KIDS FIRST - Key Persons

Amy Weingartner

Job Titles:

Coach and Freelance Writer
Writing Coach and Editor

Amy Weingartner has a dynamic and varied creative and business career in publishing, comics, film, animation, and education as a writer, editor, teacher, producer, and entertainment executive. She began her career at D.C. Comics/Warner Bros. on Tim Burton's Batman Returns, and then became a book editor and comics writer for D.C. Comics in NY. She moved over to comics rival Marvel where she edited Spider-Man Magazine with legendary creator Stan Lee. Recently, Amy worked at Warner Bros. Publishing, managing content development and marketing for film and TV tie-in book programs. She is particularly thrilled to have worked on the standout Wonder Woman publishing program, which includes best-selling titles. For 15 years prior, Amy worked at Disney Publishing as an Editorial Director over one of Disney's key franchise content businesses. Currently, Amy is a writing coach and freelance writer on staff at KIDS FIRST! where she loves working with young reporters and the inestimable Ranny Levy! Amy is a literary agent for book and screenplay properties at National Talent LA, and also teaches screenwriting at The Los Angeles Film School and Creative Writing at AMDA College of Performing Arts in Los Angeles. She is the author of over a dozen published books, including, recently: The Masterworks of Animation (ongoing book series writer/editor); Frozen: Anna and Elsa's Winter's End Festival (storybook writer), Disney Infinity chapter book series: Toy Box Trouble!, Treasure Hunt!, Ice Race!, and Hero Challenge (writer.) Her nonfiction essays and original fiction have appeared in publications such as The New York Times and The Massachusetts Review. Amy completed her MFA in Writing with an emphasis on the short story. Her graduate thesis was on visual storytelling and comics/graphic narratives, focusing on the acclaimed graphic memoir Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, later adapted into a Broadway musical.

Andrew Bever

Job Titles:

Lead Video Editor, Video Coach, Podcast Director

Brittany Curran

Job Titles:

Member of the National Board
Actress, Producer

Carina Sayles

Job Titles:

Member of the Advisory Board
CEO of Sayles & Winnikoff
CEO, Sayles & Winnikoff Communications

Carina Sayles is CEO of Sayles & Winnikoff Communications. Partnered with Alan Winnikoff as a co-founder of a brand strategies, digital communications and media relations firm celebrating our 10th anniversary this year. Sayles & Winnikoff specializes in media companies, children's content, entertainment, start-ups and non profits. We have offices in Manhattan and Princeton. NJ and affililiates in Los Angeles and London. (2004 - present); Senior VP, Goodman Media International (2000-2003); Senior VP, Pryor & Associates (1996-2000); Manager Entertainment Promotion and Publicity, CBS Television, New York (1993-1995); Senior Publicity and Promotions Executive, CBS Television Studios (1990 - 1993); Publicity Manager for Buena Vista Television, The Walt Disney Studios (1989-1990), Account Executive, The Lippin Group (1987-1989)

Chris Kientz

Chris Kientz (Cherokee) is an American/Canadian animator, television producer and director. Chris Kientz is an American/Canadian animator, television producer, director and educator. He has worked on a number of reality TV and children's television series but is perhaps best known for his ongoing work on the award-winning Canadian/American television series, Raven Tales. His animation has also appeared at the Smithsonian Institution as well as animation festivals worldwide. He is national board member of KIDS FIRST! and the 2009 winner of the KIDS FIRST! PalmerVision award. http://www.kidsfirst.org/submit-a-title/kf-what-best-award.html Currently Chris is writing a 56 book series based on First Nation's trickster stories. He is working closely with Tribal Elders in the creation of these books for Scholastic. He also continues his work in program development, specifically for healthcare, coordinating project design and business development, as well as concentrating on research of new methods of digital distribution of media and interactive systems. As an educator he worked at the Creative Media Institute at New Mexico State University to develop and implement the CMI animation program, including fund raising efforts and development of the animation curriculum and admission process. In addition he is a senior consultant for National Geographic, working with the All Roads Film Project as a fundraiser and project judge to ensure that children of under represented minorities receive media based educational materials and media training. He has written articles and textbooks on digital media and applications for digital media in entertainment, education and distribution. In addition he has done notable work on the research and development of interactive content for defense based security training as a program manager at the Training and Doctrine Command Analysis Center at White Sands Missile Range. Chris also served on the New Mexico Governor's Council on Film and Media Industries to advise on digital media and tax incentives for media production and post production.

