Paula M. Froehle

A film director, visual artist, educator and entrepreneur, Paula has had a long and notable career in the arts, education, and entrepreneurship. As Co-founder & CEO of Chicago Media Project, she guides 50+ members in the philanthropic support of social impact documentary films. In addition to CMP, she oversees the CMP Invest/Impact & CMPAC equity funds, which provide equity investments in documentary films with commercial appeal. Paula is a member of the Gamechanger film fund, whose mission is to finance and produce feature films directed by women.

In the field of education Paula has developed and implemented unique curricula in media, the arts and impact at the graduate and undergraduate level, most recently for Saybrook University where she launched a Social Impact Media Specialization within their Transformative Social Change MA degree program. Prior to co-founding CMP, Paula was the Founding Academic Dean of Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy (TFA), where she developed and implemented an intensive, immersive BA degree program in filmmaking, recording arts, graphic design, animation, and game design.

As a filmmaker, she has directed 12 films and over 20 media projects. Her directing credits include her feature-length documentary, 'The Show Must Go On: An Intimate Portrait of the Flying Wallendas' which screened at numerous festivals and is distributed by MVD Entertainment Group. She is currently in development on several documentary projects.

As an entrepreneur, in addition to CMP & TFA, she has been involved in the founding of several startups including Opal Pictures design & film production company (2004-pres) and Atavistic Chicago (1988-2006).