Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough, Ph.D., Screenwriter and Producer Gayla, a screenwriter and producer, has written several award-winning feature and short film screenplays. She tackles societal issues, based on her experiences as an entrepreneur and public policy consultant, and her international travels to more than 60 countries. Through her scripts and films, she exploits the power of TV and film to influence public thinking on social issues. Her writing builds on her vast life experiences, enabling her to create powerful and credible characters in challenging situations. Her day job is running KH Consulting Group (www.KHConsultingGroup.com). Over the course of her career, she has consulted with more than 200 clients, including entertainment clients (CBS, Fox, Jim Hensen, and SAG-AFTRA); government (federal, state, and local agencies), universities, airports and ports, and other private sector companies (banks, utilities, and hospitals). She has lived in 9 U.S. cities and worked with 9 foreign countries, which has given her insights into different cultures and mind-sets. She teaches international public policy at the University of Southern California (USC), which keeps her current in world affairs. All of these life experiences are great fodder for her scripts. Her feature scripts have placed among the top contenders in competitions, including Nicholls (top 10%) and BlueCat Screenplay Contest, Feature, Semi-Finalist (top 1%), among others. Two of her feature scripts made the second round for the Sundance Lab and two received “Recommends” from CAA. She has also written three TV pilots. She has written/produced three short films that have screened at more than 40 festivals (Palm Springs, LA Shorts Fest, Denver Starz, Houston, Phoenix, etc.). Gayla’s short SLAP shows how edgy her work can be and was selected for Tribeca’s Here+Now exhibit. SLAP has won best-of-the-fest and audience awards. Available through Shorts International and at: https://vimeo.com/79864531 She has an extensive academic background (BS, Northwestern; Masters, Tufts; Ph.D./Masters, University of Virginia). When she decided to pursue screenwriting, she honed her skills through UCLA Extension (Feature Screenwriting certificate) and Stowe Writers’ Lab, Squaw Valley Screenwriting, and Writers’ Bootcamp. She became involved in WIF, FIND, and other entertainment alliances of her alma maters. She is collaborating with Director Summer-Joy (SJ) Muñoz Mainon and Producer Elaine Edell of Edell productions on her feature script HELOISE+ABELARD. More information about her work is at www.GaylaFilm.com and http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3115190