Who inspires you?
Using the hashtag #InspiringWomanPBS, “American Masters” asked the public to share their stories, too. So far, we’ve met Suzanne Eng’s grandmother, Ngun Moy Hum, who was “a liberated woman before it was fashionable,” and Anusheh Ansari, an Iranian American engineer.
Through January 2018, “American Masters” will introduce us to women who are making waves in their respective industries in a six-part web series called “Inspiring Woman.” Watch the trailer below.
Familiarize yourself with the women you’ll get to know when the “Inspiring Woman” web series kicks off Nov. 8.
Tracy Clayton is writer, humorist and the host of BuzzFeed’s award-winning podcast “Another Round,” which she co-hosts with Heben Nigatu. Clayton is a ball of energy on the podcast. She inspires us to speak openly about life, which she often does on her Twitter feed, @brokeymcpoverty. Clayton is a proud Southerner: She grew up in Louisville, Ky.
Chef Angie Mar
Premiere date: Nov. 22
Chef Angie Mar is the executive chef and owner of the Beatrice Inn, a historic restaurant in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Before she began to cooking professionally at 28, Mar sold commercial real estate in Los Angeles for 10 years. She inspires us to start fresh, even when it’s risky. These days, Mar spends all her “waking hours thinking about meat,” and it has paid off: Food & Wine magazine named Mar one of its Best New Chefs in 2017. She won last year’s Chochon 555, an annual event in which chefs celebrate the heritage pig. In 2015, she conquered “Chopped: Grill Masters.”
Jewelbots CEO Sara Chipps
Premiere date:Dec. 6
Sara Chipps founded Girl Develop It, a nonprofit focused on teaching women to become web and software developers in 57 cities nationwide. As founder and CEO of Jewelbots, Chipps has modernized the friendship bracelet for curious girls who want to program their jewelry to send secret messages and change colors. Chipps is a JavaScript developer. She inspires us to build something and take pleasure in communicating again.
Performance artist Molly Soda
Premiere date:Dec. 20
Everything artist Molly Soda does lives online. Born in 1989, Soda saw the Internet grow as she did. Like many young women growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Soda journaled openly online and took photos of herself before the word “selfie” entered popular vernacular. Her latest solo exhibition — called “thanks for the add!” — takes us back to the days of MySpace and AOL. The Brooklyn-based artist also recently co-authored the book “Pics or It Didn’t Happen: Images Banned from Instagram” with Arvida Bystrom. Soda inspires us to get nostalgic, find our old LiveJournals and embrace the Internet, even if it’s sometimes a harsh place.
Skai Blue Media CEO Rakia Reynolds
Premiere date: Jan.3
Rakia Reynolds founded Skai Blue Media, a multimedia communications firm, in 2008 after working in the film and television industry for five years. Her clients include model Ashley Graham, tennis legend Serena Williams and reader extraordinaire Marley Dias. Reynolds attended Temple University in Philadelphia, and she remains committed to her community by encouraging entrepreneurship at the local and national level. Reynolds inspires us to be vocal and share our expertise with those around us.
Visual artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
Premiere date: Jan. 17
In the fall of 2012, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh started “Stop Telling Women to Smile,” an international street art series that tackles gender-based street harassment. Fazlalizadeh is a Brooklyn-based illustrator and artist. Her work — often seen in public spaces — inspires us to reflect regularly. Take, for example, the street art campaign “When Women Disrupt.” Along with artist Jessica Sabogal and filmmaker Melinda James, Fazlalizadeh traveled through California, Arizona and New Mexico, installing posters that asked questions like, “What does it mean to be white in a society that was created to benefit you?”
For more information, visit pbs.org/inspiringwoman.
