Summer Minerva

Summer Minerva, co-director, writer, producer (she/they) is an author, performer, and educator. She studied International Studies and Journalism, graduating from the University of Miami magna cum laude in 2009, going on to serve special needs students in public education with a prestigious teaching fellowship, earning a Masters of Science in Education from the City University of New York. She was a founding teacher of an environmentally focused, learner centered private school in Brooklyn, NY, and then went on to pursue writing, filmmaking, and performance. She studied acting under Brad Calcaterra for 6 years, performing in off-Broadway productions and independent films in NYC. She co-edited a groundbreaking book Italian Trans Geographies, published by SUNY Press. Her first feature documentary, Summer Within, has won several awards and is being screened internationally. She was an adjunct professor in SUNY Empire State College’s Labor Studies department and has developed her own methodology for working with students who struggle with executive functioning issues. Summer wrote, directed, and starred in several one person plays, including As Sylvia, and Tombola Bingo, which will debut in Australia in July 2024. Her first novel, about the femminielli of Naples in World War II, will come out in 2026.