About

For over fifteen years Dr. Kristen Ali Eglinton has devoted her life to elevating the voices of vulnerable communities around the globe, including young women survivors of violence. She holds a doctorate in social and educational research from the University of Cambridge, and is co-founder and executive director of Footage Foundation, an international NGO dedicated to applying empirically sound methods and the latest technology to improve the wellbeing and lives of some of the world’s most silenced and marginalized groups – in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Through Footage Kristen creates and implements various multi-media programs, including those that enable young women to share their stories in a safe and secure environment – a process that helps them shed the shame that accompanies trauma, break the cycle of violence and become agents of change. Kristen’s extensive fieldwork, in places ranging from Russia to the South Bronx to Greece’s Skaramagas refugee camp, ensures that Footage reaches the people who need it most. 

Kristen’s work is deeply rooted in academic and field research. She is an expert qualitative and ethnographic practitioner, focusing in particular on using innovative methodologies and how the science of narrative, empathy and compassion can achieve psychological and physiological change. She has published in leading peer-reviewed journals including Youth & Society and Young, and is the author of two books including Youth Identities, Localities, and Visual Material Culture (Springer) – a rich participatory ethnography of youth lives in New York City and sub-Arctic Canada. 

As an applied social scientist and design ethnographer, Kristen has contributed to international projects involving mental, social, and emotional wellbeing, refugee voice, gender-based violence, young women’s leadership, Aboriginal health and suicide prevention, addiction and compassion, childhood obesity, financial inclusion, and on multinational technology for development projects, including one project that established information sharing systems across indigenous villages in South Africa. Her clients range from international foundations, to universities, to UN missions and non-profits, to Fortune 500 companies and start-up social enterprises. 

Among other successes, under Kristen’s leadership, Footage has built the world’s largest digital storytelling platform and amplifying the experiences of women and violence, and has received nine diplomacy awards from the U.S. Department of State. Her work with Footage has been featured in various fora, including the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (invited speaker, 2016), Salt and Diageo’s “100 Inspiring Women for International Women’s Day” (2016) Reader’s Digest’s “8 Inspiring Women Who Are Changing the Lives of Women Across the World” (2017), UN Commission on the Status of Women (2019, 2021, 2022), and BBC (2022).

Banner photo credit: Valerie Terranova