Taylor Nygaard is a communication studies professor and writer based in Colorado. She holds a M.A. & Ph.D. from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, and a B.A. from UC Berkeley in Rhetoric and Film Studies. She is co-author of the academic book Horrible White People: Gender, Genre, & Television's Precarious Whiteness (NYU Press 2020) and story producer of the feature-length documentary Snapshots of Confinement, which aired on PBS SoCal, and nationally, in May 2024 for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month. Her academic interests and professional passions center social justice issues, especially around racial, class, and gender equity by examining and challenging representational norms in mainstream media. In addition to her teaching, writing, and producing, she is on the programming committee for Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival, where it’s mission to foster connection and cultivate a more empathetic community through the stories of women and others who are often unheard or unseen drives her many creative and artistic pursuits.