Irene A. Magafan is a Senior Video Specialist and Editor at World Wildlife Fund, where she works on video projects, from editing to archiving, and occasionally filming on location to gather video assets. She primarily focuses on WWF’s digital asset management system, the HIVE, where she manages and processes video assets for WWF’s US office, ensuring they are efficiently integrated into the HIVE. This facilitates seamless collaboration and sharing across WWF’s local and global networks and supports WWF’s communication strategies.
Irene is also an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker, a Regional Emmy Award recipient and has produced a collection of conservation and social documentaries. Her award-winning documentary The Bonobo Connection, narrated by Hollywood actor and activist Ashley Judd, takes us on a journey to learn about one of our closest living relatives, and one of the most peaceful animals on Earth - the bonobo apes. Irene has given a Tedx Talk on bonobos.
In addition, Irene is a freelance voice actor and a member of the actor's union, SAG-AFTRA. She serves as president of the Chesapeake Film Festival and is on the programming committee. She recently completed a 4-year term on the American University Alumni Board and is the recipient of the Master of Fine Arts Degree in Film & Electronic Media and a former Scholar in the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University. Irene is hugely passionate about storytelling and using this powerful tool as a vehicle for dialogue and change, especially in the areas of the natural world and social justice.