Angelo Ortez Joins Communications Team as Creative Media Producer

There’s a new face behind the camera at GMSD, but for Angelo Ortez, being behind a camera started with a teacher who noticed his curiosity.

Ortez will officially join Germantown Municipal School District on Monday, Sept. 28, as the district’s new Creative Media Producer, bringing more than 20 years of experience in video production, photography, graphic design and multimedia storytelling in schools.

Long before it became his career, it started in a high school classroom. “I still remember his name. Mr. Stanley,” Ortez said. “He took me under his wing because he saw how excited and curious I was about the [audio/visual] technology.”

Ortez was the student who never wanted class to end. He asked questions about how everything worked, stayed as long as his teacher would allow and occasionally talked Mr. Stanley into letting him remain in class a little longer. His teacher began loaning him cameras and teaching him everything from developing photographs in a darkroom to operating the school’s VHS video switcher.

More than two decades later, Ortez is still chasing those possibilities.

His career has included work as a multimedia specialist with Memphis Shelby County Schools, producing multimedia content, photography, graphic design, managing multicamera livestreams and working with departments across the district to tell their stories.

But ask Ortez what he is looking for when he walks into a classroom with a camera, and his answer has little to do with the equipment. He’s looking for emotion.

“I’m looking for action shots or shots that will tell a story, not just a click,” he said. “Maybe it’s a student really focusing on an instrument, writing or really focused on the teacher. Something that shows emotion in the photo, not just a snapshot.”

That philosophy extends to his own life. Ortez said some of his favorite photographs are ones he took of his three children years ago. A photograph that may not have seemed significant in the moment can become something entirely different with time.

“You can see the feeling,” he said. “I might not have realized it when I took it, but I knew one day it was going to be meaningful to me.”

At GMSD, Ortez will help capture those kinds of moments across the district, from classrooms and fine arts to athletics, special events and everything in between.

“Angelo brings exactly the combination we were hoping to add to our team; big creative energy, technical expertise and years of experience telling stories about schools,” Communications Supervisor Kate Crowder said. “We’re excited not only about what he already knows how to do, but also about the new ideas and possibilities he’ll bring to GMSD.”

And there may be another full circle moment ahead.

Just as Mr. Stanley once took extra time with a curious high school student who wanted to learn everything he could about cameras, Ortez said one of the things he is most excited about at GMSD is the opportunity to work with students who may be discovering that same passion.

“I’m really hoping I get to mentor somebody else,” Ortez said. He is excited to meet our students that have an interest in cameras.

His own family will become part of the GMSD family, too. Ortez has three children, including his youngest daughter, who will attend Houston High School and is enrolling in AV production herself.

And while some people step away from their work to recharge, for him, creating is simply part of who he is. Jokingly, Ortez shared that he is pretty much behind the camera outside of the working hours too.

It’s a passion that has followed him from a high school classroom to a decades-long career spent capturing moments that matter. Now, he’ll bring that same curiosity, creativity and eye for a good story to GMSD.

Welcome to GMSD, Angelo. We can’t wait to see our schools through your lens.