Rebecca Carpenter is a filmmaker, educator, and facilitator who helps individuals and communities find meaning and direction in the face of complex change. With a background in storytelling, visual communication, and design thinking, her work centers on the belief that creativity, collaboration, and curiosity are essential tools for navigating uncertainty.

Her latest film, The Space Architect, follows Constance Adams, a designer who uses space architecture principles to imagine ways humans might adapt to life on a rapidly changing planet Earth. It serves as the foundation for #TheMothershipProject, a growing network of educators, students, and creatives working together to apply systems thinking and human-centered design to climate adaptation. The project invites young people to imagine resilient futures and to prototype practical solutions with joy, hope, and a sense of agency.

Her first feature documentary, Requiem for a Running Back, began as a personal journey to understand her father's life as an NFL player and coach, and became a broader investigation into traumatic brain injury and the hidden costs of a game - and a family - embedded in this uniquely American identity. The process of making the film taught her how facing hard truths—personally and collectively—can create space for understanding, healing, and creating community on a new basis.

Rebecca sees her role as a guide; creating structures where people can think clearly, feel deeply, and work together on what matters most. She is currently developing open-source syllabi, learning communities, and media campaigns that invite others into this process.

Her work continues to explore how we metabolize change—not by avoiding discomfort, but by moving through it in communities of imagination, integrity, and care.

Rebecca holds a BA in Germanic Studies from Harvard University, an MFA in Filmmaking from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MA in Teaching from the University of Southern California. Her academic background supports her ongoing commitment to learning, storytelling, and building spaces where others can do their best thinking.