JoAnne Zielinski is an Associate Dean in the College of Computing and Digital Media at DePaul. She is currently a member of the Vincentian Mission Institute, a two-year cohort program among the three Vincentian universities in the U.S., to support the opportunities and meet the challenges of defining Vincentian and Catholic identity to chart DePaul’s future in fidelity to the past.
As a filmmaker, JoAnne’s most recent narrative productions include: Thrill Ride (Casting Director, narrative feature, currently in post-production), Wasted Space (Executive Producer, narrative feature, currently in post-production), Sweet 16 (Producer and Co-director, narrative feature, currently in post-production), Speed Dating (Casting Associate, animated short), Nostalgic (Casting Director, narrative short starring Mike Nussbaum), Flat Chested (Associate Producer, narrative short starring Alicia Witte and Luke Perry, In Love with a Nun (Casting Director, narrative short), Scotts Dead (Associate Producer narrative short starring Michael Rooker). In addition, she produced and directed a series of short documentaries, Angels with a Cause, One Child at a Time and Casa De Amigos, in conjunction with the Office of Mission and Values at DePaul, for the Daughters of Charity, Province of the West. These films have garnered festival awards and recognition in over seventy film festivals regionally, nationally and internationally.
JoAnne produced Vincent de Paul: Charity’s Saint for DePaul University. The film aired on Catholic TV and has been dubbed in French and Spanish and subtitled in Korean. It premiered at the International Christian Film Festival held in the United Kingdom, the International Film Festival of Ireland, and the Chagrin Falls International Documentary Film Festival. The film received an “Award of Excellence: feature documentary” from The Accolade Competition and a “Certificate of Merit” from the Chicago International Film Festival and a Telly Award.
JoAnne also produced an eight--episode web series for DePaul University, INSIDE twenty12 in collaboration with Orchard Productions. The series received five Telly Awards for their achievement in documentary filmmaking. She also worked with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to create the documentary Poverty in America to raise the visibility of the poor and articulate how the need for increased funding, supportive legislation and networking by political, social, and religious leaders is imperative to address issues of poverty on a local, regional, and national level.
A stage veteran, JoAnne was a founding member of Shakespeare on the Green, an outdoor Shakespeare festival, where she served as Managing, Fundraising, and Marketing Director for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Richard III, King Lear, The Tempest, and Othello. She was a member of the Barat College faculty for 14 years where she taught acting, voice and directed America Hurrah, Schadenfreude, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Six Degrees of Separation, The Real Inspector Hound, Brecht Unleashed, The Madwoman of Chaillot, Under Milkwood, Crimes of the Heart, Rimers of Eldrich and Bus Stop.
JoAnne has acted professionally in theatre, film, commercials, and voiceovers, and is a member of AEA, SAG, and AFTRA. She is the recipient of a YMCA Woman of Achievement Award in the Arts for her work on Shakespeare on the Green and the Barat College Board of Trustees Excellence in Teaching Award.