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Struggling to Achieve the American Dream

September 29, 2010 by

[HTML1] William D. Caballero is a 27-year-old Puerto Rican-American MTV Movie Award nominated filmmaker, editor, violinist, composer, and artist. Recipient of the prestigious Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship, he holds a BFA from Pratt Institute and a Master’s from New York University.

His first feature-length documentary, American Dreams Deferred, won the first annual HBO–NALIP Documentary Grant and recently premiered at the 2010 New York Latino Film Festival.

William joins Keeping Up with Gen Y to talk about his goal of using his documentaries to start conversations among Gen Y about pressing societal issues. He also explains the importance of education in helping young people achieve their American Dreams.

More about William D. Caballero
William’s main goal is to explore new venues of art and expression through a combination of music, film and digital art.

Originating from a background in special effects compositing, William’s first visual works were digital films and animations using green screening technology. Without Sin and Themes and Variations, directed and animated by William, were two such experimental films that earned him national television and multimedia premieres at Lincoln Center, two MTV Movie Award Nominations, and first place at SIGGRAPH 2006 (the largest computer graphics festival in the world). His visual works often include original self-composed soundtracks, which explore minimalistic approaches and are influenced by the music of native cultures across the globe. An accomplished violinist, William plays with a variety of acoustic and electronic ensembles.

William’s current projects include a feature length documentary entitled American Dreams Deferred, which won the first annual HBO-NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) Documentary Grant, and Speak! So the World will Listen!, a musical documentary concert funded by the Apollo Theater.

Photo Credit: Martine Bisagni

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About Tamara Bell

Tamara Bell is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Y Gen Out Loud, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides a platform for Generation Yto discuss national politics and public policy issues.

Tamara began her journalism career as a staff reporter for the Dallas Times Herald. A few years later, she moved to York, Pa., as a political reporter for the York Dispatch, covering local, state, and national government as well as writing investigative stories for the mid-sized daily newspaper.

A Texas girl at heart, Tamara returned to Dallas a year later to work as press relations director for the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. John Bryant. The next year, she moved to Austin and the Texas Legislature, where she stayed for 15 years. While at the Legislature, Tamara worked for Democratic House members as Chief-of-Staff and Press Secretary, and as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Senate State Affairs Committee chaired by a Republicansenator.

In 1996, Tamara became co-owner of a political newsletter covering state issues and elections. As Editor-in-Chief, Tamara helped shape the weekly publication into a must-read for state officials, legislative aides, and lobbyists. More recently, Tamara wrote a regular column analyzing coverage by the Texas Capitol Press Corps for an online political publication. She also works as a lecturer in the Advertising Department at The University of Texasat Austin.

Tamara has also been a judge for the 2010 Bright Ideas Award given by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, served as a panelist at the Society of Professional Journalists 2010 Region 8 Conference where the theme was How to Save Journalism, and has been a guest lecture for the Advertising Department’s Internship course, speaking about the jobs outlook for graduating seniors.

Tamara earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She resides in Austin with her son, Jackson.

Tamara Bell is also the Host of Keeping Up with Gen Y on WomensRadio. Keeping Up with Gen Y offers discussions, interviews, and commentary about important issues of the day from the perspective of Generation Y (18-to 30-years-old). Aimed at all generations interested in learning about and inspiring young people, this show features professionals, experts, researchers, and members of Gen Y who share insights and experiences about the topics on the minds of today’s young adults.