Connie Chavarria

Job Titles:

Member of the Advisory Board
Program Officer for the Nonprofit Special
Program Officer, Special Needs Network

Dan Gurlitz

Job Titles:

Trustee
Soundview Media Partners LLC

Dan Gurlitz is a 30 year industry veteran in home entertainment distribution. Dan has overseen the distribution of thousands of films and video titles ranging from independent features to documentaries, health/wellness and fitness to children's programming. Beginning his career in 1980 in the distribution of musical instruments, he entered into the home entertainment industry in 1984 as an Advertising Manager. Dan then spent nine years on the road in home video sales working for such independent companies as Video Associates, Republic Pictures Corporation, Fox Hills Video/Media Home Entertainment, and Wood Knapp & Company. In 1995 he was named Vice President of Unapix Entertainment, launching the company's non-theatrical sell through initiative. In 1997 he joined Winstar Communications as Vice President Sales and spent five years expanding the enterprise into a formidable competitor in the fields of non-theatrical / special interest, international cinema and health and wellness. When the firm became Wellspring Media, he was named Vice President & General Manager-Home Video. In 2003 he was named Vice President & General Manager-Video for KOCH Entertainment and in 2009 was named Senior Vice President/GM-Video for the firm under their new name Entertainment One U.S. Dan currently owns and operates Soundview Media Partners where he works with and represents filmmakers, artists, and intellectual property owners. Specializing in the development of product lines and the setting up and expansion of distribution channels, Soundview facilitates business development by bringing together companies that are strategically aligned with mutually beneficial goals. Soundview serves the film, audio and video communities in a variety of sales and marketing consultation capacities. Additional information can be obtained by writing to info@soundviewmediapartners.com

Dean Koocher

Dean Koocher has spent the last 15 years working with independent producers managing breakthrough entertainment properties in the children's market. Currently, Koocher is Senior Director with LazyTown Entertainment with special emphasis on the Latin American markets. He began working for LazyTown in 2002 as Head of Business Development and Strategic Alliances where he guided them from a stage show concept developed in Iceland to a top TV show in the U.S. children's market and to a potential billion dollar brand in the niche of healthy lifestyle for children. Prior to that, Koocher was the COO & CFO of The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company, which was started in 1995 to address the lack of non-violent and profitable entertainment for children. He helped guide the company from start-up to industry leader, involving such massively successful brands as the Teletubbies. At IBE he was responsible for overseeing a licensing business with average annual retail sales of more than $400 million as well as a multi-million dollar TV distribution and intellectual property rights business. Prior to 1995, Koocher worked at several multinationals including Arthur Andersen, EMI and PepsiCo.

Dorrit Ragostine

Job Titles:

Member of the Advisory Board
Founder, Social Change Public Relations & Marketing

Doug Zwick

Job Titles:

Founder and President of Pop Twist Entertainment

Doug Zwick is a children's media veteran and the founder and president of Pop Twist Entertainment representing producers worldwide. He was a Senior Vice President at The Disney Channel for ten years, where he handled all acquisitions and provided creative oversight on hundreds of hours of original programming. With more than 100 major award nominations, his projects have won an Academy Award, two Grammys, 20 Emmys, and 15 CableAce Awards. International honors for the programs include BAFTA nominations, Pulchinella Awards. and, most recently, an Irish Film and Television Award nomination. He is a writer and executive producer working in a range of genres. Series he has helped develop or executive produced include The Future is Wild, The Secret World of Benjamin Bear, and Wilf, The Witch's Dog. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Coalition For Quality Children's Media, which produces the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival.

Dr. Edward L. Palmer

Job Titles:

Member of the Honorary Board
Media Consultant
Youth Media Specialist, Sesame Street Researcher ( Deceased )

Mr. Palmer was among the first people hired in 1968 by Children's Television Workshop, the parent company of Sesame Street. The workshop was impressed by his research at the University of Michigan into the responses of preschool children to television. Mr. Palmer's findings indicated that children took delight in watching other children and animals, that they liked music and slapstick, wanted characters to be kind to one another and were bored by talking adults. These insights contributed to the development of characters like Big Bird and Grover when Sesame Street made its debut in 1969. ''He was, to a great degree, the one who figured out how to build educational content into television for young children in a way that's beneficial and entertaining,'' said Shalom Fisch, vice president for program research at the workshop. Mr. Palmer served as Children's Television Workshop's vice president for research for 16 years and was senior research fellow for three years afterward. He helped develop several adult programs and three other well-known children's shows, including Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact and Ghostwriter. After leaving the workshop in 1987, Mr. Palmer formed World Media Partners, a company that helped develop educational and health-care televisions program for use in developing countries. His clients included UNICEF, the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Palmer participated as a producer of Al Manaahil (The Sources), a TV series created by CTW in Jordan to teach reading of Arabic to Arab children and adults, and was a consultant to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs on the creation of The Equatorial Trilogy, three 75-minute made-for-TV feature films produced in Indonesia on the subject of health and the environment. Edward Leon Palmer was born in John Day, Ore., on Jan. 20, 1933. He earned a bachelor's degree in English at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, and a doctorate in educational measurement and research design at Michigan State University in East Lansing in 1964. Later, he taught communications and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and Florida State University.

