Always Ask for Help

Janet Lee

Director/Producer

Janet Lee is an educator, an author and global speaker on low literacy and the changes that can be made to eliminate this epidemic.

She was also Arnie Stewart's advocate, best friend, and teacher. Together, they started a literacy movement in Canada to raise awareness for adults with low literacy. The duo travelled to reach thousands of students.

Her background is varied in international K-12/higher education, including curriculum development publications, media literacy, and micro-learning video production. Her presentations inspire teachers to reimagine their approach to students in need of assistance.

The life-changing experience working with Arnie guides her work today.

Dana Corrigan

Animation Director

Dana Corrigan joined the Always Ask for Help production team as Animation Director, bringing on a group of graduate students who are serving as storyboard artists, animators, and visual designers to help bring Arnie Stewart’s story to life through animation.

An award-winning animation director, Dana is an Animation Professor at the University of Tampa, co-founder of Pencil Gator Animation Studio, and a speaker at conferences and festivals, including SIGGRAPH, Sunscreen Film Festival, and Orlando International Film Festival.

Always Ask for Help recently received the RISE (Research Innovation and Scholarly Excellence) grant from the University of Tampa.

Rebecca J. Hogue

Story Director

Rebecca J. Hogue is a writer and podcaster with a background in instructional design and autoethnography. She hosts Definitely Not Famous: More Extra than Ordinary, interviewing memoir authors.

She is the author of Never Knew I Wanted to be a Breast Cancer Survivor and hosts a podcast of the same name about her experience as a two-time cancer survivor. She is completing an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at the University of Kings College, writing a memoir about a bicycle ride across Canada.

She lives in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Mi’kmaq territory.

Janet Lee and Dana Corrigan

Always Ask for Help animation blends documentary storytelling with animation to honor voices that are often unseen or unheard in educational spaces. Corrigan’s animated interpretations of children’s letters and drawings extend the emotional reach of the film, transforming personal artifacts into visual narratives that deepen meaning and accessibility. Their collaboration bridges education, film, and animation to create learning experiences that invite empathy, reflection, and connection across audiences.

Janet Lee

AAFH Project Manager/ Lead Instructional Designer

Janet Lee is a teacher, author, and literacy specialist with a focus on designing accessible, impactful learning experiences for diverse learners. She brings a practitioner’s lens to every project, grounded in both classroom teaching and digital innovation.

Janet spearheads the eLearning aspect of AAFH. She leads instructional design teams to develop engaging, research-based content that supports learners across a wide range of literacy levels. Her work includes creating practical teacher resources, developing scaffolded literacy supports, and designing mobile-first learning experiences that meet learners where they are particularly adults and students with emerging reading skills.

In addition to her design and development work, Janet serves as an Associate Lecturer of Instructional Design at the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB), where she mentors future instructional designers and emphasizes real-world application, project management, and human-centered design.

Across all of her work, Janet is driven by a commitment to equity in education, ensuring that literacy instruction is not only effective, but accessible, relevant, and empowering for every learner.

Natalie Zartarian

AAFH Lead Instructional Designer

Natalie Zartarian is a learning and organizational development leader known for building high-impact, human-centered learning strategies that drive measurable business results. With over 20 years of experience spanning higher education, corporate leadership, and consulting, she brings a rare blend of academic rigor and operational expertise to every engagement.

Natalie’s foundation in education is equally strong. She has served as faculty at both University of the People and Western Governors University, she taught and mentored learners across business, leadership, and instructional design disciplines. Her teaching reflects her deep commitment to practical, applied learning and her belief in empowering individuals through education.

She holds a Master’s in Management and Leadership and a Master’s in Instructional Design and Learning Technology, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational Psychology. Natalie’s work is grounded in a passion for developing people, optimizing performance, and helping organizations navigate change with clarity and purpose.

Sylvia Caminer (Writer-Director-Producer) is an Emmy® Award-winner with extensive credits in theatre, film and television.

She directed the award-winning and critically acclaimed documentaries: Rick Springfield: An Affair of the Heart, and Tanzania: A Journey Within. She directed the thriller Follow Her, which has garnered critical acclaim.

For television, Sylvia recently won her second Emmy Award for producing the travel series Samantha Brown’s Places To Love. Sylvia also earned an Emmy Award for directing the popular Discovery/Travel Channel program Great Hotels (which she also produced and co-wrote).

