FilmByWendyLatella - Story of My Life

Mrs. Wendy A. Latella is currently the Executive Producer and Chief Executive Officer of Challenge Your Perception, LLC, a production company based out of Virginia and specializing in 3D film, new media, film, television, and theatre production. She also previously served the Central Virginia community as the Vice President of Programming for Central Virginia Television Network, the 501(c)3 public access voice of the community.

Mrs. Wendy Latella began in the professional film and television industry in 1995 as a recurring Guest Star on Aaron Spelling's “Savannah”. She graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University in 2000 with Bachelors of Science Degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice. With a focus on Child Psychology, she worked as a Counselor at the Gwinnett Regional Youth Detention center in Lawrenceville, Georgia and then as a Grief Counselor and Billing Associate at Peachtree Neurosurgery in Atlanta, Georgia.

After marrying her best friend, newly commissioned United States Army Officer Jason Latella in 2002, she left her position to support him at Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma where she served as the Family Readiness Group Leader for his class. Their first duty station was with the Big Red One in Schweinfurt, Germany. Mrs. Latella served the unit as the Battalion Family Readiness Group Secretary and the community as the Schweinfurt Community Spouses' Club Secretary and Bazaar Chairman, raising monies for emergency welfare assistance and scholarships, and as the Exceptional Family Member Coordinator. Through her work, she saw a way to use her degrees to help the community's struggling youth. Using her knowledge of psychology and her background in
professional theatre, she developed a drama class for the American children in Europe. With the combination of creative writing, improvisation, scene studies, and a large performance showcasing their new-found talents, Mrs. Latella used a group counseling dynamic to help the participating youth work through their fears and frustrations brought on by living overseas in a community with a high Operational Tempo. Children participating in her groups began to thrive. For her efforts, Mrs. Latella was recognized by the United States Army with two Certificates of Appreciation for Patriotic Civilian Service (2006 and 2007).

During her time in Europe, Mrs. Latella volunteered with American Forces Network – Wuerzburg, giving support with radio and television news and broadcast production.

Mrs. Latella’s professional education includes Acting for the Camera (Alliance, Atlanta, Georgia), Acting for the Stage (Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia), Advanced Directing, Monologue Building, Vocal Coaching, and Directing Musicals (IMCOM-E AACT, Heidelberg, Germany), From Scratch to Script (The Barrow Group, New York City, New York), and Comedic Acting (Actors First, New York).

Her awards and honors include Best Choreography (2007, Tournament of Plays – Europe), Best Hair, Best Make-Up, Best Ensemble, and Best Musical (2007, Tournament of Plays – Europe, awards shared with the cast and crew of Bamberg Stable Theater's production of “Little Women” the musical), Third Place (2007, DramSoc One Act Playwriting Competition, London, England), International Gold Award (2001, Healthcare Marketing Report's Healthcare Advertising Awards), and induction into the Honorable Order of Molly Pitcher by the United Stated Field Artillery Association in 2006.

Recognizing the decreasing of the arts in local schools, Mrs. Latella's goal is to build Film and Television in the Central Virginia area through education and hands-on experiences for the purpose of giving Students a safe place for their creativity to grow.

Mrs. Wendy Latella currently lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia with her husband, United States Army Major Jason Latella of Atlanta, Georgia and her sons, George Vincent and Robert Anthony.