About Speaker

Dawn Jones Redstone is a queer, Mexican American writer/director and former union carpenter based in Portland, Oregon. Before becoming a filmmaker, she spent nine years as Training Manager at Oregon Tradeswomen, leading programs that brought countless women into living-wage careers in the trades. Drawing on years of firsthand experience as one of the few women and people of color on job sites, she directed Sista in the Brotherhood, distributed by Collective Eye and recognized by the Governor of Oregon and the U.S. Department of Labor. In addition to several festival awards, the film has been used nationwide in classrooms, at union halls, and in equity trainings, becoming a catalyst for change in the conversation about race and gender in construction.

A self-taught filmmaker and Creative Director, Dawn’s work centers women of color and explores themes of resistance, resilience, and self-actualization. Her award-winning Latine-led debut feature, Mother of Color, is now streaming on major platforms in 25 countries. Her upcoming feature Appliance of Science about a woman reconnecting with her feelings is currently in development. She continues to create bold, socially conscious films, mentor emerging filmmakers, and use her hiring practices to build inclusive sets that reflect the diverse and complex world we live in. And she still dreams of making Sista in the Brotherhood into a feature film...if she can find the financing!