We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maria Taylor. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maria below.

Maria , appreciate you joining us today. Do you have any thoughts about how to create a more inclusive workplace?

Speaking from experience, companies need to hire diverse talent. Representation matters. The most recent surge in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts shed light on an ongoing divide, however the underlying barrier continues to be access, resources, and adequate training.

I teach the technical side of Cinematography. Through our workshops, and ongoing mentorship I am able to empower young creatives to transform their lives and communities through the power of storytelling. I add value to my community not only by my trade, but also as a CEO and representative of a female led media company

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Maria Taylor is a change agent, and female business owner. She is the CEO of the Media company Crashing Waves Pictures AND the Nonprofit Organization Creative Media Group. She is “Boots on the Ground.” Her team of Industry Professionals host multiple workshops throughout the year for underrepresented youth that have an interest in working in Media. She teaches the technical side of cinematography and is one of the very few women of color with the title “Cinematographer.” Maria’s non profit provides career exposure, to a wider set of job possibilities and the clear Framework to learn media skills so that young people can claim their role in this economy. Her work throughout Media reflects shifting the narrative on how we do business behind the lens and true Social Impact

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I am proud of the work we do with our foster youth. Every time we host a cinematography workshop we end the session with feedback. This is the part of my work that keeps me going, because we get to hear directly from our participants What did you like? What didn’t you like? What did you learn? .. and more importantly, What’s next and how can we help? The story that sticks out the most is our apprentice Julien Pierre Louis. Julien is now 20 years old, and has been in the Foster Care system since he was 13. We met Julien while hosting our Cinematography Masterclass, He was quiet but attentive. Timid yet present. I noticed right away that he wanted to be more involved but had a bit of a wall up. Halfway through our 5 week program Julien began to participate more and open up a bit. As a mom I felt he needed to trust me first, which takes time. So I was patient with him. I came to discover the circumstances in which Julien ended up in “The System.” All of the adults around him had failed him. His mother, his father, his relatives, everyone. Julien had trust issues. Rightfully so because he had been let down time and time again. Abandoned, disappointed, denied opportunities, and simply forgotten. The sad reality is that Julien is one of many. Fast forward I have been mentoring Julien for over 2 years now. We have been able to find him work and continue to support his development as a member of society, and not just a case number. We hosted our Film Festival in September of last year. This is where we get to showcase the work from our creative collective. Short films directed, produced, shot and edited by our young filmmakers. Julien was there, after the festival i bought everyone ice cream, because who doesn’t love ice cream. I handed all of our student their ice cream cones and when I got to Julien he said “Thanks Mom” This was a tender heart felt moment that brought me to tears. By far one of my greatest achievements .

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

An effective way in which we grow our clientele is through Integrity and Transparency. We are focused on the process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, and resources that we need to thrive in a fast-changing market. In addition we are focused on empowering diverse, historically underrepresented creative talent, Miami based and mission focused. By telling compelling stories through depicting the human experience we have been able to scale in an organic and authentic way

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wearecreativemedia.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_creativemediagroup/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariataylorcreative/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/0Je8WBDNrKg