About

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Susie DeFord is a filmmaker, writer & musician. She studied writing & film at Florida State University, and received her MFA in Creative Writing from the New School University. She is currently in the Film and Media Production MA program at American University.

Film:

Susie is a writer, director, producer of documentary and fiction films with a focus on stories of underrepresented voices, primarily of women 40+. 

She directed the documentary "You Can't Take Her Out" & wrote "Life in Transition," a feature film in development. 

She is passionate about mentoring and teaching production in the community by utilizing smartphone filmmaking and other budget conscious equipment to level the playing field and nurture underrepresented voices. 

She believes great storytellers come from diverse backgrounds and that economics and education shouldn't dictate whose stories are told. She is a mentor with Anacostia Youth Media.  

Writing:

Susie is the author of the poetry collection Dogs of Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in BOMB, Poets and Artists, Mipoesias, Work Zine, Dog Fancy, Shampoo, the Anthology "Dogs Singing," amongst others. She taught writing at Brooklyn Friends School, Berkeley Carroll, and the College of New Rochelle, and Kingston Writers studio. 

Music;

Susie plays electro+world+punk 

under the name of NEON GRLZ. 

Past bands include Terset & Wu Wei.

Dog Training:

Susie has been a positive reinforcement dog trainer for 15+ years at Susie's Pet Care helping puppies and rescue dogs from Brooklyn to the Hudson Valley to DC.

Real Estate: 

Once upon a time, Susie was a realtor in the Hudson Valley, Catskills region of New York for 6 years. 

She worked with an array of clients, helping folks buy their first homes and also negotiating luxury property deals.