Jonathan Fisher

About Jonathan Fisher

Helped lead our nonprofit\'s successful initiatives to equip and train public housing residents and individuals serving a term of probation to take control of their own public narrative by documenting their lives photographically. Co-edited both \"Project Lives,\" the globally acclaimed book arising from the first program and \"In a Whole New Way,\" the widely praised work arising from the second enterprise. Wrote and directed \"In a Whole New Way,\" the documentary celebrating the probation effort, winner of over eighty awards. Now managing our nonprofit\'s third initiative,\"My Climate Future: High Schoolers Picture Their World to Come\" and our fourth,\"Not From These Parts: Maine\'s Newest Immigrants View Their World.\"As a consultant, hugely successful through the power of story in persuading internal and external stakeholders to alter their behavior. Well-versed in both communications and analysis, often from a technology perspective. Won multiple national awards for creativity and storytelling. Impacted social policy at the city and state levels. Earned millions for employer while reducing costs by millions more. Garnered extensive media coverage redounding to employer credit. Communicated effectively to global audiences, including diplomats. Led turnarounds of transit logistics, human resources automation, and public housing branding. Managed up to 100 staff, with a budget of $10 million. Eased the lives of millions through technology innovation.

Experience

1. Executive Director

   Seeing For Ourselves

   Sep 2014 — Present · Cape Elizabeth, ME, US

   Lead a non-profit that employs participatory photography for social change. The first effort empowered public housing residents to create a new media narrative by documenting their lives photographically. The output was collected in the book \"Project Lives,\" which went on to achieve global acclaim, multiple awards, and the support of notables including a former US president, a sitting Supreme Court justice, the New York State governor, and the New York City first lady. The book\'s huge success led the city to ask for a similar effort on behalf of New Yorkers on probation. This program, aiming to help reform criminal justice while imparting a marketable skill, led to the award-winning documentary \"In a Whole New Way\" airing on PBS in 2023, in turn leading to a book published in 2023. The documentary and these books establish a new form of storytelling. Our third initiative,\"Picturing My Climate Future,\" seeking to amplify the views of youth in the national conversation around climate change, got underway in 2023 and is still ongoing, while our fourth initiative,\"Not From These Parts\"—an effort to promote a new visual narrative around Maine\'s immigrant communities—launched and was completed in 2025.

Education

• Binghamton University

  Bachelor of Arts (BA), Medieval History

• Northwestern University

  Master of Science (MS), Transportation

Skills

• Project Delivery
• Software Documentation
• Business Analysis
• Strategic Communications
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Change Management
• Change Communications
• Presentation Skills
• Corporate Communications
• Management
• Editing
• Public Sector Marketing
• Portals
• Stakeholder Management
• Community Engagement
• Intranet
• Marketing Strategy
• Sharepoint
• Project Management
• Internal Communications
• Intranet Strategy
• Marketing