After initially being both underwhelmed (by the work choices) and overwhelmed (by the scope of the industry) when she arrived in Hollywood, Henri Hebert found a way to use her technical and storytelling skills in a way which serves her personal passion, providing a voice to children. Her path to where she is today, being the right person at the right place and time, can inspire all YII readers to pay attention, on their own career journey, to the intersection of their talent/skills and what truly moves them.

Current Position: Producer and director of feature-length documentary, “Dream With Me: One Year in America’s Public Schools” (along with producer and co-director, Kimberly Goodman).

College & degree: University of Massachusetts Amherst, BA, Communications

Internship: I did three internships: One in NY, at MTV Networks, where I worked in programming and also in the casting department, one at WCVB in Boston, working on a religious panel show called ”In Good Faith,” and one at the local public access station in my hometown. For that one, I was involved in putting together the newscast, working the camera, writing, and doing a little bit of reporting.

First  job out of school: I had saved up money during school and I bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles. Within a week of being here, I had a job at “Inside Edition” / “American Journal.”  They were amping up their crew as a result of the OJ Simpson trial. I moved from nighttime receptionist to daytime receptionist and then to researcher very quickly.

Career Path: Honestly, I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I was a bit let down when I first got here. I had worked so hard in school and felt ready to greet the world, but I hadn’t been aware that there were so many jobs and paths in the industry and how news is different from scripted and game shows were different from both of those.

In 2000, I ran the LA marathon for the first time and I was astounded at the amount of community support there was at the event. It got me thinking in that direction and then, after the September 11th terrorist attacks, I made a firm decision to start giving back. I found a non-profit called the Step Up Woman’s Network and began producing different programs for them on Saturdays. A 6-week photography program I did inspired me to tell the stories from the children’s perspective.

During the same period, I went from being the script coordinator at the game show, ”The Weakest Link,” to associate producer on the series, “Average Joe,” segment producer on a special about “Seigfried and Roy,” and then producer on a couple of seasons of “The Biggest Loser.” On those shows, I learned how to use a camera, put together a story, and understand character development. And I met Kimberly, with whom I formed FiveFold Productions.

Kimberly and I started doing our own docu-shorts during this time. Simultaneously, we were working with Step Up Women’s Network documenting a photography program for at-risk teen girls entitled, “When I am President,” for which we won the Commitment to Philanthropy Volunteer Award. That was a gift to Step Up, which they used, and may still use, as a fundraising tool. We made two more shorts for Step Up, one called “Real Beauty” sponsored by Dove and the other one, “I Believe…,” sponsored by Crystal Light documenting the college tour that Step Up does for its teens.

Eureka moment: When I saw the effect “When I Am President” had on people when they watched it at Step Up’s annual luncheon. The room was filled with chatting women but early on in the film, everyone fell silent and it was clear that people were inspired. I thought, “We have a way to reach people, to allow children to have a voice to adults that isn’t often heard.”

During this period, I read “The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts,” a report which was put out by the Gates Foundation. I was so affected by it, it motivated our current project, “Dream With Me,” which examines the current state of the US public educational system. We met with reform teams of various school systems to see who we wanted to follow and ultimately chose Los Angeles Unified as the central focus. We also went to New York and Texas, in order to compare schools in other parts of the country to what we were finding at the LAUSD. So we spent all of the 2008 – 2009 school year fundraising and filming. We are now in post and currently raising completion funds.

Big break: Rather than having a big break, it’s more like every point led me to this place. And it wasn’t a clear cut road.

Describe a typical work day in your current position: I spend two – three hours researching new articles on education and putting them into my Twitter feed so I can be current – and be a source on what’s current – on what’s happening in education. I also spend thirty minutes each morning answering email. This is followed by about three hours of looking at footage and putting together sequences, as well as logging tapes, and a couple hours of filling out grant applications for more funding to finish the film. I’m  also trying to create a blog post a week on the “Dream With Me” site.

Worst job (or worst day) in entertainment industry: “Most challenging” day, I think, was in New York, when I was producing a reality show. There was a blizzard and everything was shut down. I had to take the cast and crew to the location via the subway and then choreograph shooting the cast sledding on a very popular hill in Central Park. (This was on the fly, by the way. No permit or advanced planning.) The park was packed and I was sure either the footage would be unusable because of non-cast members in the shot or, far worse, one of the cameramen would be injured during filming. Luckily, everything turned out okay, but it’s very stressful to be responsible for that many people in that type of situation.

Best job (or day) in entertainment industry:  One of ”The Biggest Loser” seasons I did was Navy wives versus Marine wives. We followed the Navy wives to Hawaii, to Pearl Harbor, to greet their husbands coming back from Iraq. When the ship rounded the corner with the American flag waving and all the men suited up on deck, it was breathtaking. And then we got to go on the ship for a tour, followed by a tour of the base. It was one of those experiences I only got to have because of my job.

Best thing about your current job: Being able to inspire people into action in the name of education for children. One person we know of saw our trailer at an event and because of it, six months later, signed up to become a teacher. And the kids we film are so great and so hopeful, and knowing you could have a part personally in making their dreams come true reinvigorates me to be even more passionate about education and giving them voice.

Worst thing about your current job: The lack of funding and being an independent production team looking for the money to finish the film.

Brush with greatness (can be a celebrity encounter or just being exposed to someone being brilliant at what they do): The two principals that we followed at Markham Middle School in Watts, CA. No matter how challenging the environment can be with everything that is thrown on their laps, they are so focused and positive. I don’t know how they do it. I am in awe. When you are with them, you just know that everything is going to work, even though you have no idea how.

Secret of your success/advice to the newbie: Perseverance, openness to possibility, trust that where you are now will get you where you want to be. Being willing to work hard, really learn the craft… and build a network as well.

Next move: We need to raise $250,000 to $500,000 to finish the film and $150,000 to market it. Once we are finished, we’re going to take the film across the country on a yellow school bus on a tour to show people the reforms that have worked in the schools we have filmed and help other schools improve. We want to teach the school community to do it themselves. We want to inspire action.

To find out more about DREAM WITH ME: ONE YEAR IN AMERICA’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS, visit the website by clicking here.

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