“The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning.”
“In the darkest times, even a single voice of hope can be enough to change the course of history.”
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
“New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.”
I love investigating and telling stories through the mediums of documentary, journalism, audio and photography.
I’m a documentary filmmaker and journalist whose work explores the connections between people, animals, and the environment. My career began in 2009 at National Geographic Television, where I developed a deep appreciation for the natural world and a conviction that storytelling can move people to care about what’s real and vulnerable. That experience shaped a lifelong commitment to advocate for animals and the environment in ways that are visceral, truthful, and human.
After leaving National Geographic in 2012, I worked on a range of independent documentaries addressing ethical, ecological, and social themes. Those years strengthened my belief in filmmaking as a key part of understanding what it is to be human.
Since then, I’ve supported films spanning environmental, health, and human rights subjects—from animal welfare and sustainable food systems to seaweed research and stories of survival and resilience.
I’ve embarked on impact-driven work with the foundation established by my late father, now the Sarena Snider Foundation. Most recently, I served as an Executive Producer of Holding Liat, a documentary about an Israeli-American hostage, which is currently on the 2025 festival circuit, including Tribeca Film Festival and DOC NYC.
In 2020, I earned my master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where I focused on narrative and investigative storytelling, and later worked as a Data Journalism Fellow. The following year, I co-produced and narrated Sovereign, a podcast about Maine’s tribes and their pursuit of sovereignty, which sparked my love for podcasts.
My film credits are listed on IMDb and my budding journalism portfolio can be found here. My goal in the coming years is to channel my work into additional print and audio projects, including a children’s book.
I am passionate about supporting the projects of other filmmakers. Please reach out!
Work with me
I’m currently producing and directing a documentary examining how fracking and plastic have reshaped the landscapes and lives of Appalachia. I began filming in my home state of Pennsylvania, where the story is both intimate and urgent. As I reshape the narrative to weave in my interest about plastic’s impact on the human body, I’m seeking a creative producer to work in-tandem to finalize the narrative. If you’re interested in working together, please email me. I’d love to hear from you.
Watch films I’ve supported
The Quiet Epidemic, an acclaimed investigative documentary exposing the challenges of diagnosing and treating chronic Lyme disease, is now streaming:
A film I supported, Holding Liat, premiered at Tribeca and will be touring the U.S. this fall — and at DocNYC in November.
“What begins as a chronicle of [Israeli-American hostage] Liat Atzili’s parents, sister, and children’s efforts to secure her return from captivity, becomes a portrait of conflicting impulses towards anger, indifference, and compassion straining the bonds of one grieving family.”
Bob Schmetzer in Western Pennsyvlania (at home). Behind the scenes of my latest project that looks at the devastating impacts of both fracking in Appalachia, and the never-ending plastic pollution it creates.