Rachel Clift

Rachel Clift joined the Foundation as in-house producer in March 2017.  Working in collaboration with internal teams and creative vendors, she leads content and storytelling strategies across platforms that engage new audiences and support the Mellon Foundation's social justice mission.  In tandem with strategic communications initiatives, she also develops, manages, and executes a variety of digital content, calling upon her decade of experience in documentary film and television.

An award-winning filmmaker and producer, Ms. Clift joined the philanthropic sector in 2010 when she became the communications officer for the Ford Foundation International Fellowships program, where she designed and implemented projects that demonstrated the link between educational opportunity and social change.  Prior to this role, she served as the community engagement manager for the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program, where she produced a now-annual undergraduate scholars convening and managed the development of an online platform to connect young scholars and changemakers across the African continent.

Ms. Clift has consulted for the International Women's Health Coalition, and has written and produced videos for Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Women's World Banking, and Safe Water Network.  In 2007, she received an Emmy nomination for her work on PBS's "Diary of a Foodie," and in 2008, her team received an International Documentary Association (IDA) Award for their Sundance TV series "Architecture School."  Her short documentary films have screened in festivals internationally.

Ms. Clift earned a BA in women's studies from Hamilton College and holds an MFA in film production from Boston University.