Debra Gonsher Vinik

Dr. Debra Gonsher Vinik founded Diva Communications in 1985. She has produced and written nineteen documentaries of which eight have been nominated for Emmy awards and four have won the honors for Best Religious Programming: And The Gates Opened (2007), The Eternal Light (2008), Yearning To Belong (2009) and Divine Prescription: Stories of Faith, Health and Community (2013). Her films have been screened all around the country, with her most recent project Every Word Has Power:The Poerty of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (2015) will be showing at the Washington Jewish Music Festival in May 2016, and has been nominated for an Emmy Award. In addition, Dr. Gonsher Vinik is a Professor and Chairperson of the Communication Arts and Sciences Department at Bronx Community College of the City University of New York. She began her career as a producer of Bravo Magazine and was head of production for both CBS/Fox Video and Scanline Video. Her book The Community College Guide was published by BenBella Press. In the last few years, Dr. Gonsher Vinik has concentrated on interfaith documentaries highlighting social justice issues. Debra is also the acting secretary/treasurer for the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission of New York City. Her latest documentary Beauty of Their Dreams focuses on spiritual communities and individuals motivated by faith to help all girls have the chance to learn, while exploring why religious institutions so often neglect this pressing need. Filming for this topic has taken place in New York, Boston, and Haiti, and most recently Rwanda and Uganda. Dr. Gonsher Vinik has also expanded into short form videos for the Internet and mobile apps. Her web-series Wisdom of the Holidays applies the lessons of the Jewish holidays in ways that are universal to all faiths. The sequel, Wisdom of the Prayers, ensures that people of all faiths have a bank of prayers as a tool for their connection to a higher power. She also runs the website Mincha Moment, which is devoted to the daily practice of gratitude. The list of things Debra is grateful for is HUGE, but some of the inventory includes: cats, malted milk balls, painless dentists, fresh sheets, strong lungs, pedicures, running, begonias, old friends, and good health, to name a few.