Michaela is…
…a Peabody-nominated, Emmy Award–winning director recognized for groundbreaking work in emerging technology storytelling. She was among the first directors to premiere a short film created with OpenAI’s SORA at the Tribeca Festival, and her original animated series drew over 2.2 million YouTube views in its first month.
Her acclaimed projects have earned honors including Best Directing in XR (Collision Awards), Grand Prize at the Philippine Animation Festival, and multiple nominations at the International VR Awards. She has also been named one of the “100 Original Voices of XR” and one of Blooloop’s 50 Immersive Influencers.
Michaela’s work has been showcased by institutions such as Venice Film Festival, SXSW, and New York Public Library, and featured in press outlets like TIME, Forbes, Variety, and The Guardian. She has collaborated with National Geographic, Ford Foundation, and Amnesty International, bringing impact-driven stories to life on global stages.
Michaela was integral in publishing one of the first LGBTQIA+ virtual reality experiences on the Meta Quest store and co-authored a white paper highlighting virtual reality as a tool for learning, impact, and engagement. Her impact-driven focus has led her to work with companies and institutions such as The Alaska Native Heritage Center, Games for Change, The Human Rights Campaign, The Nobel Peace Center, and The United Nations.
Passionate about purpose-driven creativity, Michaela focuses on projects that highlight social justice, equity, and underrepresented voices, making her a leader and innovator in the immersive storytelling space.
When she isn’t jumping through dimensions, you can find her obsessing over Star Wars, Pokémon, Avatar The Last Airbender, and hippopotamuses.
Michaela's Guiding Principles
To create
physical and digital experiences that have the power to transform
To connect
ideas to possibilities, intent to execution, and projects to key collaborators or funders.
To lead
whether internal teams or external stakeholders, everyone's time, energy, and opinions are treated with care and centered on trust.
To impact
the storytelling and emeging technology industries to value accessibility, inclusion, and safety.
Michaela's Foundation
Michaela coined the term -- compassionate storytelling.
Compassionate storytelling is the re-discovery of ethical storytelling through non-traditional mediums and honors the collaborators and the audience.
The first pillar of compassionate storytelling is to deeply collaborate with individuals that have lived or created their own powerful stories.
The second pillar of compassionate storytelling is to honor the essence of these stories.
The third pillar of compassionate storytelling is to take the audience members experiencing the story into deep consideration during the creative process.