What does it take to go from a small town in Nebraska to becoming an award-winning documentary filmmaker? Join me as I sit down with the incredibly talented Sally Nelson to discover her journey, the mentors who inspired and shaped her, and the approach she takes to connect with her subjects and bring their stories to life for her audiences. We also discuss the best advice she's ever received and how it has helped her create meaningful relationships and connections.
Sally opens up about her powerful series of films focusing on mental health, poverty, early childhood education, health and wellness, and STEM in Nebraska's public schools. Get an inside look at the compelling stories being told in North Platte, Nebraska, and hear about Sally's biggest revelation while creating this documentary series. We also explore the importance of mentorship and the profound impact of Ms. Williams, a mentor who changed Sally's life.
Finally, we dive into Sally's new initiative to end the teacher shortage through a documentary film and impact campaign. We discuss the captivating idea of a campaign called "Who Taught You?" and the importance of elevating the teaching profession. Don't miss this inspiring conversation as we uncover Sally's story of resilience, success, and her mission to make a difference in the world of education.
iloveps.org and whotaughtyou.org
iloveps.org contains hundreds of short films about great things happening in public schools as well as films about the struggles they face.
With 4Freedom, all your communications, internet activity, and app usage are encrypted using multiple layers of robust, military-grade encryption algorithms that surpass the standards used by the NSA.
You can start your secure account today:
https://www.4freedommobile.com?ref=bridgebuilders
What does it take to go from a small town in Nebraska to becoming an award-winning documentary filmmaker? Join me as I sit down with the incredibly talented Sally Nelson to discover her journey, the mentors who inspired and shaped her, and the approach she takes to connect with her subjects and bring their stories to life for her audiences. We also discuss the best advice she's ever received and how it has helped her create meaningful relationships and connections.
Sally opens up about her powerful series of films focusing on mental health, poverty, early childhood education, health and wellness, and STEM in Nebraska's public schools. Get an inside look at the compelling stories being told in North Platte, Nebraska, and hear about Sally's biggest revelation while creating this documentary series. We also explore the importance of mentorship and the profound impact of Ms. Williams, a mentor who changed Sally's life.
Finally, we dive into Sally's new initiative to end the teacher shortage through a documentary film and impact campaign. We discuss the captivating idea of a campaign called "Who Taught You?" and the importance of elevating the teaching profession. Don't miss this inspiring conversation as we uncover Sally's story of resilience, success, and her mission to make a difference in the world of education.
iloveps.org and whotaughtyou.org
iloveps.org contains hundreds of short films about great things happening in public schools as well as films about the struggles they face.
With 4Freedom, all your communications, internet activity, and app usage are encrypted using multiple layers of robust, military-grade encryption algorithms that surpass the standards used by the NSA.
You can start your secure account today:
https://www.4freedommobile.com?ref=bridgebuilders
Hey you awesome folks. Thanks for taking this journey of discovery with your guide, keith Haney. You're listening to the Becoming Bridge Builders podcast, your favorite podcast for everything from racial reconciliation to education, innovation, justice reform and leading change in the 21st century. This podcast is for people who love to be challenged with difficult topics but want practical solutions to solve these challenging issues. Becoming Bridge Builders makes change possible. Each week on the podcast, keith invites innovative thought leaders to share how they are building bridges in their area of expertise. You will hear breakthrough ideas and concepts that are changing the world. He's featuring guests who are best-selling authors, leaders at Microsoft, entrepreneurs, leading educators, professors, lawyers and so many more. Listen in to learn how you can be the bridge to the change you are seeking.
Speaker 2:My guest today is Sally Nelson. Sally has an award-winning documentary filmmaker, has been capturing and sharing the stories of what happens every day in public schools. She shows the joys and the struggles. Having dedicated and edited more than 100 films, sally has a deep understanding of how to connect with her subjects and translate that greater understanding among her audiences. A new initiative is a nationwide movement to end the teacher shortage through a documentary film and impact campaign. We welcome Sally to the show Powered by Riverside Well. Today, my guest is Sally Nelson How you doing?
Speaker 4:I'm great. How are you, Keith?
