Short BIO
Janine Fleri holds an MA in Media Studies with a Certificate in Media Management from the New School for Public Engagement and a BA from Sarah Lawrence College. Her undergraduate work focused on experimental filmmaking and creative writing. Her graduate studies focused on emerging and social media, social media for nonprofits, and dreams as media.
Janine interned on her first feature film while a junior in high school and continued to crew on various projects throughout the next ten years, often in a production management role. She has worked in the nonprofit sector since 2008, with interests and experience specific to open access research publishing, animal welfare, health care and patient advocacy, public access media, and essential education and literacy.
Janine interned on her first feature film while a junior in high school and continued to crew on various projects throughout the next ten years, often in a production management role. She has worked in the nonprofit sector since 2008, with interests and experience specific to open access research publishing, animal welfare, health care and patient advocacy, public access media, and essential education and literacy.
Expanded bio
FILM, TELEVISION, ARTS & WRITING
In 2003 Janine moved to Astoria, Queens, where she worked as an account coordinator for IWC Media Services, one of the largest media storage facilities servicing the NY metro area. Her position with IWC allowed her to interact with representatives from institutions such as MoMA and The Whitney, and productions including Sesame Street and Inside Edition.
The archival and storage experience at IWC lead to a tape librarian position at Lifetime Television in 2005 which advanced to post production scheduling in 2006. The rigors of scheduling utilized years of production management experience to negotiate conflicting needs and build weekly edit schedules for eight in-house suites. During this time, Janine remained active in creative writing and the arts.
In 2006, Janine co-directed the summer film series Hell on Reels: Astoria Moving Image Festival with fellow SLC alum Susan Agliata. Susan again tapped Janine to contribute video work to AbecedariumNYC, an online exhibit co-curated by Lynne Sachs and hosted by the New York Public Library. Janine’s contribution for the word “welkin” was included in the launch of the project, earning a billing alongside experimental film pioneers George Kuchar and Barbara Hammer.
2007 brought about a collaboration with editor Margaret Wright to launch the short-lived Litter ‘zine project, named for both its literary content and distribution method of leaving copies discarded around NYC for readers to find. In 2008, she began submitting short fiction to Broken Pencil Magazine. Her story “Gynecomastia” debuted as a quarter-finalist in BP’s first annual Indie Writers’ Death Match, and was ultimately published in the 2009 anthology Can’tLit: Fearless Fiction from Broken Pencil Magazine.
That same year, Janine switched gears to explore publishing and the nonprofit sector by joining the Rockefeller University Press as a Manuscript Coordinator for The Journal of Cell Biology. During her five years with RUP, she earned a graduate certificate in Media Management through the New School and ultimately received her MA in Media Studies through the same program in January 2013. Her graduate work focused on honing her digital media skills with additional interest in the relationship between “authentic” and “inauthentic” entities as described by Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Collaborations with classmates Mitra Bonsahi and Erin Coulton led to participation in Two Truths and a Lie and The Anonymous Heartache Project.
Janine returned to her home state of Vermont in 2012 after being displaced by an apartment fire. There, she returned to the local film community as co-founder and producer for Sullen Belle Productions and co-curator and event host for The Green Mountain Gore Society’s OkGOREberfest and Summer Schlock film series. She stepped away from both roles in 2016 to pursue fresh artistic endeavors and a new professional opportunity. In the time since, she has enjoyed installation and performance collaborations with Throat of the Loon, pursued cartooning classes through Burlington City Arts and The Center for Cartoon Studies, and created a short-form radio show for WBTV-LP.
NONPROFITS
Along with her academic and creative pursuits, Janine has steadily built a career in nonprofit communications and development beginning with her time at The JCB. While not a cell biologist herself, she was inspired by the beauty of electron microscopy and channeled that awe into more involvement with RUP’s social media management and the pursuit of her MA in Media Studies.
She simultaneously made time to be an active advocate for animal welfare. In 2010 she began volunteering at events with The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals and blogging for Best Friends Animal Society‘s New York and Vermont Go Local! initiatives. During this time, she co-found and established a web presence for a small local pet sitting company, and developed an interest in uniting her new media background with her passion for companion animals. Upon returning to Vermont, she spent three years volunteering with the Humane Society of Chittenden County by assisting with communications and outreach, events, and general shelter help.
