Belvie Rooks, Executive Producer

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Executive Producer
Belvie Rooks is a writer, an educator and a television producer. Her published works have been included in a number of books and anthologies including: (Spring, 2001) "How to Turn a Brownfield into a Flower Garden: Socially and Ecologically Relevant Teaching Practices" in The Journal of Race, Poverty and the Environment; (Fall, 2001) "Hey, Listen Up!" in YES Magazine: A Journal of Positive Futures; Sacred Poems and Prayers in Praise of Life, edited by Mary-Ford Grabowsky (Doubleday, 1998); The Same River Twice: Honoring the Difficult by Alice Walker (Scribner, 1996); My Soul is a Witness: African Women's Sprirituality (Beacon Press, 1996); LifeNotes: Personal Writings by Contemporary Black Women (Norton, 1994); DoubleStitch: Black Women Write About Mothers and Daughters (HarperCollins, 1992); editor, Paris Connections: African American Artists in Paris (QED Press, 1992). Paris Connections was a 1993 American Book Award Winner.

In 1984, Ms. Rooks was a founding member of Wild Trees Press, a small, award-winning literary publishing company founded by Alice Walker. In 1997, she was a principal writer and co-creator (with Danny Glover and Jaws star Roy Scheider) of a theatrical piece entitled Who's gonna be there? Who's gonna be there? co-starring Danny Glover and Roy Scheider that was performed in Sag Harbor, at the historic Bay Street Theater. Who's gonna be there? also marked Ms. Rooks' debut as a director. She was writer and producer for Courage, a series hosted by Danny Glover that was selected in 2000 by TV Guide as one of the "Top Ten" inspirational shows on television. Ms. Rooks served for several years as a PBS on-camera correspondent for the popular weekly program "The World Press" which aired on over 200 PBS stations nation-wide.

Ms. Rooks has served as Director of National Affairs for Mother Jones Magazine and was formerly Director of Communications for the Urban Habitat Program, the nations oldest environmental justice organization.

Ms. Rooks is a board member of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, founded by astronaut Edgar Mitchell, and Bioneers (visionary and practical solutions for restoring the earth). She is also a founding board member of the Friends of Creation Spirituality, founded by Matthew Fox, and a Board Member Emeritus of the Positive Futures Network (publisher of YES! Magazine) and the Urban Habitat Program (the oldest environmental justice organization in the country).

Ms. Rooks has a Master of Arts Degree in Inter-Disciplinary Studies in Education, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Anthropology. She is currently Vice President of Project Development for Carrie Productions, Danny Glover's production company.

ENDORSEMENTS FOR "HEY, LISTEN UP"

It is possible that we today are living in the most difficult period of human history. The
planet's ecology is withering, the number of impoverished humans is growing each day, and
while this is taking place the world's most powerful nation, instead of providing leadership,
only acts in ways that make the situation worse. If the negative aspects of our moment are
eroding the faith of us adults, one can only imagine what it is taking place in the soul life of
our young children. In the midst of this dire situation Belvie Rooks appears on the world
scene. Her work "Hey, Listen Up" is designed to save our children from the nihilism and
cynicism threatening from every direction. She has crafted a curriculum and a pedagogical
process that empower the creativity of the young adults and that free them from so many
limiting self-conceptions. They learn that they are not here to become consumers; they
learn that they have a cosmic and planetary significance. The effect of her work on these
young people liberating, empowering, and illuminating. For some it could even be called
salvation.
--Brian Swimme, cosmologist

Belvie rooks has found a way to inspire and awaken, empower and excite, a new generation
of young people to learn their power and their place in the universe and in society. Her Hey,
Listen Up should be spread all over this country, from inner-city schools to suburban
malls—where young people are feeling the pain of boredom, neglect or feeling list.
–Matthew Fox, Ph.D.

Hey Listen Up! is a project with exceptional significance as we attempt to reconnect our
personal and cultural stories to the fifteen billion year unfolding epic of the universe. It’s a
project that empowers young people to use advanced software and technology to enhance
their own voices, and to do so within the healing context of the new science. I look forward
to its continued evolution.
--Stuart Cowan, Ph.D., Co-Author of Ecological Design