About Great Lakes Currents hosts
MaryIlene Blondell
MaryIlene Blondell
MaryIlene Blondell
Blondell was born in Chicago and has lived in all four quadrants of the U.S.- Midwest, South, East coast, West Coast. She is Co-Festival Director of the Little Fort Environmental Fim Festival held on the shore of Lake Michigan, She began her career in news and radio (ABC, NBC, CBS, BBC/London). Early in her production career, she worked
Blondell was born in Chicago and has lived in all four quadrants of the U.S.- Midwest, South, East coast, West Coast. She is Co-Festival Director of the Little Fort Environmental Fim Festival held on the shore of Lake Michigan, She began her career in news and radio (ABC, NBC, CBS, BBC/London). Early in her production career, she worked freelance on large scale music projects: Phil Collins (Live at Madison Square Garden, Whitney Houston (Miracle- Brooklyn Academy of Music), Muppets Christmas Carol, and developed MTV's Rock The Planet. Blondell wrote, produced, directed her own environmental television show Project Earth and continues to do environmental radio work for WLAK-DB.
Her most recent film The Road Dance (UK release Spring 2022) recently won EIFF's Audience Award for Best Picture.
Blondell continues to develop projects, most recently The Carl Jackson documentary, that focus on: environment, stories of triumph, strong female lead/narratives.
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Susan L. Kelsey
MaryIlene Blondell
MaryIlene Blondell
Susan L. Kelsey is a filmmaker, author and founder of LegacyFILM & Publishing, LLC. Susan is Co-Festival Director of the LIttle Fort Environmental Fiml Festival. Susan has authored four historical books, most recently, Billy Caldwell (1780-1841) Chicago and the Great Lakes Trail. Her media company, LegacyFilm produced the award-winning d
Susan L. Kelsey is a filmmaker, author and founder of LegacyFILM & Publishing, LLC. Susan is Co-Festival Director of the LIttle Fort Environmental Fiml Festival. Susan has authored four historical books, most recently, Billy Caldwell (1780-1841) Chicago and the Great Lakes Trail. Her media company, LegacyFilm produced the award-winning documentary, The Negotiator: Billy Caldwell, featuring Chicago history and the 1830 Potawatomi Indian Removal period. Kelsey specializes in film production, book publishing, podcast development, music production and film festivals.
Susan is the founder of the Little Fort Film Festival, an annual event on the shores of Lake Michigan that celebrates environmental filmmaking and original music. The festival has become a platform for artists and changemakers to share their perspectives on conservation and the Great Lakes region.
Susan is the past president of the Gitchigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum in Evanston, past president of the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce and is currently serving on the board of the Waukegan, Illinois Historical Museum. Susan spends her free time swimming in Lake Michigan, flying airplanes and searching for new historical mysteries to solve.