About

After a 32-year career as a feature writer, university magazine editor, and director of publications and periodicals at UAB, Pam Powell began telling stories via video, audio, and photography in 2009; she has produced several multi-chapter biographical films (life stories captured through video interviews and archival media) and has produced numerous short video features. Since 2014, she has conducted more than 100 full life-story interviews and edited this footage into several short films, as well as into video features about the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham. Bending the Arc is her first documentary miniseries; she serves as director, co-producer, writer, photographer/videographer, and one of the two primary editors of the film.

David Brower has spent four decades filming, directing and producing commercials, documentaries, narrative shorts and feature films, accumulating many awards. Growing up in Chicago, then living and working in Phoenix, he moved to Birmingham 28 years ago, then moved to Placitas, New Mexico in 2021. He was involved with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham for many years (for his children and for social justice issues), without ever joining the congregation, giving him both a familiarity and an objective perspective on the church. He hopes these films will inspire people to continue to fight for equal justice for everyone. He serves as co-producer, videographer, photographer, and one of the two primary editors of the films.

Shannon Leutzinger is a graphic designer and art director who has over ten years of experience working in marketing agencies as well as with in-house marketing departments. When approached by the Bending the Arc Project team to design the project’s branding, website, motion graphics, and marketing deliverables, she was honored. This project not only utilized her love of all things design and development, but it also tapped into her passion for history, community impact, and positive change. She is a South Alabama native who has called the Magic City home for years now. She is a graduate of Auburn University and obtained her master’s from Savannah College of Art and Design.

Gail Allyn Short is an award-winning writer and freelance journalist based in Birmingham, Alabama. She specializes in writing about business, government, social issues, education and faith for local, regional and national publications. Her work has appeared in American Profile, American City & County Magazine, Outreach, Business Alabama Magazine and Birmingham Watch, to name a few. She has covered everything from the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee and the minimum wage to the intersection between race and public education. When she isn’t working, she is volunteering in her church’s outreach programs. The work has included ministering to women at a work-release center in Birmingham. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Solomon Crenshaw Jr. spent nearly four decades telling stories under the banner of The Birmingham News and Alabama Media Group before being laid off in 2015. Since then, he has told stories as an independent contractor, writing features, snapping photos, and shooting videos for various clients, including the Bending the Arc Project. Along the way, Solomon has garnered several awards for his work. He has penned many of the feature stories that are on the Bending the Arc Project website; he has also conducted a number of video interviews and produced the timeline that provides additional historical perspective for the project.

Theo Moore II is a writer, historian, and filmmaker whose short-film documentaries shine a light on the often-overlooked history of African Americans in the American South. As the founding executive director of Hiztorical Vision Productions, his mission is to preserve and celebrate African American history. Growing up in Anniston, Alabama, he was inspired by stories of African American history he heard while facing the challenges of his own life, including the Freedom Riders’ stop in Anniston and the vibrant 15th street business district. A graduate of Troy University with a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in post-secondary education-history, he feels his academic background enriches his storytelling and understanding of historical narratives.

Tonya Groomes is an Atlanta chemical engineer whose relative was caught up in the brutal convict lease system in Birmingham back in the early 1900s. She and her family were featured in a Publitzer-Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name, and also in a documentary with the same title. She is a central narrator who helps weave the Bending the Arc films together.