Deborah Oppenheimer

Deborah Oppenheimer is an Academy Award-winning producer who made her feature film debut with the Oscar-winning documentary Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, which was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry. Narrated by Dame Judi Dench, the Warner Bros. film was written and directed by Mark Jonathan Harris and produced with the cooperation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Motivated by her quest to learn more about her late mother's childhood experience on the Kindertransport, Oppenheimer conceived and produced the story about the World War II rescue mission that saved nearly 10,000 unaccompanied children from German-occupied territories through relocation to foster homes and hostels in Great Britain. Oppenheimer co-authored the film's companion book (released by Bloomsbury Publishing), supervised the website design and writing of the teachers' study guide, and produced the soundtrack. In recognition of her work, the White House appointed her twice to the governing Council of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Oppenheimer's newest feature documentary, "Foster", reunites her with Harris for a revealing first-hand look at the foster care system as seen through the eyes of those who know it best - the children and youth, parents and foster parents, social workers, advocates, attorneys, judges and others. With extraordinary access to the inner workings of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, Oppenheimer and Harris go beyond the sensational headlines and stereotypes to take an unprecedented look at an often misunderstood world and upend some of our most enduring myths about foster care and those involved in the system. A prolific producer for cable and network television, Oppenheimer led U.S. strategic activities for the full run of the beloved TV series "Downton Abbey," the most nominated U.K. series in the history of the Emmys and the highest-rated PBS drama ever. During this time, she served as executive vice president in charge of Carnival Films' Los Angeles office, guiding U.S.-based development for the international and domestic marketplace. Previously, Oppenheimer was executive vice president of NBCUniversal International Television Production, where she initiated and executive produced "Family Tree," the critically acclaimed Christopher Guest comedy that aired on HBO and BBC1. As president of Mohawk Productions at Warner Bros., Oppenheimer executive produced numerous television series and pilots with Bruce Helford and development partners such as Sandra Bullock, Kenya Barris, McG and Stephanie Savage. During her tenure at Lorimar, she developed and produced programming for HBO, Showtime and PBS, including the award-winning Athol Fugard telefilm "'Master Harold'... and the Boys." Oppenheimer began her career as an editor for New York-based publisher John Wiley & Sons. In 2005, Oppenheimer received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from her alma mater, SUNY College at Buffalo. She has been a volunteer cuddler in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and has tutored special education students and taught English as a second language in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Since 1994, she has mentored a former resident of the Hollygrove orphanage who served a tour of duty in Iraq and concluded active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2011.