| Melissa Berton | |
| Birth Date: | 3 July 1967 |
| Birth Place: | San Diego, California |
| Citizenship: | American |
| Alma Mater: | UCLA (Bachelors) Warren Wilson College (Masters) |
| Occupation: | Educator, producer, social activist, speaker |
| Known For: | The Pad Project Period. End of Sentence. |
Melissa Berton (born July 3, 1967) is an American educator, producer, speaker, and social activist. She is known for her work as a co-producer of Period. End of Sentence., which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 2019.[1] [2]
Berton was born on July 3, 1967, in San Diego, California. She received a bachelor of arts in Theater from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She later completed a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Warren Wilson College.[3] [4]
Berton has had a multifaceted career as an educator, producer, speaker, and activist.[5] [6] She is a Los Angeles-based high school teacher, and her passion for social justice and education led her to work with her students on various global issues, including menstrual equity.[7]
In addition to her work as a producer and educator, Berton has written articles for various media outlets. In 2021, she wrote an opinion piece for Variety discussing the impact of the Oscar win and its role in highlighting menstrual health issues. In addition, she has also written a screenplay in which Jack Black portrays the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, an adaptation covered by Dylan Thomas News.
In 2013, Berton and her students at Oakwood School in Los Angeles created The Pad Project, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote menstrual equity and provide access to affordable menstrual products in underserved communities. In 2016, the club raised money to send a low-tech pad-making machine to Kathikhera, a rural village near Delhi, India. Later in 2018, they raised more money to bring on a director and make a short documentary about what happened when the machine arrived in Kathikhera.[8] Their efforts led to co-produce Period. End of Sentence., a documentary short film directed by Rayka Zehtabchi about Indian women leading a quiet sexual revolution.[9] The film was critically acclaimed and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film at 91st Academy Awards.[10] [11] [12]