Work Life
Dayna Reggero is a listener and award-winning documentarian. She was an All-American and Division 1 long distance runner. Dayna’s work started at 19, when she began appearing on television with animals to talk about listening to nature.
Dayna has traveled to work, study or explore in Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, Australia, Belize, Ireland, Switzerland, Fiji, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Virgin Islands, Canada, England, Mexico, and throughout most of the United States. She lived in Ecuador for three months as part of a student-exchange and volunteered in Italy for three months in a newly preserved forest in the Alps.
Dayna participated in the Sundance Institute Short Film Program, Tribeca + Canva Cohort, and Jackson Wild Mentorship Program, Dayna’s work has been featured by National Geographic and PBS EcoSense for Living. Dayna has been interviewed by CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX networks and coordinated with Animal Planet, TLC, and the Food Network for features.
Dayna’s first film effort was a listening tour of California’s sustainable farmers with Discovery Communications and Chevy Volt. Then, Dayna collaborated on the Emmy Award-winning series “Years of Living Dangerously”.
Mallory McDuff’s 2023 book, “Love Your Mother” features a chapter on Dayna’s work, and begins” “Dayna Reggero was riding shotgun. She listened with her whole body; deep brown eyes facing the driver, her head of long brown curls nodding with compassion.”
In a print feature, Woman’s Day Magazine showcased Dayna as an “Earth Mother: an Artist Activist who isn’t just fighting for cleaner air and water, but protecting a community’s most precious resources – its people.”
Salon.com wrote: “By trade, Dayna Reggero is an environmentalist. Her work spans over two decades and ranges from filmmaking to beginning her career as a spokesperson. However, her most skilled work might come in the form of organizing conversations, or simply starting them.”
Recent VIE Magazine feature highlights Dayna’s work, titled: Listen to Your Mother.
Dayna interviewed Dr. Jane Goodall, Olivia Newton John, Geena Davis of the Geena Davis Institute, Maggie Baird of Support & Feed, Michelle Branch, Adam Savage, Fabulous Beekman Boys and top surfers at the World Surf League US Open of Surfing, Dayna launched Woody Harrelson’s effort to preserve forests; coordinated with Ian Somerhalder on collaborations to move beyond coal and protect forests; shared the inspiring voices of Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Cheech Marin on an album connecting children and nature; and coordinated with Danny Glover and Patti LaBelle at events for social justice and animal welfare. Dayna was invited to join Jane Fonda and Taylor Schilling for special Gulf Coast Fire Drill Friday in DC. She interviewed the filmmakers behind the Netflix series Our Planet II and joined an intimate writers room with Hollywood writers, producers, and showrunners to advise about climate fiction ideas for top tv shows and movies like Walking Dead, The Umbrella Academy, and Lois and Clark.
Education
Master of Science, Environmental Policy
Bachelor of Arts, Communications
Honors
Official Selection, World Water Film Festival, 2026
Official Selection, Impact Documentary Awards, 2026
Official Selection, Femme Filmmakers Festival, 2026
Official Selection, Her Vision Film Festival, 2026
Award of Excellence, Documentaries Without Borders Film Festival, 2025
Winner, William and Mary Davis Foundation Award, 2025
Winner, SOWAL Foundation Film Award, 2025
Winner, Open Water Sea Change Award, 2025
Official Nominee, Best Director, SE Asia International Film Festival, 2025
Featured Filmmaker, Redfish Film Festival, 2025
Official Selection, China Handle Climate Change Film Festival, 2025
Winner, Creative Climate Award, Human Impacts Institute, 2024
Official Selection, Cinema Verde International Film Festival, 2024
Official Selection, Redfish Film Festival, 2024
Winner, Best Director, Southern Shorts Awards, 2023
Winner, Impact Documentary Awards, 2023
Winner, My Hero Award, 2023
Honorable Mention, Los Angeles Underground Film Festival, 2023
Finalist, Her Vision Film Festival, 2023
Finalist, Gulf Coast Film and Video Festival, 2023
Official Selection, International Social Change Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection, Florida Environmental Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection, Big Syn International Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection, Emerald Coast Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection, Lake Charles Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection, REEL East Texas Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection, Gulf Coast Short Film Festival, 2023
Winner, Maya Deren Short Film Innovation Prize, 2022
Winner, Femme Filmmakers Festival, 2022
Finalist, Don Eldon Activist Award, 2021
Winner, My Hero Project International Film Festival, 2021
Winner, Cinema Verde International Film Festival, 2021
Winner, Impact Docs Awards, 2020
Winner, Southern States Indie Film Fest, 2020
Official Selection, Fist Up Film Festival, 2020
Official Selection, Real to Reel International Film Festival, 2020
Official Selection, Cat Fly Indie Film Festival, 2020
Semi-Finalist, Southeast Regional Film Festival, 2020
Official Selection, Connect Beyond Festival, 2020
Official Selection, Southern Screen Film Festival, 2020
Official Selection, Big Syn International Film Festival UN SDG, 2020
Official Selection, Femme Filmmakers Festival, 2019
Official Selection, Film Vault Presents, 2019
Winner, Best Documentary, Micropolitan Film Festival, 2018
Winner, Best Film, 48 Hour Film Festival, 2018
Featured Filmmaker, Beyond the Page Film Festival, 2018
Official Selection, Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival, 2018
Official Selection, Cat Fly Indie Film Festival, 2018
McCullough Fellowship Partner, University of North Carolina, 2018
Winner, Best Short Documentary, Belize International Film Festival, 2017
Finalist, Best Environmental Film, Boone Film Festival, 2017
Environment & Ecological #Conchie Social Activism Award, 2017
Outstanding Conservationist Top Nominee, Roosevelt-Ashe Awards, 2016
Featured Filmmaker, Wild & Scenic Film Festival, 2016
Shorty Award, Plant-a-Tree Campaign, 2012
Community Leader of the Year, Sustainable Energy Association, 2009
PR Power Award, Public Relations Society of America, 2007
Addy Award, Print Campaign, Advertising Federation, 2006
Addy Award, Mixed Media Campaign, Advertising Federation, 2006
Emerging Leader of the Year, Chamber of Commerce, 2006