Dr. Irving Lazar

Job Titles:

Member of the Honorary Board
Child Development Specialist ( Deceased )
Professor Emeritus, Cornell University

Dr. Lazar received his Doctorate from Columbia University and was an intern at the Menninger Clinic. He is a Resident Scholar at the Kennedy Center for Research in Human Development at Vanderbilt University, was a Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu and a member of the external faculty of the Santa Fe Institute. Dr. Lazar conducted longitudinal studies on the effects of early intervention with infants and preschool children and has designed and evaluated service programs for children and their familes in this country and abroad. He served as a Trustee of the Coalition for Quality Children Media for 10 years and then as a member of its Honorary Board. He passed away May 1, 2012.

Ed Greene - Chief Strategy Officer

Job Titles:

Chief Strategy Officer
Trustee
Senior Consultant and Adviser

Ed Greene, PhD is a senior consultant and adviser in the field of child development, early learning and children's media environments Dr. Greene currently serves as the Educational Outreach Advisor on the teams of Wonder Why Consulting and PlayPattern, and serves as a research fellow at Knology. His educational content and outreach consultations have included Cartoon Network, Al Roker Productions (Paradigm Research), and with teams at WGBH, Twin Cities PBS Mashopolis, Literary Safari, The Col(u)rism Project, ABF Creative. Previously, Dr. Greene was Vice-President, Children, Youth and Digital Media Literacy Initiatives at the Hispanic Information & Telecommunications Network (HITN). He was also Director of Global Outreach at Sesame Workshop at Sesame Workshop; providing technical assistance and managing educational outreach strategy development projects in Central America and the Andes, and educational outreach projects with co-productions in India, Jordan, Kosovo. Ed has served on the faculty of Pacific Oaks College and has held faculty appointments as Assistant Professor at Lehman College (CUNY); Associate Professor, Montclair State University; and Visiting Professor, University of the District of Columbia. Ed's volunteer roles have included service on the boards of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, The American Camp Association; Young Audiences of NJ and Central PA; and on the Advisory Council of The Educational Equity Center at FHI360. Ed Greene was an elected member of the Governing Board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Over his fifty- year career, Ed has worked directly with infants, toddlers, preschool children, adolescents and families, as well as in a variety of roles and capacities in the philanthropic, private and public sectors, and in higher education. Originally from Inkster, Michigan, Ed completed his B.Mus. Ed at DePauw; an M.A. in Child and Human Development at Pacific Oaks College; and a PhD from the College of Graduate and Professional Studies at Indiana State University. Ed Greene is currently Chief Strategy Officer at EMGreene Educational Connections Associates, Monmouth Junction, NJ.

Evelyn Kaatz

Job Titles:

Member of the National Board
Author, Educator, Product Development, Consultant

Evelyn holds a Masters in Educational Media and Technology from Boston University (1979) and a BA in Business Management and Elementary Education. She is the author of three children's books for Little Brown & Co., a former manager/buyer for F.A.O. Schwarz, social worker, elementary school teacher and executive trainer. She has extensive experience in retail product management, served as VP of Education for Advanced Academics Inc. in Oklahoma City, director of purchasing and marketing for J.L. Hammett Co., Braintree, MA, VP Product Development, Carson-Dellosa Publishing, Greensboro, NC, Product Development, Melissa & Doug Inc., Wilton, CT, and owner of Creative Solutions, an Educational Consulting Firm.