Speaker 2:I am phenomenal Good talk to you today. I'm looking forward to this conversation. Yes, me too Very much. So I'm going to give you an easy question to start you out, kind of warm you up. What's the best advice you've ever received?
Speaker 4:I think seek first to understand. Okay, i will say that I don't always practice it, but I notice when I don't. that's when you end up with communication and relationship issues, and I notice when I do. there is greater connection and greater understanding and it creates a bond when you ask, when you're curious about someone else, coming from a place of love, not from a place of blame.
Speaker 2:I love that. Who told you?
Speaker 4:I had an executive coach early, early in my career and that was kind of one of the principles of their coaching was seek first to understand.
Speaker 2:Great, i love that. So we're going to dig a little deeper, even more, so I can get the audience to tell you more. So tell us something about yourself that most people don't know.
Speaker 4:So when I was in high school growing up, i had pasted all around the walls in my bedroom ads from W magazine. I had every single fashion magazine known to man. I lived in a small town So I sometimes had to drive into Omaha to go find the fashion magazines And I was determined to be Anna Wintour and be the editor of Vogue. I'm not doing that now, but it's interesting that that's really what I thought I wanted until I wanted something else.
Speaker 2:That's interesting, that's so cool.
Speaker 4:Yeah, i don't know about that, but it was definitely a. I guess it's been a hobby ever since then, but then I decided that I wanted to make a lot of money. So, I went down that path.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm always curious when we talk about moments in our life and people in our life. Who are some of the people who are mentors, who help influence your life?
Speaker 4:So I think it's probably assumed, but both of my parents my dad taught me about entrepreneurship. Just besides being amazing and supportive parents, that's something that he modeled for me. My mom is one of the strongest people I've ever known. She'll be 87 in a couple of weeks and she's been through so much, so to see that modeled for me every day is really powerful. Then, in business, i've had so many Early in my career. It was modeled for me that if you just put your head down and work really hard, you'll be rewarded. And you don't have to start at the top. You start at whatever job that give you and you're rewarded, and that absolutely happened to me. I've learned craftsmanship from my creative partner. He's our director of photography And he's meticulous and thoughtful and very intensely serious about being the very, very best at his job. I mean, i could go on and on. There have been so many wonderful people in my life that have had an influence. Those are just a few.
Speaker 2:Well, that's cool, those are important And those people always add so much value to our lives.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and I'm glad that you asked that question because I mean, i have a list of probably 12 people that I made on my phone this morning and the qualities that they have brought to my life And it's so important that and we'll probably talk about this later but when you wake up and realize I didn't get here by myself, and having gratitude for those people in your life that made a difference, i think is a gift that you give yourself and you give to them.
Speaker 2:That's great, and I'll hear this and think about the impact they had in your life. So that's really neat. So I love to hear your story, and especially your story as to how you got from where you were to what you're doing now, because what you're doing now is so important, especially in this day and time.
Speaker 4:Thank you. Well, it depends on where you want to start. I grew up in a small town about a half an hour away from Omaha. I grew up on a lake, very modest. We got to be outside all the time different than it is for my kids water skiing and ice skating and swimming and all the things. And I went to University of Nebraska-Lincoln And instead of well, i thought I was going to study fashion and I went to my first fashion class and I had to draw something And I found I'm not that good at it And so I switched my major to marketing and finance And I was reading a lot of books, in particular The Predator's Ball, which at the time came out in the 89. And it was about the junk bond and Michael Milken and all of those things in New York and finance, and I thought I just want to go make a bunch of money And I was really materialistic And I definitely wanted to be in a big city.
Speaker 4:So I moved to Boston without a job And I pretty quickly got a job as an administrative assistant in an investment firm And, as I said, i just kept my head down And I would stay as I say stay after school And I would meet with some of the portfolio managers to ask them to teach me about what they do and how they do it. So I just became a student of the industry, ended up getting a job at another firm and started a small business within the firm And that just launched me. I mean, my career was skyrocketed because of the mentor that I had there who believed in me. He saw me, and this was at a time when it was difficult. There were no women in any kind of executive position except human resources, and I just was open and creative and driven and ended up being the youngest managing director in the company And that was super exciting And I had a staff of 15. And I went from learning about the investment side to learning how to sell the investment side. So I was a creative director And I worked with all of the investment people because I could talk their talk and help teach them how to tell their stories in a powerful way. So that's probably my first entree into storytelling.