She earned a fourth Emmy nomination for directing Passport To Europe and produced and directed Passport To Latin America (hosted by Samantha Brown).

Sylvia has also produced various programs for TLC, WE, Lifetime and PBS. She has worked with top talent over the years including Neil Patrick Harris, Amanda Peet, Tony Danza, Ice T, Jerry Stiller, Chris Noth, and screen legends Betty White, Ben Gazzara & Rita Moreno.

She is excited to direct Always Ask for Help: The Story of Arnie Stewart and share the true story of a Canadian legend.

Sonja Stark (Director of Photography) began her freelance DP career after 12 years employed as an award-winning news videographer for CBS-TV news in upstate New York. She worked for the CBS affiliate WRGB-TV from 1994-2005.

At WRGB, she earned 7 New York State Emmy nominations and three wins, two New York State Broadcaster awards, numerous AP awards and one Edward R. Murrow award.

Her IMDB camera credits include episodic programming with PBS, Food Network, Nat Geo, Discovery and Food Network along with cinematography direction on several documentaries including“Tennis Fantasies” (2014), “An Affair of the Heart,” (2012), “The Lost Road of the Popes: Via Papale,” (2009), and “Full Signal,” (2012). She has production experience in over 72 countries. Stark created and leads PilotGirl Productions.

The producers and production team filming in Niagra Falls, Ontario for the shoot in late 2023. Left to right, Sonya Stark, Sylvia Caminer and Janet Lee.

Douglas Bachman (Director of Photography) has worked on six continents in 40 plus countries on productions including television series, commercials, narrative features and documentaries. Network clients include Discovery, National Geographic, Travel, HGTV, Animal Planet, A&E, History, ABC, and PBS.

Corporate and non-profit clients include NASA, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, National Institutes of Health, T-Mobile, Morgan Stanley, Dress for Success and Greenpeace.

He was Director of Photography for An Affair of the Heart, following rock icon Rick Springfield and his unusually devout fans (Winner Best of Fest, Toronto HotDocs and released on EPIX) and Tanzania, A Journey Within (Winner Best World Documentary, Soho International Film Festival). He also produced and shot multiple web series including creating the Telly Award winning POV-The Way I See It for Travel Channel.

Steve Zarka

Assistant

Steve brings his multifaceted expertise to the Always Ask for Help project serving as a consultant, camera operator, editor, and voice-over talent. A trusted consultant for the project's creative designer, Janet Lee, Steve has helped with editing, creating, and capturing the message of the project.

Steve’s dedication to Arnie's memory and mission make him an invaluable part of the Always Ask for Help team.

Francesca Donlan (Consulting Producer/Project Manager) is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist turned public relations executive, who has spent her career telling stories and/or promoting the storytellers. The true story of Arnie Stewart and Janet Lee offers a profound example of hope, perserverance, and grit. It is the ultimate "don't give up" storyline that will inspire everyone who sees it. The book, workbook and documentary are powerful tools that shine a light on low literacy and offers tools to create more assistance for those who need it. She is excited to be part of this amazing effort.

Louis Chesney (Consultant) is the co-author of ECHO: A Vocal Language Program for Easing Anxiety in Conversation. Currently serving at RethinkCare, the leading global behavioral and mental health platform supporting neurodiversity in the workplace and at home, Louis leads the workplace neurodiversity course content and consultation approach. He provides his knowledge in learning and development to industry leaders seeking to further their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives. Louis has provided support, direction, and inspiration to the Arnie project since 2023.

Stephanie Austin (Assistant) has taken her decade of experience in various retail and people management into her new path of film and television production. She has worked in the Art Department on productions such as Locke and Key (S3), Accused (S1), and the Amazon smash hit The Boys (S3). Stephanie has a passion for literacy work, previously working as a tutor for a school board, and fundraising for the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. Working on Always Ask for Help is particularly exciting for Stephanie, being a former student and mentee of Janet Lee’s.

Scott duPont (Consulting Producer) is a veteran producer and member of the PGA (Producers Guild of America) and the IDA (International Documentary Association). He has produced over two dozen films including his latest: Burt Reynolds: The Last Interview with Quentin Tarantino released in 2023. Scott is currently the host of the podcast Finance YOUR Movie! (premiering on MillionaireFlix and available on ALL major podcast platforms). He lends his expertise to filmmakers and movie projects he feels have potential for investors including: Always Ask For Help.

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