Ilana Lapid is a filmmaker and educator interested in telling stories of personal transformation, outdoor adventure and environmental conservation. She grew up in three countries (Israel, Canada, and the US), and holds a BA from Yale and MFA from the University of Southern California. Lapid received a Fulbright in Romania to work with visual stories of Roma children and was an Artist in Residence at the Slifka Center at Yale. She has directed multiple award-winning short films, including "Red Mesa" and "La Catrina." Her film "Yochi", shot in Belize and dealing with the illegal wildlife trade, was Oscar qualified and played at over 30 film festivals around the world. Lapid partnered with international NGOs to use the film for conservation education and "Yochi" was taken on screening tours across Cental America, Brazil and Tunisia. Lapid is an Associate Professor at the Creative Media Institute of New Mexico State University. She created an environmental filmmaking track at CMI, and is working to build a Southern NM Environmental Media Center at NMSU, as an interdisciplinary space to connect scientist working on climate and other pressing environmental issues with visual storytellers who can tell the story of their work, to maximize impact.