Department
School
Expertise
Biography
Kathryn Pasternak is a veteran of wildlife, conservation, and cultural films and recipient of two National Emmy Awards, spending some 16 years at National Geographic Television working on high-end television programs for international distribution. Since 2007, she’s been producing media independently both as a freelancer and small business owner. Pasternak produced an award-winning independent feature documentary called “Doeville” that premiered at the DC Environmental film festival and screened in several countries. Her most recent project was three multimedia exhibits for an international travelling exhibition on Ramses the Great.
Pasternak brings over 25 years of experience in television production, independent filmmaking and interactive media to her role as an instructor for the Department of Art in the Rome School Music, Drama and Art. She has lived and worked professionally in the media industry in New York, Los Angeles, Johannesburg, and Washington DC and brings a wealth of practical knowledge to her classes at CUA.
Pasternak devoted her early career to National Geographic Television, emerging as a specialist in wildlife and natural history storytelling. She revels in the nuances of animal behavior and in making science accessible, fun and engaging. Pasternak is also skilled at in-depth content research, directing and interviewing people, and honing stories in the edit room.
Pasternak is the recipient of two National Emmy Awards for “Best Science and Nature Program” and a nominee for two more. After leaving National Geographic, she lived on a wildlife reserve in Zimbabwe for a year, writing and producing a series for Animal Planet. Her feature documentary “Doeville”, which she also filmed herself, tells the quirky, engaging tale of Virginia’s last deer farmer. It premiered at DC’s Environmental Film Festival in 2015 and since then has delighted audiences around the world. Pasternak grew up in Edmonton, Alberta and graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Fine Arts before settling in the Washington, DC area.