Speaker 4:Then I got to be 30. And I said, ok, i did that. I was successful. I don't know that there's anything else I want to do in this field. I want to be a movie producer.
Speaker 4:So, again without having a job, i got in my car and I drove to Omaha And I stayed with my family for a little bit And then I drove out to Los Angeles with my dad, found a place to live And, as I say, i jumped off the cliff without anything And consulting work with JP Morgan and Schwab and T-Ware, price and all the big financial services companies And that was great. But I was never home. I was on a plane all the time to San Francisco and New York and Boston and Charlotte And I would live in LA for the rest of my life if I could. But I felt like I was getting to the age where my parents were getting older, they were getting sick, my sister was having kids And I thought I think I'd like to get to know my parents and my family as an adult. So I moved back to Nebraska And I think that was in 1998. And I've been here ever since And I married with three incredible teenage daughters Actually not teenage anymore I have a 20-year-old, 17 and 15.
Speaker 4:The filmmaking started back at that job in Boston when I started my storytelling. We did a video with Neil Cavuto, who at the time was at CNBC, and I really enjoyed that process. So when I started doing consulting with T-Ware Price, i started a project with them that carried on for I don't know 13 years And while I was doing it I kind of went to a DIY film school, like I'd be on set and I would ask all the lighting people and the camera people, tell me about what you're doing and why you're doing it that way. And I directed and I wrote And I really I just totally got into it And I taught myself how to edit. And then when I moved to Nebraska, i just wormed my way into a production company, still with my own business. But I just remember bringing my laptop in a few times and then asking them Is this desk available? Could I just put my laptop here and just leave it overnight? Then, do you have a monitor? Could I just hook this up to a monitor?
Speaker 4:A few years later we did a project for JDRF. I had a friend whose daughter had diabetes type one. This was the first dramatic film we'd ever done. I interviewed four moms and I sat down and I edited just a rough cut. When I showed it to the guys I was working with, every single one of them had tears in their eyes. I just remember pushing away from the desk and going this, this is it. This is my zone of genius. This is what I'm meant to do for the rest of my life. Luckily, the opportunity came along, for I love public schools. That was a long story, but that's the story.
Speaker 2:I love that journey. I think what you're doing is so critical because, especially now, post-covid, as public schools are under the spotlight some fairly for good reason and some not so much I don't think the story of public schools is being told. I got a chance to look at some of your news series. I was really moved by the mind inside. Tell us what led you I'm guessing, based on what we are right now what led you to dive into that particular project.
Speaker 4:I need to give you a little bit of history of what started, as Nebraska loves public schools. Back in late 2010, a big funder in Omaha who funds a lot in education called our production company and said all you saw at the time on the front page of all the national media was public schools are failing and charter schools and teachers aren't showing up and there's rats in the building and it's terrible. And she said everyone says public schools are failing, but we don't think that that's true in Nebraska and we want you to help us change the narrative. So, given what our skill set was video and still photography we proposed that we tell stories. So it was supposed to be a three to five year project. That has gone 12 years And we started out by traveling across the state of Nebraska. Our first story we did in Omaha North and our second story was out in Scott's Gluf on the opposite end of the state, and we would go into a school for a day and we would interview between eight and 14 people and we would get B-roll And then I'd come back to the studio and I would just put together an eight to 10 minute piece And they were all good news stories. It was all. Here's all the great things happening in Nebraska's public schools, and after the first year of doing it, we did nine pieces, 12 pieces in nine months, which was insane, having never done anything like that before.
Speaker 4:After that first year I went back to the funder and I said our public schools are amazing. I don't see what the. What I see as the problem is poverty number one. So would it be okay with you if I did a half an hour piece on poverty, because I think people in Nebraska don't understand And our mission is to connect people with the humanity of public schools, because when you're on the outside, your experience with public schools is only when you were in school.