Gay Dillingham

Job Titles:

Co - Founder, Former President and Chair of Earthstone International

Gay Dillingham, Co-Founder, former President and Chair of Earthstone International, LLC. Earthstone is an environmental IP company manufacturing recycled glass into an engineered "white foam glass" for surface abrasion, non-toxic cleaning technologies, agriculture products and soon to be building products. This flexible revolutionary material is a superior replacement to many strip-mined materials and more. Earthstone is in the process of opening a factory at the Albuquerque solid waste landfill converting all the waste glass to value added products while capturing the green house gas methane and converting it into energy to power the kilns. In January 2003, Dillingham was appointed by Governor Richardson to the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board serving as Chair 2003-2007 and remains on the Board as a member. The EIB is responsible for environmental management and consumer protection for the state. Additionally, Dillingham owns her own production company, CNS Communications and is an award winning producer/director. She is currently the executive director of the Livingry Foundation. She is board chair for the New Mexico Association of Grantmakers, a founder and board member for the New Voice of Business New Mexico chapter, board member for the Coalition for Quality Children's Media, and the Center for Defense Information/World Security Institute out of DC.

Harold Weitzberg - CEO, President

Job Titles:

CEO
Member of the Honorary Board
President
National Board Member of the COALITION of QUALITY CHILDREN's MEDIA
Weitzberg Consulting, Inc

Mr. Harold Weitzberg President/CEO Weitzberg Consulting, Inc. has more than 25 years experience in, marketing, publicity, merchandising and introducing and building consumer products and brand franchises in the consumer and retail marketplace including the creation of business models, action plans and product development strategies. Mr. Weitzberg has been a national board member of the COALITION OF QUALITY CHILDREN'S MEDIA (www.kidsfirst.org) for the past 18 years.

Jay Reinbold

Job Titles:

Member of the National Board
Senior Vice President, Category Management Worldwide at Warner Bros
SVP, Category Management, Media Warner Bros. Entertainment ( Retired )

Jay Reinbold is Senior Vice President, Category Management Worldwide at Warner Bros. Entertainment, a division of Time Warner. His responsibilities include developing and implementing strategic category plans for key retailers, the development and maintenance of a data warehouse system to support retail analytics, and identifying consumer and market trends for the $26 billion worldwide video/DVD sell-through category. Under Jay's guidance, Warner Bros. Entertainment has achieved the Category Captain role for 28 of the largest DVD sell through retailers in the world including Wal-Mart, Amazon and Carrefour in all worldwide territories as well as Best Buy, Borders and Barnes & Noble throughout North America; Karstadt, MediaMarkt, Albert Heijn in Europe; and Convenience Culture Company (Japan's largest DVD retailer). Warner Bros has Category Management offices in eleven countries across four continents. Jay Reinbold at Warner Bros. has been previously awarded Progressive Grocer's Best in Class in Category Management for innovation, execution and growth in the complex category of general merchandise. Prior to the ten years at Warner Bros. Entertainment, Jay spent five years with Universal Studios. Jay earned his MBA from the University of Southern California.

Jeff Yapp

Job Titles:

Member of the Honorary Board
Executive Vice President of MTV Networks Music
Media Consultant

Jeff Yapp, executive vice president of MTV Networks Music/LOGO Enterprise Group.Yapp has a long history in the marketing and entertainment arenas. Beginning in 1992, he spent five years with Twentieth Century Fox Home Video, beginning as president of its international division before becoming president worldwide. In 1997, Yapp jumped to Hollywood Entertainment, the parent company of the Hollywood Video store chain, as president and chief operations officer. Then, in 2000, Yapp joined New York media behemoth Cablevision as group president of retail operations before becoming chief marketing officer for the company's VOOM satellite high-definition TV product. During that time, Yapp saw great success using direct response marketing for various products, including Pizza Hut, Fox's Shirley Temple film library and the VOOM product, which was well on its way to bankruptcy before DR briefly lifted its sagging fortunes. Now, after having success using short-form DR to sell a workout DVD (entitled "Bootcamp Workout") based on the popular VH1 series "Celebrity Fit Club," Yapp is overseeing MTV's leap into direct response with a long-form production for a "Beavis and Butthead - The Mike Judge Collection" DVD set. Yapp is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the J. L. Kellogg School of Northwestern University. Jeff has seven children, ages sixteen to one- year-old which makes him uniquely qualified to serve on the board. He has a huge vested interest in quality media for his kids.

