A human rights filmmaker, Jody Santos has traveled to some 30 countries across five continents, documenting everything from the trafficking of girls in Nepal to the widespread and often abusive practice of institutionalizing children with disabilities in the U.S. and other countries. Her documentaries have aired on public television and networks like the Discovery Channel, and her reporting has been featured on New England Public Radio and in publications such as Mad in America. Across all platforms, Santos focuses on telling stories that are often overlooked or go unreported.
In 2020, Santos founded the Disability Justice Project (DJP), which trains disabled human rights defenders in the Global South in documentary storytelling. As executive director and editor-in-chief, Santos has led the organization’s efforts to amplify underrepresented voices and challenge prevailing narratives on disability. In 2023, she traveled to Samoa to train six disabled Indigenous activists, focusing their storytelling on the intersection of climate change and disability in the Pacific. Their work culminated in the documentary Rising Tides, Raising Voices, which has been screened at festivals worldwide. The film earned distinctions such as Best International Film at The Together! 2024 Disability Film Festival, organized by the UK Disabled People’s Council. In 2024, it was also featured at UNESCO’s inaugural Festival of Short Films on Disability Inclusion in Paris for International Day of Persons with Disabilities and at a special screening hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) in Rome.
Santos is the recipient of American Women in Radio & Television’s Gracie Allen Award, and she was nominated for an Emmy for a special report on black-market guns airing on NBC Boston. She is the author of Daring to Feel: Violence, the News Media, and Their Emotions published by Rowman & Littlefield’s Lexington Books division.
Research/Publications Highlights
Book
AUTHOR: DARING TO FEEL: VIOLENCE, THE NEWS MEDIA, AND THEIR EMOTIONS
Rowman & Littlefield, New York, NY| 2009
Featuring interviews with journalists who have covered some of the worst tragedies in our nation’s history, the book explores what happens when the news media dare to feel. No longer detached observers, they are free to see violence in all of its emotional complexity, often telling stories that have a profound impact on how we view issues like gun violence and sexual assault.
International Documentary
Visits to over 30 countries across five continents to produce public television documentaries for national and international audiences.
Director of the film, Rising Tides, Raising Voices, which has screened and earned accolades at festivals worldwide and has been featured at events including the Australian Council for International Development National Conference, the Commonwealth Foundation’s People’s Forum, the School of Global Health at the University of Copenhagen, and the Pacific Climate Mobility Regional Workshop in Fiji.
Media for Social Change
Founding executive director and editor-in-chief at the Disability Justice Project (DJP), which trains disabled human rights defenders in the Global South in documentary storytelling. In 2023, the DJP won two gold Anthem Awards honoring mission-driven journalism. From nearly 2000 entries across 43 countries, the DJP’s work was featured along with Mother Jones, Al Jazeera and Human Rights Watch. Also in 2023, the DJP was nominated for a Webby Award in the Websites and Mobile Sites – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category, singled out as one of the five best sites in the world among the nearly 14,000 projects entered. That same year, it was a finalist in the On The Rise: 0-4 Years in Business category and an honorable mention in the Media & Entertainment category in Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas.
News editor at the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Phoenix, the nation’s largest chain of alternative newsweeklies.
Producer/director at The Visionaries, a public television series focusing on philanthropy and social justice.
Creator of #LetThemOut Internet series to free Americans with disabilities being held against their will in for-profit facilities.
Investigative Journalism
National and international reports airing on New England Public Radio, Discovery, PBS, and NBC and published in newspapers from The Boston Globe to The Providence Journal
Departments
Journalism
Education
- M.A., Journalism, Northeastern University
- B.A., English, Boston University
Awards
- Best International Film, Together! 2024 Disability Film Festival, 2024
- Special Mention, A&E, Accessibility and Environment Film Festival, 2024
- Finalist, Cinema Touching Disability, 2024
- Official Selection, Art Without Limit International Film Festival, 2024
- Finalist, Social Impact Media Awards, 2023
- Two gold Anthem Awards for mission-driven journalism, 2023
- Webby Award Nomination, Websites and Mobile Sites – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category, 2023
- Finalist, Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Award, 2023
- Telly Award 2018
- Telly Award 2015
- James Ragsdale Memorial Award 2006
- Gracie Allen Award 2005
- Telly Award 2004
- Emmy 2001
- National Conference for Community and Justice 1999
- Rhode Island Press Association 1997/1995
- New England Press Association 1995
Research Focus
- Media for social change
- participatory filmmaking
- emotionally engaged reporting
Courses Taught
- News Documentary
- Video News Reporting and Producing
- Covering Conflict