Speaker 4:So you think everything is the same And it's not. There are things that are the same, but the amount of responsibilities that schools now take on far exceed anything. That was like that when I was in school. So we started doing some issue-based films poverty, early childhood education, the whole child, about health and wellness, stem which wasn't so much an issue-based piece, just more of a. This is a popular thing. Let's show what's happening. And over time, what we kept hearing was mental health is really a big problem in schools And I thought well, how in the world are we gonna show that? Because a story has to be visual, otherwise it's not. Talking heads, and especially grown-up talking heads, get boring after a while.
Speaker 2:Definitely.
Speaker 4:And if it's a story about schools, we need to hear from the kids. We started with a school district here that was really struggling with mental health issues with their students and wanted to be kind of at the forefront of being brave enough to show it to the world and having families, students and teachers who saw the value of letting us show their personal stories in hopes that it would help someone else. So the first episode is Mental Health 101. That's not the name of it, but that's how I think of it, because when we think of mental health we think of the school counselor's office. Right, and so we went to a middle school, because at the time I had middle school kids and you see the there's a lot of drama in middle school, as you know. So what does it look like? What are the kinds of things that walk into the door of a middle school counselor's office? And boy was it heavier than I ever expected. It wasn't just bullying, and I don't even, to be honest with you, i don't think that ever came up once. It was much more how issues at home and issues outside of school were affecting a kid's ability to learn, a kid's ability to be in class and a kid's ability to engage. So that's. And then the second episode. We saw a lot of social media and kids taking their lives or attempting to take their own lives and Felt that that was the really important story to tell.
Speaker 4:And Then the third episode takes place in North Platte, nebraska, which we never. This was not at all Anything we thought about doing, but we got a call from their director of their of student services and a couple of emails from board members Over several months saying you've got to come out here. We have a major drug addiction epidemic out here. Union Pacific has pulled a lot of jobs out of North Platte, so we unemployment is a big issue and you've got to see what we're doing out here to try to combat that.
Speaker 4:So Andy, my partner and I Just said okay and we put our gear in the car and we drove five hours and the second we walked in And met the student services director, brandy, and the school resource officer, j. We just turned on the cameras and just followed and I've never done anything like that. And now I never want to do anything different, because the magic that happened when we were there, the Situations that unfolded right before our eyes, and there were so many things I couldn't put in the film, but the things that are in there, i think, are quite powerful.
Speaker 2:So, as you did this, this documentary on mental health, what was your greatest revelation from the series?
Speaker 4:the amount of trauma and It's The prevalence of it and the depth of it is. It was Shocking to me. I mean I just had no idea on the first day We were there. We ended up at a, a Place called the bridge of hope, where children are taken by caring adults to report Some kind of child abuse, to be examined, and one of the things they do is hair follicle testing. It was like what is that, what? why? and they do it to test exposure to math. And I said, well, i, how do you do that with a little kid? and Are you like what? how does the process work? and they just described You know how many they have to get as much hair as the size of a pencil and to try to keep a child calm and distract them. And it's one thing when it's a little kid, but when it's a 10, 12, 15 year old kid, they know I. Just That was shocking, heartbreaking.
Speaker 4:And and the fact that nobody knows that people aren't aware of Just how hard schools are having to work and And why is that? the school's job? But the school, i'm sure you know this, schools are the number one reporter of Child abuse and assault and neglect. So when COVID hit, everyone was like oh you know, cases of child abuse and neglect have gone down dramatically. No, they haven't. It's just Teachers and administrators don't have eyes on, so they don't know what's going on. So they they. That was a really difficult time for Brandy and Jay Because they just didn't know and they were worried about every day, worried about kids that they couldn't see that's gotta be difficult.
Speaker 2:So, on the other side of that, what was the most encouraging thing that came out of this episode? the series.
Speaker 4:You know, i think it's. It's always about people, the dedication that people have to service and Really loving kids and seeing Being there to defend kids. You know, i know there's been a lot of controversy about school resource officers, but if you watch the film and you see Jay Johnson, jeremiah Johnson, he's not a cop in the hallway, he is a man who deeply, deeply cares about every child in that district. And when I would sit in their offices, brandy and Jay, it was one sticky note after another and they're trying to figure out What their priorities are. And then the phone rings And it's more and more and more and by the end of the day their desk is filled. But they keep coming to work every day because they feel a responsibility to these children and these people are employed by the school. That is that just such hope to me, and also sad at the same time that that is The responsibility of schools.