Jere Rae-Mansfield

Job Titles:

CEO, SpiltMilk, Inc
Media 's CFO

As monterey media's CFO & Co-Managing Founder, Jere serves in multiple capacities and oversees monterey's Financial, Creative and Marketing departments. With an eye toward the future, Ms. Rae-Mansfield has advanced the company to solidify its current reputation in the independent film distribution arena featuring film stars such as William Hurt, David Strathairn, Marcia Gay Harden, Michelle Monaghan, Famke Janssen, Bill Pullman, Forrest Whittaker and Minnie Driver. Following college at the University of California at San Diego, she became a working Screen Actors Guild member for many years which paved the way to garner essential industry knowledge. Shortly thereafter Jere's keen business sense led her to become an accomplished producer, both in the feature film , political and commercial venues.

Joseph Giangrasso - President

Job Titles:

Member of the National Board
President
Owner, High 5 Productions

Joseph Giangrasso is President and Creator of Phonics 4 Babies/ High 5 Productions. Winner of NAPPA Gold Award, KIDS FIRST! "Best of Fest 2007 Award", Parent to Parent "Adding Wisdom Award" and others. Joseph has specialized in creating and producing children's educational programming. As founder and creator of "Safety 4 Kids" / "SeeMore's Playhouse" which aired nationally on The Family Net. (Producer, Director, Editor) he was the driving force behind the staggering 2.5 million sales of the Safety 4 Kids video series. Joseph along with Steve Petruzzella has created a new cast of wacky characters called "The Noodleheads" whose segments can be seen on "Kid Fitness" Currently Airing on PBS stations nationwide. (Producer, Director, Editor) Education Director and Promotional Director for "Little Kids Rock", The nation's largest provider of FREE musical instruments and curriculum to underprivileged schools. Celebrity supporters include: Bonnie Raitt, Ziggy Marley, B.B. King, Caralos Santana, Dee Snider, and more.

Katherine Schell

Job Titles:

Member of the Advisory Board

Katie Peters

Job Titles:

Member of the Honorary Board
President, Muse Media

Board Member, College of Santa Fe. A long term supporter of arts and education in Santa Fe, NM and a Producer of special interest programs. Muse Media is a production facility located in Santa Fe, NM.

Lara Lavi

Job Titles:

Member of the National Board
Manaing Partner Attorney, Media Law Group Inc., Managing Partner, Dreaming in Color Entertainment LLC and Label Group ( DICE LAB )

Lisa Strout

Job Titles:

Member of the Honorary Board
Director, MA Film Office

Mallory Lewis

Job Titles:

Children 's Entertainer, Producer

As the daughter of a beloved children's entertainer, MALLORY LEWIS has been deeply involved in children's entertainment her entire life! Following her mother's passing in 1998, Lewis began appearing with Lamb Chop at live and televised events, entertaining at thousands of venues as varied as the State Fairs, Performing Arts Centers, Cruise Ships and @ Military Bases around the world. Mally and Lamb Chop have spent a decade on bases all over the world, and LOVE touring with the USO, entertaining the troops and their families, in fact Lamb Chop was recently "pinned" by a Marine General, and now makes Mally salute her before every show! Mally and LC have received many performance awards including the Award for Excellence by UNAMA, the International Puppeteers Association, and Kid's First Palmer Vision Award. As an author, Lewis has penned 20 children's novels, and is a multiple Emmy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner for "Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series,". She began her career at age 12 working with her mother by ghostwriting for her newspaper column. After writing and producing for the Lamb Chop's Play-Along show, Lewis assumed the responsibilities of her mother's three prime-time variety specials, and served as executive story editor and producer of The Charlie Horse Music Pizza. Mallory and Lamb Chop have organized 4 Women's World Record Skydiving Events which have raised close to 2million dollars for Breast Cancer Research (jumpforthecause.com) and though Mallory stays on the ground these days, Lamb Chop proudly holds a USPA license and 4 records! Most recently Mally is also honoring her mother's legacy with her new DVD series, Phonics 4 Babies, which won multiple awards including available at phonics4babies.com! Mallory's production credits include multiple Emmy Nominations for writing, an Emmy Award for Writing, and many more

Marcela Davidson-Aviles

A first generation Mexican-American, Marcela is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School. She has served as counsel in the areas of banking, motion pictures, television and stage production, with specific experience in the areas of corporate, copyrights, contracts, and bank regulatory law. Prior to her position with the Mexican Heritage Plaza, she served as Executive Director of the Latino Community Foundation in San Francisco. Formerly, she served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Blackboard Entertainment. Her background also includes consulting and corporate legal experience in the bank regulatory area with both Federal and state agencies, law firm practice, non-profit Board membership in arts and education and extensive press and public speaking experience.

