Dawn Porter '88

The co-founder of Trilogy Films, Porter quickly made a name for herself as a filmmaker after leaving a successful career in corporate law. In 2013, she released her directorial debut, Gideon’s Army, which follows the lives of three under-resourced public defenders in the Deep South as they struggle to represent their clients. The documentary won the top editing prize at the Sundance Film Festival and an Emmy nomination. 
 
Porter’s subsequent films have addressed segregation, anti-abortion laws, and U.S. politics. In 2020, she released John Lewis: Good Trouble, which received widespread praise, snagging the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Historical/Biographical Documentary and an NAACP Image Award. Most recently, Porter collaborated with director Nicole Newnham on 37 Words, a four-part ESPN docuseries celebrating the legacy of Title IX on its 50th anniversary.
 
Porter graduated from Swarthmore with a degree in political science and earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.