Speaker 2:So for the parents who are listening to our podcast, what would you say is the greatest thing that parent and a school community can do to improve their local school system? You know, when we go back to the best advice That I've ever received.
Speaker 4:It's seek first to understand and Recognize that you're not in the school all the time and you can't possibly know. And while you know your child, there's a child sitting next to yours at school and you have no idea what that child's home life is like. You don't know what they struggle with and So you don't know what the teacher has to deal with in terms of all these different personalities and behaviors. And I think it's Curiosity, connection, understanding, that's. They're human beings in that building, as are you as a parent. So make an effort to connect with teachers and, rather than blame, try to understand what, what's going on with them. We'll be back after a quick break.
Speaker 3:Hello, i'm Dr Lisa Hasler, host and creator of the brighter side of education podcast. Are you a teacher or parent concerned about education? Then join me every two weeks as I bring you research based solutions to address the challenges facing our students today. As A parent of seven and teacher for 20 years, i understand the struggles you're facing and I'm searching to find those answers. In each episode, you'll hear from guests like theorists and experts sharing their stories of success. Subscribe to the brighter side of education wherever you get your podcast and let's start building a brighter future for our children together.
Speaker 2:Love that. That's good idea. So what are you working on now? your next project you want to share.
Speaker 4:So the other thing that we've heard so much about is the educator shortage, and there's no way that You can't have seen all the news reports everywhere about teachers fleeing the profession. I Think this it was obviously happening before COVID, but COVID only made it worse, and What we found is that 76% of educators feel that lack of respect from parents in the community is the biggest problem. So we wanted to take what we learned from ILO public schools and apply it to the educator shortage. And it's not just teachers, it's bus drivers and nutrition services and counselors and principals and anyone that works in a school building is having a hard time right now working in a school building, because they're being attacked constantly And behaviors of kids are out of control.
Speaker 4:And it's not the kids fault. It just sort of is what it is, but the pressure is on teachers. So let me ask you a question, keith Can you tell me about an educator that you've had in your life that made an impact on you? And it could be a counselor, a coach, a principal, anyone that had a lasting influence.
Speaker 2:Oh, definitely. It was an English teacher. Back in high school. I hated English with a passion And this teacher, for some reason she connected with me and made English for me fun And I really owe her that, because I ended up publishing and becoming an author Because I actually loved English, i loved to tell stories. She encouraged that, and so I have a blog now and people actually read it. So if I hadn't run across someone like her, i probably never would have started writing And I really appreciated the fact that she came alongside and told me I could do something that I didn't know. I was already inside of me.
Speaker 4:Do you want to share her name?
Speaker 2:You know, I can't remember her name anymore because it was a long ago.
Speaker 4:It's OK. I feel the same way. Names are really hard for me, right? So when you tell me that story I mean I see this huge smile on your face from the moment I asked the question So when you tell me that story, how does that make you feel?
Speaker 2:It makes me really appreciate the fact that she Oh, her name was Ms Williams. Actually I can't remember her first name, but it was Williams. She said she took the time to see something in me that I didn't see in myself and to encourage that in me, because that made me want to be better at it. So I went from being a D student in English to a B student because she invested time in it.
Speaker 4:That is a beautiful story And I love. I especially love that you two things. One, that that influence has been so lasting that it has helped you truly become who you are. It wasn't just a little, which is important. Oh, they saw me and they made me feel confident. Yours is specifically related to your career, which is so cool. And the other thing that you said was appreciation.
Speaker 4:So my feeling was, when teachers tell stories about themselves, the people that watch them aren't necessarily the people that have the power and the influence to do something about it. So it occurred to me that what if we could hear from the Fortune 500 CEOs and celebrities and professional athletes and people who have been successful in other careers, that are notable people, politicians, what if we could hear a story about the length of yours, about an educator, that made a difference in their life? Then they feel gratitude, then they realize that they didn't get there by themselves and that maybe, just maybe, their teachers went on to teach hundreds of other kids and that their kids' teachers are doing the same thing. And even if you have no connection to school right now at all, we all went to school. So it makes you stop for a second and think about the humanity And every single person has a story.
