[1] She is a graduate of Yale University, and lived in NYC before returning to San Francisco in 1997.
Chaiken's intro to the film business began as an apprenticeship in New York after she finished college.
[2] Chaiken was a producer for the dramedy Afternoon Delight and the feature documentary Inequality for All with Robert Reich, both of which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013.
[4] For her work on My Flesh and Blood, Chaiken won an Emmy Award for Best Documentary following the film's Sundance wins for both the Audience and Best Director and the Audience Award and Critics Prize at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA).
Other credits for Chaiken include Tom Bezucha's first feature, Big Eden, winner of over 15 Audience Awards; the documentary feature Naked States,[5] an HBO premiere; the HBO documentary short Positively Naked,[6] short-listed for Academy consideration; Restaurant,[7] starring Adrien Brody, I Love You, Don't Touch Me!, a Sundance premiere distributed by MGM; and the documentary feature Family Name,[8] winner of the Freedom of Expression Award at Sundance and nominated for an Emmy after its broadcast on PBS.