Maggie Burnette Stogner is a professor of Film and Media Arts and the Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University. She brings over 30 years of filmmaking experience to the classroom. During her nine years at National Geographic, she produced, directed and wrote numerous documentaries, and was senior producer of the award-winning weekly programs Explorer and Ultimate Explorer. In 2005, she launched Blue Bear Films and had continued to direct, producer and write internationally broadcast documentaries such as “Gold Mountain” (2016), as well as films and immersive media for world-touring cultural exhibitions. Her award-winning work includes two King Tut exhibitions; The Greeks; Real Pirates; Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures; Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology; Roads of Arabia exhibit, and others.

She is also directing and producing an independent documentary about the death penalty, “In the Executioner’s Shadow,” with author and colleague Rick Stack. The film is an excellent example of a high-impact film project that has evolved through a collaborative learning lab with dozens of students.

Her scholarship explores engagement design in film, immersive media, and emerging media with a focus on exploring humanistic storytelling through 21st century media technologies. She has published articles in academic journals such as “Curator” and “The International Journal of New Media, Technology and the Arts”. In addition, she collaborates with the Center of Media and Social Impact on social justice engagement through film, and is Associate Director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking.

Degrees
MA Communication/Documentary Film, Stanford University; BA French Literature/Film, San Francisco State University