In 2014 she joined Champlain Housing Trust in an administrative support position, ensuring tenants of various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds received compassionate, timely responses to essential maintenance requests. When an opportunity to join the Community Relations and Development Team at the Community Health Centers of Burlington arose in 2016, she took the next step in advancing her career toward development work. During her six year tenure with CHCB, she honed her skills in fundraising, marketing, digital design, internal and executive communications, patient advocacy, and donor stewardship. During this time she also served a five-year term on the Board of Directors for the Media Factory in Burlington’s South End Arts District. Now the Development and Communications Director for Vermont Adult Learning, she continues to devote her time to challenging stigmas and elevating under-served community members.
In 2003 Janine moved to Astoria, Queens, where she worked as an account coordinator for IWC Media Services, one of the largest media storage facilities servicing the NY metro area. Her position with IWC allowed her to interact with representatives from institutions such as MoMA and The Whitney, and productions including Sesame Street and Inside Edition.
The archival and storage experience at IWC lead to a tape librarian position at Lifetime Television in 2005 which advanced to post production scheduling in 2006. The rigors of scheduling utilized years of production management experience to negotiate conflicting needs and build weekly edit schedules for eight in-house suites. During this time, Janine remained active in creative writing and the arts.
In 2006, Janine co-directed the summer film series Hell on Reels: Astoria Moving Image Festival with fellow SLC alum Susan Agliata. Susan again tapped Janine to contribute video work to AbecedariumNYC, an online exhibit co-curated by Lynne Sachs and hosted by the New York Public Library. Janine’s contribution for the word “welkin” was included in the launch of the project, earning a billing alongside experimental film pioneers George Kuchar and Barbara Hammer.
2007 brought about a collaboration with editor Margaret Wright to launch the short-lived Litter ‘zine project, named for both its literary content and distribution method of leaving copies discarded around NYC for readers to find. In 2008, she began submitting short fiction to Broken Pencil Magazine. Her story “Gynecomastia” debuted as a quarter-finalist in BP’s first annual Indie Writers’ Death Match, and was ultimately published in the 2009 anthology Can’tLit: Fearless Fiction from Broken Pencil Magazine.
That same year, Janine switched gears to explore publishing and the nonprofit sector by joining the Rockefeller University Press as a Manuscript Coordinator for The Journal of Cell Biology. During her five years with RUP, she earned a graduate certificate in Media Management through the New School and ultimately received her MA in Media Studies through the same program in January 2013. Her graduate work focused on honing her digital media skills with additional interest in the relationship between “authentic” and “inauthentic” entities as described by Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Collaborations with classmates Mitra Bonsahi and Erin Coulton led to participation in Two Truths and a Lie and The Anonymous Heartache Project.
Janine returned to her home state of Vermont in 2012 after being displaced by an apartment fire. There, she returned to the local film community as co-founder and producer for Sullen Belle Productions and co-curator and event host for The Green Mountain Gore Society’s OkGOREberfest and Summer Schlock film series. She stepped away from both roles in 2016 to pursue fresh artistic endeavors and a new professional opportunity. In the time since, she has enjoyed installation and performance collaborations with Throat of the Loon, pursued cartooning classes through Burlington City Arts and The Center for Cartoon Studies, and created a short-form radio show for WBTV-LP.
NONPROFITS
Along with her academic and creative pursuits, Janine has steadily built a career in nonprofit communications and development beginning with her time at The JCB. While not a cell biologist herself, she was inspired by the beauty of electron microscopy and channeled that awe into more involvement with RUP’s social media management and the pursuit of her MA in Media Studies.
She simultaneously made time to be an active advocate for animal welfare. In 2010 she began volunteering at events with The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals and blogging for Best Friends Animal Society‘s New York and Vermont Go Local! initiatives. During this time, she co-found and established a web presence for a small local pet sitting company, and developed an interest in uniting her new media background with her passion for companion animals. Upon returning to Vermont, she spent three years volunteering with the Humane Society of Chittenden County by assisting with communications and outreach, events, and general shelter help.
In 2014 she joined Champlain Housing Trust in an administrative support position, ensuring tenants of various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds received compassionate, timely responses to essential maintenance requests. When an opportunity to join the Community Relations and Development Team at the Community Health Centers of Burlington arose in 2016, she took the next step in advancing her career toward development work. During her six year tenure with CHCB, she honed her skills in fundraising, marketing, digital design, internal and executive communications, patient advocacy, and donor stewardship. During this time she also served a five-year term on the Board of Directors for the Media Factory in Burlington’s South End Arts District. Now the Development and Communications Director for Vermont Adult Learning, she continues to devote her time to challenging stigmas and elevating under-served community members.
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