Cecily Tyler

Founder, docutribe

Cecily Tyler is a storyteller, award-winning filmmaker, educator, and social entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience using the transformative power of film, technology, and art to advance leadership, innovation, and social transformation.

“I want to be able to talk about solutions. If you’re just reporting on the problems, people only know how to speak about and live with the problems. If you offer storytelling as a problem-solving tool, people will begin to talk about the solution, and then develop and draft the needed envisioned change. At that point they can begin to act in the spoken solution.”  

She founded Docutribe with the belief that communities should have the tools to tell their own stories and shape the future of their societies. Through Docutribe, Cecily has developed a model that combines documentary filmmaking, human-centered design, and education to help communities translate lived experience into stories that build understanding, strengthen cultural identity, and inspire collective, coordinated action.

Under her leadership, Docutribe mentors fellows, teaches university students, and collaborates with nonprofits, governments, and private-sector partners around the world to produce films and storytelling initiatives that address issues such as mental health, climate change, human rights, and conflict.

Cecily’s career spans journalism, documentary filmmaking, and media innovation. Her work includes projects with organizations such as PBS/WGBH, Discovery Network, BBC NYC, NBC News Learn, Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, and The New York Times Television.

She holds a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and has worked internationally across the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Through Docutribe, Cecily continues to build a global network of storytellers, educators, and civic leaders committed to using film as a catalyst for resilience, learning, and social change.