Mary Haft spent a career in network television, working in production on PM Magazine, Group W Documentaries, and ABC 20/20. Creating Haft Productions, along with the creation of her family, allowed this spectrum of work to encompass a wider world.
Teach for America: Honoring Walter Isaacson
This piece was produced as tribute to Walter Isaacson and his leadership with Teach for America, which is a movement that is leading education reform.
Michael Lomax: “He knows what unequal education has meant and he is relentless in his determination to bring about a quality of educational opportunity for all Americans, particularly low income kids of color who for generations have been left out.”
Walter Isaacson: “Teach For America is the one organization that for the past 15 years I have been completely dedicated to because it’s about bringing great, great teachers to the classroom but then creating a new leadership movement.”
Walter Isaacson: “The 21st century is going to be a knowledge based economy and we can’t leave half the kids in America out of that economy. We have to live the dream that our founders had that is everybody in America gets to participate. Every problem we face, including the greatness of our nation in the 21st century comes down to are we educating our kids right? Education is the single most important issue.”
Katherine Bradley: “There is no problem ever within human history, that hasn’t been solved without the application of human talent and human ingenuity applied against that problem and Teach for America is no different. Amazing Partner in leading this partnership forward, and under Walter’s stewardship that the tremendous growth in Teach For America’s core size and impact has happened. Walter, as the spokesperson, as the person attached to this idea that we can solve educational inequity…Walter is able to be the translator to understand: this is solvable, we can do this together.”
Walter, explaining to a child what it is he does: “I write about people because I find people pretty interesting and sometimes you can learn about the whole world just by learning about other people.”
Written, Produced & Directed by Mary Haft
Cinematography: Gino Bruno
Editing: Michael Gionis, Double R Productions