Emily Ridout, M.A., divides her time as the Program Manager for the Oregon Folklife Network and the Program Coordinator for the Confucius Institute for Global China Studies. Ridout has an MA in Folklore and certificate in New Media and Culture from the University of Oregon where she filmed, edited, and produced documentary films on topics ranging from environmental tourism to the chemistry of effective birth control.  Her research interests include intersections of culture and environment, poetics, foodways, documentary, and religion.

While at the OFN, Ridout has been thrilled to work with the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program as a videographer and editor.  She has also headed work on a nomination for the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship.

Before her affiliation with the University of Oregon, Ridout served educational institutions as a media manager, videographer, and instructor in culture, the arts, and sciences.  Also, she planned and led educational and adventure trips in the Fiji Islands, the Southern California mountains, Kentucky, and throughout the Midwest and Appalachia. She is a member of the American Folklore Society and sits locally on the Whiteaker Community Council.  Ridout’s professional quest is to develop and promote meaningful cultural programming in ways that are innovative, sustainable, and respectful.  When she is not working with cultural programming, Ridout can be found teaching and practicing yoga, hiking, or writing what she hopes is the next great American novel.