Elena Blogs for a Change

Photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones  Steve Silberman is the award-winning author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity. This book is credited for altering the societal conversation about autism by providing a comprehensive history of how our understanding of autism has evolved and deep insight into the cultural change necessary to reach a point where neurodiversity is celebrated. Silberman won the 2015 Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction, a California Book Award, and a Books for a Better Life award for his work on NeuroTribes. Previously, his writing was featured in publications such as Wired, The New York Times, The New Yorker, the Financial Times, the Boston Globe, and the MIT Technology Review, among many others. Steve Silberman recently announced his next project, a book to be titled A Taste of Salt, which will tell the human stories behind Cystic Fibrosis.  Did you always know you wanted to be a writer and journalist?  When I was in...

Susan Cartsonis (left) with director Elissa Down on the set of Feel the Bea t Susan Cartsonis is a Hollywood producer whose latest company, Resonate Entertainment, is focused on creating outstanding and lucrative films for female audiences. Over the years, she has produced such films as Freaky Friday the Musical (Disney), Carrie Pilby (The Orchard), Deidra and Laney Rob a Train (Netflix), Beastly, The Duff, Aquamarine, No Reservations, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and What Women Want, among many others. Her latest film is a dance movie called Feel the Beat starring Sofia Carson, who is best known for Disney's The Descendants. You’ve always advocated for more female-led films. What motivated you to champion that cause? Why is it important? It’s important for us to see ourselves reflected in the journey of the protagonist of a story. As women we’re very empathic and we identify with male characters but if the central character is a woman, and she has agency and even heroi...