Marcela Davison Aviles

Job Titles:

Member of the National Board
Founder and Executive Producer, the Chapultepec Group

Margaret A. Loesch

Job Titles:

Chief Executive Officer of the Hatchery LLC

Margaret A. Loesch is the Chief Executive Officer of The Hatchery LLC, a family entertainment company she launched in 2003 with co-founder, Bruce Stein, former Worldwide President and COO of Mattel Inc. Among her awards, Ms. Loesch is a four-time Emmy Award winner, a George Foster Peabody Award winner, a Vision Award, and recipient of the prestigious Chair Award from the Caucus for Television Producers, Writers, and Directors.

Margaret Tritch

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Honorary Board

Marlene Sharp

Job Titles:

Member of the Advisory Board
TV Producer

Marlene Sharp is a creative and business-savvy entertainment multi-hyphenate who originally hails from New Orleans but is now a (San Fernando) Valley girl. Firmly ensconced in LA life, Marlene recently served as Director, Production at LEVEL-5 abby, home of YO-KAI WATCH and other hit video game-based franchises. Formerly, as Producer, TV Series, at Sega of America, Marlene worked on much more than the Teen Choice Award-nominated Cartoon Network series SONIC BOOM. For example, her Hedgehog duties took her to the heights of nerd-dom as an official San Diego Comic-Con 2017 panelist. As a freelance journalist, Marlene concentrates on pop culture for buzz-worthy fan destinations, such as DOGTV, ToonBarn.com, Geekified.net, and CultureSonar.com. As a short film auteur, she has snagged recognition at the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival, the Canine Film Festival, the San Luis Obispo Film Festival and many more. Marlene is the proud winner of 2019 LA Shorts International Film Fest Script Competition (an Oscar and BAFTA-qualifying fest), at which her backdoor sitcom pilot received a staged reading by The Groundlings. And as a human being, basically, she loves dogs. For proof of the aforementioned, please see her website www.pinkpoodleproductions.com.

Mary Lou Bono

Job Titles:

Member of the Honorary Board
Media Marketing Expert

Mary Lou Bono has more than fifteen years experience of successful innovations in the entertainment industry introducing new products, opening new markets and creating strong consumer brand awareness. She is Senior Director of Marketing Home Video for Rhino Entertainment. Her talents include marketing, advertising, consumer promotions, public relations, manufacturing, product management, sales, licensing, key account liaison, pricing strategies, trade show/event management, package design, and Internet strategies.

Michael C. Davis

Job Titles:

Member of the Advisory Board
CEO and Founder, Merek Security Solutions, TEDx Speaker

Michael C. Davis leads Merek.io, which is a cybersecurity firm that primarily focuses on human behavior as it relates to cyber-mindfulness and awareness. His keen ingenuity and passion for mindfulness and technology have fueled decades of accomplishments in technology and innovation throughout his career. His 22-year career within the United States Navy, married with his Information Security work with Boeing, IBM and the Los Alamos National Laboratory has been widely recognized for his cross-sector competence and his ability to analyze-and redefine-technology markets, businesses, and mindfulness within cybersecurity. Michael also enjoys the process of being creative within technology and finds that the dialogue that unfolds from making people feel comfortable ties deeply into the "why" he has chosen a career within cybersecurity and human behavior. Michael earned his bachelor's degree in English Literature and Language, holds a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and, before opening the doors to his own cybersecurity firm, he was pursuing a doctoral degree in Information Technology with a focus on Technical Innovation Management. His book, Cyber Happiness, is expected to be published within the next year.

Michelle Roybal

Job Titles:

Bookkeeper

Nancy Kenney

Job Titles:

Vice President, Filmmaker and Composer

Nancy Silverstone

Job Titles:

Member of the Advisory Board
VP, Head of Programming

R. Paul Herman

Job Titles:

Member of the National Board
CEO / Founder, HIP Investor Inc

Ranny Levy - Founder, President

Job Titles:

Founder
President
Trustee

Rev. Martha Dewing

Job Titles:

Member of the Honorary Board
Interfaith Minister, Youth Media Specialist

Martha Dewing is an ordained interfaith minister. She is a first year dean at One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in NYC and coordinates the Mentoring Program. She was the Editor and Publisher of Children's Video Report and former Special Projects Director for the Poughkeepsie, NY-based Children's Media Project. Dewing has a B.S. in Education from New York University and an Ed. M. in Educational Media/Interactive Technology from Harvard University. She was an elementary and preschool teacher both in the U.S. and abroad for many years, has authored two books on using video with children and in libraries and has taught pottery to adults.