BETSY WALTERS, OFFICER

Betsy Walters has spent over 15 years working for and with industry nonprofits and festivals to curate innovative media content and develop programming for emerging and professional media makers. As the former Executive Director of CINE, she shepherded the Marvin Hamlisch Film Scoring Contest to over 600% growth in global participation since its inception in 2012. She has presented to film students at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, American University’s MFA in Film & Media Arts, Howard University School of Communications and NYU Washington DC. She has served on the international jury of the Ekotopfilm/Envirofilm Festival in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Betsy is currently a PhD candidate in Boston University’s American and New England Studies program, having completed her MFA in Film & Television Studies at BU’s College of Communication in 2020. Her research centers around the industrial sites and discourses of prestige — including film and television festivals and awards — and the modern film and television industry. Her dissertation examines how industrial shifts and cultural controversies have impacted the Academy Awards in the 21st century.