ROAM Pictures

Writer, Director, Producer

MARIA RUSOLO

Maria Rusolo is a filmmaker from Brooklyn, NY. She is the founder of ROAM Pictures, an award-winning film production company. ROAM’s mission is to influence the prevailing attitudes and practices regarding and on behalf of women working in film, whether in front of the camera or behind the scenes; and is committed to producing female forward content. Rusolo has been creating content since 2008 and has been acknowledged for her work most notably by USA Film Festival, Columbus International Film Festival, Mexico International Film Festival, and has received the Panavision New-Filmmaker Award. She co-wrote the short “Black Saturday,” a recipient of a DCA Premier Grant from the Council on Arts and Humanities of Staten Island. Her Docu-Series on the Vietnam War Era, “I Am Number…,” received a Soroptomist International Community Grant; was selected to exhibit at the Staten Island Museum as part of “War and Aftermath on Staten Island” in cooperation with the Library of America and a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant. She is an active member of Women in Film, SAG-AFTRA, Actors Equity Association, and has been continuing her film education with Sundance Collab.

Director of Finance and Marketing

JO ANN R. WARD

Previously, she served as a Vice President in Citibank’s securities industry. She now focuses on corporate planning, financial reporting, project management and analysis. She is also leading all social media strategy, marketing, publicity, and communications efforts. She expresses her creative side by writing shorts for ROAM. She graduated from Smith College with a BA.