Named as an “Architect of Change” by Maria Shriver, Sara Hirsh Bordo is a 15x award-winning filmmaker and Founder/CEO of Women Rising®, listed as “One of the Most Innovative, Interesting, and Purpose-Driven Women Led Startups to Watch” by Inc Magazine.
Women Rising® began in 2013 with Sara directing and producing the first TEDxAustinWomen which became the year’s most live and on-demand viewed TEDxWomen event around the world. Sara’s film directorial debut, A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY premiered and won the 2015 Audience Award at SXSW and won awards at all eleven festivals played, received two WEBBY Awards, and secured global distribution via National Geographic, LifetimeTV, Amazon Prime, and iTunes.
In 2017, Sara’s second film, PROTECT HER, was a first-of-its-kind project, aimed at protecting girls on campus by activating the power of the schools’ male athletes and was acquired by Amazon Prime. In 2018, Sara executive produced the animated short TIGHTLY WOUND, which played 25 film festivals worldwide, was acquired by Condé Nast and most recently executive produced the five-time award-winning documentary about deaf access to entertainment, SIGN THE SHOW, acquired by Apple+.
She has directed and produced Prevention Magazine’s Health and Wellness Summit, The Women’s March of Texas, which became the largest gathering of women in Texas history, followed by the Official Women in Football Weekend at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, as well as executive produced March for Our Lives NYC, and directed The United State of Women Summit at the Shrine in Los Angeles, keynoted by Former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Currently executive producer of SXSW Community Award-winning ConnectHer International Film Festival and consulting director for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-sponsored, ConnectHer Pitch Fest, Sara has written and directed national short films and award-winning campaigns for clients like TOYOTA, ESPN, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Marvel, Farmhouse Fresh Goods, and University of Texas at Austin’s NIKE 360, as well as consulted on many Hollywood film marketing campaigns including Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman franchise and Sony/Marvel’s blockbuster Madame Web.
In 2024, Sara and Women Rising released the findings of “Autoimmunity and the ‘Good‘ Girls,” the first sociological survey exploring the intersection of empowerment and autoimmunity in American women. The research has been featured by Psychology Today, is being used as curriculum for graduate school, and Dr. Richard Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States, stated, “We are fortunate that Sara has taken this exploration on to inform us all on these gender dynamics of empowerment and health.”
Her first book “Autoimmunity and the ‘Good‘ Girls: How the Power to Put Yourself First Can Keep You Well,” sold at auction in a worldwide deal to HarperOne/Harper Collins in August 2024 for release in 2026.
Sara and her work have been featured in the books I Am That Girl and The Feminine Revolution, is a member of the Producer’s Guild of America and a three-time Juror for Best Documentary. An invited delegate to TED Women, the United Nations Media Day, the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit, and The Obama White House’s Champions of Change Summit, Sara has been nominated twice for Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneur, and is a member of the Global Wellness Institute Women in Leadership Committee. She has spoken about her creative work and activism at Apple, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, the Air Force Academy, Women in Film, The Associated Press, and SXSW.
Sara and Women Rising’s work have been featured in Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, Bustle, The Washington Post, Women.com, NPR, Fortune, Variety, Women and Hollywood, TCU Magazine, Tri Delta Magazine, Austin Woman Magazine, People, The New York Times, Women to Watch, and The Kelly Clarkson Show.
She previously held positions in media and entertainment, including Executive Director of Interactive Marketing at Paramount Pictures, VP of Digital Marketing at MGM Studios, and CEO and Co-Founder of NowLive, which was acquired by Live Media Group.
Sara lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is Aunt Sissy to 11 nieces and nephews, and Fairy Godmother Sara to three godchildren.
To learn more about Sara Hirsh Bordo, her films and Women Rising:
Instagram: @sarahirshbordo
Facebook and LinkedIn: Sara Hirsh Bordo