Bios

Shane Johnson is an Emmy Award–winning documentary filmmaker and multimedia producer based in Syracuse, New York. His work focuses on history, public memory, and character-driven storytelling, with an emphasis on regional stories that illuminate larger national themes.

Shane has produced and contributed to documentary projects for public media, including work with New York PBS stations WSKG and WCNY. In 2023, he co-directed and edited the short-documentary Ralph Rotella: The Sole of Syracuse, which premiered at the Syracuse International Film Festival.

Courage and Conviction: Dr. Mary Walker’s War continues Shane’s commitment to historically grounded storytelling and to bringing overlooked figures and narratives into the public conversation.

An Emmy Award-winning editor, Mary has crafted award-nominated documentaries, instructional films, and national public service spots. As Senior Video Editor at Syracuse University and a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School, she blends storytelling acuity with technical excellence. 

Amy Manley is a multi-Emmy Award-winning television producer and director with over 25 years of experience crafting compelling visual stories across broadcast, documentary and digital platforms. Currently serving as Senior Multimedia Producer at Syracuse University, she leads the creative conception and production of dynamic digital content that expresses the university's academic excellence, research, and transformative mission.

John brings Emmy-winning experience in 3D animation, cinematic motion design, and documentary storytelling. His work on projects like Birthgap—The Prequel (2020) and Pray: The Story of Patrick Peyton (2020) has elevated complex subjects through dynamic visuals.

Joey is a full-time graphic designer for Syracuse University. A deeply-rooted enthusiasm for (and degree in) art history is what draws him toward compelling historic narratives like Dr. Walker’s. He is the youngest board member and secretary of the Oswego County Historical Society, offering pro-bono design services and marketing expertise to the film's production.

George DeMass is the Town Historian for Oswego, New York, where Dr. Mary Walker was born and raised. His extensive knowledge of Oswego's history provides important insight into the community, family, and reform-minded environment that shaped Walker's early life. 

Dr. Sharon M. Harris is the author of Dr. Mary Walker: An American Radical, 1832-1919, one of the definitive biographies of Walker's life. Her scholarship explores Walker's lifelong commitment to women's rights, dress reform, and social justice, offering invaluable insight into the convictions that made Walker one of the nineteenth century's most radical reformers.

Dr. Theresa Kaminski is the author of Dr. Mary Walker's Civil War and one of the foremost scholars on Walker's life. Her research provides essential insight into Walker's Civil War service, reform work, and enduring legacy.

Dr. Carol Faulkner is a historian specializing in nineteenth-century women's rights and reform movements. Her expertise helps place Walker within the broader struggle for women's equality and the evolving suffrage movement.

Danielle Funiciello is a historian and living-history interpreter at Fort Ontario, a Revolutionary- and Civil War-era fort in Oswego central to the region's military history. She has portrayed Dr. Walker in character and recreated her Civil War uniform by hand, giving the documentary rare insight into Walker's appearance, identity, and daily experience as a Union surgeon.

Sarah Handley-Cousins researches Civil War-era gender, disability, and medicine, and is the author of Bodies in Blue: Disability in the Civil War North. Her work illuminates the gendered military and medical culture that Walker had to navigate as one of the only female surgeons of her time.

Diane Sommerville's research interests encompass race, gender, and the American South. Her teaching areas include the 19th-century U.S., the American South, U.S. Women's history, Civil War and Reconstruction, History of Sexuality in the U.S., and African-American History.

Mary Kay Stone is the former President of the Oswego County Historical Society, where she has helped preserve and interpret the legacy of Dr. Mary Walker for years. Her knowledge of local history and Walker's ties to Oswego offer valuable context to the documentary.