Susan Shumaker is a story researcher and producer with Florentine Films. She is currently working on The Dust Bowl, scheduled for release in 2012, and on Country Music.
Susan joined the Florentine family in 2002 as an intern on The War with funding from an NEA/West Virginia Humanities Council professional development grant. She worked with writer/producer Dayton Duncan on the Emmy award-winning The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, focusing on contributions made to the parks by underserved populations, historically and today. She also collaborated with WETA on the extensive educational outreach materials for The War and The National Parks.
Before Florentine, Susan produced digital multimedia, developing award-winning educational CD-ROMS and websites for Harvard, Brown, and Columbia Universities in the early 1990s. She left the field in 1996 to indulge her passion for food and travel, writing for national publications and publishing a successful line of travel guides for vegetarians.
Susan graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia University and received a Masters of Theological Studies degree from Harvard Divinity School. She lives in West Virginia with her husband, Than, and their two children, Rhowyn and Eli.