Oscar-nominee Paola di Florio has directed, written and produced award-winning documentaries, TV pilots and reality shows. Her work has been distributed in theatrical venues worldwide, and broadcast on HBO, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, Sundance Channel, Court TV and A&E.  She has traveled extensively, filming a variety of subjects from Balinese spiritual healing to the Italian Mafia. Her first independent documentary, Speaking in Strings, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1999 and was nominated the following year for an Academy Award.  Home of the Brave, her next film, was likewise launched at Sundance, then honored by the Academy on its Oscar shortlist.  Both projects received Women in Film grants and garnered numerous awards on the festival circuit, including the Social Justice Award at Santa Barbara, a Writers Guild nomination, and a special screening by Human Rights Watch.  Di Florio is currently in post-production on a documentary about Hindu mystic Paramahansa Yogananda, who brought yoga to the West in the 1920’s.  She is a founding partner of Nerd Girls, Inc., a global media brand dedicated to creating new role models for women and inspiring careers and lifestyles that can transform the world.