of Detroit with his three younger siblings. Aiden attended Allegheny College in Pennsylvania and graduated with a BA in Communications in 2010. After graduation, he moved to DC to pursue a career in film and worked for a production company on Capitol Hill for two years. In his time spent there, Aiden won two awards for his editing: a Gold Hermes Award for his documentary on the Vermont Healthcare system for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and an Honorable Mention Hermes Award for his promotional video for Calvary Women’s Services.
In 2013, Aiden transitioned to a career in freelancing and has shot films for ESPN, MSNBC, National Geographic Channel, TNT, MTV, VOX, Fusion Media, Capital One, The U.S. Department of State, PBS, AFL-CIO, Everytown for Gun Safety, and for musical artists such as The Knocks and SHAED. He has worked on shows such as the Netflix show “Rotten” and A&E’s “America’s Most Wanted.” Aiden also worked on the award-winning feature documentary, TransMilitary, that premiered at SXSW in 2018. It is currently available for streaming on iTunes. He was also 1st AC for the Emmy-Award winning student film, Riverment. Aiden was also one of the only people allowed into the Lunar Module 2 (LM-2) for filming during its most recent restoration at the National Air and Space Museum before being sealed again for the next few decades.
When he is not making films, Aiden enjoys camping, hiking, backpacking, and satisfying his inner foodie.
Maggie Lemere is a filmmaker, oral historian and storytelling and social change strategist who has worked across the U.S., Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. Maggie is the co-founder of Rhiza, a women-led collective that uses storytelling, healing, organizing, and research to support social transformation and environmental justice—and she is currently directing and producing independent documentary films in the Middle East and Southeast Asia that explore communities' efforts to protect the environment.
Her work also includes founding and hosting the podcast, Bad Feminists Making Films, leading Storytelling for Changemakers workshops globally with Ashoka: Innovators for the Public; acting as oral historian for the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and the DC Oral History Collaborative; and working as storytelling strategist for Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security. Maggie is also on the leadership team of Tuyo Media, a new kind of J School and collaborative network that equips, connects and supports a new, more representative generation of journalists.
Maggie previously published Nowhere to Be Home: Narratives from Burma’s Military Regime. She is passionate about expanding voice and representation in storytelling and film and creating frameworks for high-quality and high-impact collaborative filmmaking.