Bio

For over a decade, Justine worked in feature film production for major studios such as Columbia, Sony Pictures, and Universal. In pursuit of her commitment to social justice she moved into nonprofit communications, first at San Francisco based Next Generation, where she played an integral role in the launch and management of two initiatives—the Risky Business Project which quantified the economic risk of climate change in the U.S. co-chaired by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Tom Steyer, and Too Small To Fail, a national campaign to promote early vocabulary development and to close the word gap in kids under 4, in partnership with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. Next she oversaw the AndACTION program at Spitfire Strategies which aimed to help organizations and campaigns leverage the power of film and television storylines and pop culture moments to accelerate equity-centered cultural and policy change across the nation. The work culminated in a report supported by the Ford Foundation, and lives on in trainings and resources for communications teams at all levels.

Since 2017, Justine has been at SFFILM, a nonprofit organization whose mission supports the education, talent, and sustainability of independent filmmakers through granting, industry support, and robust year-round exhibition programming. SFFILM is best known for its marquee program, the San Francisco International Film Festival which is the oldest film festival in the Americas. Since 1957, SFFILM has consistently served film-going and industry audiences with creative and intentional programming known for elevating homegrown and international works. Justine leads the communications, marketing, and PR strategy for the organization, and represents SFFILM at industry conferences, festivals, and network events.

Justine was born in New York City, and grew up in Telluride, Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico. She received her BA in English from San Diego State University and is a trained high school teacher.