Shawn Batey, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, is documentary filmmaker based in Harlem, New York. Her interest in transitions of neighborhoods and cultural preservation was the inspiration for making Changing Face of Harlem. Her interest in documentary filmmaking brought her to New York City in 1997 when she was accepted into the Film and Video Production Workshop at Third World Newsreel, a progressive media arts organization that provides distribution, production, and training. Her directorial credits include Hair-tage, a cultural documentary on dreadlocks, 60+, a musical documentary of an all-female senior citizen steel drum band, and Through My Eyes, a child’s perspective on September 11th. Her films have been screened nationwide by universities, museums, community organizations, academic conferences, and numerous film festivals. She has been invited as a guest speaker and participant on panels surrounding themes of community, race, and gentrification. Her works continue to show the exploration of Black Identity.