Speaker 4:Now, admittedly, some people didn't have a great time in school, and that's okay. They maybe had teachers in other places, their parents or grandparents or someone in college, who knows But we want to start this conversation at this level, at a higher level, and also ask everyone to share their stories. So I think about the Ice Bucket Challenge and how it went viral on social media. What if we asked you to record a two minute piece and you put it on social media and then you challenged three other people to do it, and then it's becoming part of the social consciousness, and can you imagine being a teacher and seeing that and hearing your story about your teacher? I think you automatically feel better, you feel seen, and so that's the first part of it is to raise the. What we say is the campaign is called Who Taught You? Elevating the profession that makes all others possible.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 4:And that's a nationwide campaign. Then the second phase of it is a documentary film that we're doing with two educators because the issue is retention and recruitment. So we have one teacher who's 26, who just left a highly under-resourced school in South Philly, and a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln whose first generation. He's a junior and he's studying to be a high school teacher. We're taking them on a road trip across the country and we're going to different cities so that they can see what school looks like in different places.
Speaker 4:And it's not just public school, it's all kinds of schools. So they're going to see that. Then they're going to go into the community and they're going to talk to church leaders and business people and people in a diner and ask them what do you think happens in school every day And what is your perception of teachers? And then these two will try to reconcile those gaps and maybe hopefully facilitate some conversations with some of the detractors to help them better understand and have greater empathy for educators. And by the end of the film we will have looked at everything from equity, compensation, affordable housing, education reform, safety the whole gamut, and it will be a springboard for conversation on all these topics. So we're super excited about that. We've started production and we're fundraising and hoping to get lots of brands To me. If you're Staples, if you're Office Depot, if you're Target, if you're Google and you provide services in schools every single day, your name ought to be part of this campaign.
Speaker 2:That's really. Yeah, i like that.
Speaker 4:So thanks, we have a merch store which is launching soon, because I want everyone. One of the things that has made Isle of Public Schools so successful is the t-shirts, because when you see someone wearing an Isle of Public Schools t-shirt, it sparks conversation and connection, i bet. And if you see people wearing Hu-Chaut U t-shirts, you see it, it's a question for you, it's personal And it makes you think and it hopefully brings to mind gratitude.
Speaker 2:I love that. I love to ask my guest this question As you're kind of wrapping this. it's just been a great conversation. Thank you, Keith? What do you want your legacy to be?
Speaker 4:That I helped make, create greater understanding and help make the world a little bit better for anyone with whom I've come into contact or anyone whose voices I've tried to lift. I hope that this work that I've done has a lasting impact.
Speaker 2:So, for those who wanna follow the work you've already done, where can they find your videos on social and where can they find we can connect with you on social media?
Speaker 4:So if you go to ILovePS as in public schools ILovePSorg there are hundreds of films available there on a variety of topics and things from I don't know, probably 30 seconds to an hour long. That will help you facilitate conversations in your own communities about public education. We're on Facebook, ilovepublicschools, instagram, all the things. All the social media is Twitter. And then if you go to whotautyouorg, that's where you'll find the new work, and we're just at the very beginning of this campaign. So over time, you'll get to find out the cities that we're going to be asked to contribute your own stories. So we're just we're going, going, going and believe that everything is possible.
Speaker 2:So I love that. Well, Sally, thank you so much for this time and blessings on what you're working on, because I think what you're working on is crucial crucial for helping us not only to recruit new teachers, but also to think about those people in our lives who've impacted us and our journey.
Speaker 4:Well, thank you, keith, for your curiosity and your connection and your desire to help all of us be a little bit smarter by the amazing variety of content that you put out there. So I highly encourage anyone who's listened to one of your podcasts just scroll and listen to listen to lots of them, because it really it makes you smarter. So, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you. I appreciate that Well. Thank you, sally. Have a blessed and a wonderful day.
Speaker 4:Thank you, you too.