Philanthropic Works
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"Michele Spitz is a philanthropist whose focus is advocacy for equal access to arts and education. It is with the passion of an artist, the generosity of a philanthropist, and the spirit of joy that she enriches lives and embraces the world by inclusion."
Film & Museum Sponsorship
Woman of Her Word has sponsored and voiced the audio description for select films for the 2014-2017 Superfest: SF International Disability Film Festival, the 2015-2019 ReelAbilities: NY International Disability Film Festival, and 2019 Deaf Film Camp. She was a sponsor for the
first ReelAbilities Film Festival: Los Angeles 2018. Michele continues to sponsor and voice audio/video
description for select media projects including the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.
Woman of Her Word funds assistive audience technology to facilitate equality of experience. She has supported captioning technology for
Deaf West Theater performances at the Wallis Annenberg Center, Superfest Film Festivals,
Broadway Dreams and technology for the
new upcoming New York facility for
Assistive Technology
Woman of Her Word supports That Man May See; UCSF medical program dedicated to understanding the causes and mechanisms of eye diseases, with the goals of slowing, halting, and preventing deterioration of sight.
Underwriting
Performing Arts
Woman of Her Word believes in the power of
art behind the stage, as well as on the stage. Michele is a supporter of Broadway Dreams,
The Miracle Project, Actors for Autism,
Deaf West Theater, Axis Dance and Meet
the Biz; organizations that enable natural
integration of life and disability through
theatrical performance.
Woman of Her Word develops and implements ticket outreach programs, underwriting patron attendance tickets annually for the performing, visual and cultural arts world. These programs serve disabled, senior, veteran and other underserved communities. She is a supporter of SFJAZZ, JCCSF Arts & Ideas, San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, Osher Marin JCC Senior Excursions, LightHouse for the Blind and Helen Keller Services for the Blind.
Underwriting
Outreach Tickets
Medical Research
Media Grants & Scholarships
Woman of Her Word initiated the first British Academy of Film and Television Arts New York (BAFTA) Media Studies Scholarship for graduate students with a disability at Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema from 2016-2019. Michele also initiated the first grant to produce and voice audio description for the New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) annual disability film recipient from 2015-2018, and the In-Kind Post Production Documentary recipient for 2018.