Stacy Marie Lawrence is a talented, energetic and vibrant leader, organizer, fundraiser and photographer whose accomplishments in the past decade include establishing a unique and highly successful film camp for deaf teenagers and helping to make the Deaf Rochester Film Festival one of the primary venues for showcasing films about, by and for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing.

In 2013, Stacy conceived, directed and raised funds for a unique summer film camp for deaf teenagers. For two weeks, deaf and hard of hearing children from all over the country learned how to write, shoot and direct their own video productions under the tutelage of professional deaf filmmakers, animators and screenwriters from around the world. Profiled in several news stories, the camp was so successful that it has become an annual event. In August 2014, campers produced an ASL adaptation of Pharrell Williams’ smash hit “Happy,” which garnered international attention and over half a million YouTube hits in its first two weeks.

Stacy is also the owner of Stacy Marie Lawrence Photojournalism, where she specializes in candid black-and-white photography of important events, children, weddings, births and anniversaries. In 2007, she designed, organized, promoted and displayed an exhibit of her photos from the 2006 Gallaudet protest, entitled “Sign Truth To Power,” at the RIT/NTID Dyer Arts Center.