Story Matters produces programs and provides services that advance the power of story to create positive social change. Consulting clients include: CPH DOX, FIFDH, BYKids, Forest Trends, Hayti Film, Harmony Institute, HotDocs, Kering, Alliance for Media Arts & Culture and WVD.org
Story Matters works with award-winning filmmakers to develop campaign and fundraising strategies, create customized content and activate campaigns, including: David France & Howard Gertler (How To Survive a Plague); Nicole Newnham (The Revolutionary Optimists); Carol Dysinger (One Bullet Afghanistan); Paula Vaccaro & Aaron Brookner (Uncle Howard); Joslyn Barnes (Shadow World); Lydia Dean Pilcher and Elizabeth Cuthrell (Sisterhood of Night) and Lee Hirsh (Bully);
Story Matters founder Patricia Finneran is a media + impact strategist and creative coach who brings her storytelling and strategic planning skills to nonprofit organizations in order improve their communications and fundraising capacity and advance their mission.
Prior to launching Story Matters, Patricia led programs and teams at media arts organizations including Doc Society, Sundance Institute, AFI and Gotham.
At SILVERDOCS: AFI / Discovery Channel Documentary Festival from 2003-08, she led the festival to become the largest doc festival in the US, and created the International Documentary Conference. At Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program she represented the Fund at markets globally and was Creative Producer on the Stories of Change partnership with Skoll Foundation. Most recently she led Good Pitch Local a Doc Society program that facilitates radical collaboration around stories that matter to local audiences. Early in her career she was Artistic Director at IFP Market, now Gotham Indie Film Week
Patricia graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University and went on to study film production at the American Film Institute, and is an Andover alumnus. She was a Ford Just Films Rockwood Leadership Fellow and completed the National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program.