Have you seen the geomapping platform for our Youth Filmmaking Contest? http://t.co/buJJ2ZQg #film #contest #youth #water
Cynthia A. Phillips
Co-Founder, Festival & Institute Director
Wendy Garfield Burger
Co-founder, Chair Film Selection Committee
Colleen Mihal
Director- Communications & Social Media
Anh Nguyen
Web Presence & Strategy
Rachel Caplan
Strategic Advisor – Programming
Erik Stangvik
Creative Consultant
Rob Ganger
Advisor, Strategic Development
Nick Navarro
Assistant Director- Graphics & Program Development
Helen Ip
Assistant Director – Graphic Design
Skye Macdonald
Associate Director of Local Engagement
Sally Navarro
Bookkeeping & Operations
Francis DellaVecchia
Associate Director of Community Engagement & Audience Activation
David Furlong
Advisory Board- Sponsorships & Partnerships
Karina Akib
Associate Director- Sponsorships & Promotion
Richard Marks
Consultant, Strategic Partnerships
Joe Johnson
Consultant, Sponsorships & Partnerships
Skye Macdonald
Associate Director of Local Engagement
Nevada McPherson
Associate Director- New Orleans-2012 Program Development
Ty Lawson
Assistant Director, Program Development
Rebecca Koppenhaver
Assistant Director Programs
Rachelle Escaravage and James Connolly
Festival Video Team
Pat Flickner
Project Facilitator- Technology & Communications
Amy Hartman
Assistant Director- Institute
Eleonora Errico
Assistant Director- Institute
Meghan Pappenheim
Advisor – Festival Experience
We continue to build the 2012 Team for New Orleans. If you would like to participate as a volunteer or intern, please contact us.
Cynthia A. Phillips is a writer, producer and social entrepreneur. She holds a doctorate in agricultural economics and degrees in economics and statistics from Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. She served as a Director of International Marketing and in risk management at American Express for over 7 years. She now serves as a consultant to businesses, educational institutions, and social profit organizations in the areas of strategic planning and development, marketing, and monitoring & evaluation of programs. She developed ‘Sedona Green’ programming as the Sustainability Program Coordinator for Sedona International Film Festival. In addition, she lectures in the area of environmental and community sustainability most recently at NYU and University of Texas at Austin. She is the Founder and Director of the Global Social Change Film Festival and Institute which launched in April 2011 in Ubud, Bali. She is also on the advisory board of the San Francisco Green Film Festival.
Phillips produced and directed Identity, Thought and Vision: Discussions with Jewish, Arab and Druze Israeli Artists a project which included a 54-minute documentary, a conference at the University of Michigan as well as a traveling exhibit of the artists’ work. She produced and directed a documentary featuring five African presidents which was shot at the U.S. State Department and the Smithsonian. The film was sent with supporting materials to members of Congress and the United Nations in a successful effort to raise $24 million to support programs for African economic development. She has secured funding for her projects from the Ford Motor Company, Parke-Davis, Ford Foundation, GTN, University of Michigan, as well social profit organizations and individuals. Her screenplay draft of The Study of Position was accepted at the 2009 Squaw Valley Writer’s Conference where Phillips worked with mentor Judy Roscoe to refine the screenplay. In addition to writing and producing her own projects, she is producing three independent films which are in development: Sustainability & Gratefulness, Luna’s Highway and Blood & Water. In 2009, Phillips was awarded a Arizona Commission for the Arts grant for her writing.
Wendy Burger is an arts and cultural events consultant whose clients include Woodside Capital Partners and S. Navarro Arts, Inc. Wendy co-founded and subsequently co-directed the San Francisco International Video Festival, an international exhibition of Video and Performance Art. She was also chief publisher of Video 80 Magazine and created video exhibitions for museums worldwide. She is currently a producer for the independent film, Luna’s Highway and other projects. Wendy has served as a fundraiser for Earth Day and served on many social profit organizations. She is passionate about promoting quality films that inspire and engage audiences. Wendy is actively working on panel development and sponsorships for the Social Change Film Festival & Institute.
Colleen Mihal is a doctoral student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her dissertation analyzes how emergency powers have functioned in the media sphere during the war on terror to legitimize anti-democratic practices, specifically examining transparency and access, dissent and independent media, media policy, and media self-censorship. She has volunteered with Free Speech TV in Denver and contributed footage to the Glass Bead Collective’s film Terrorizing Dissent.
Anh Nguyen is a web presence consultant with over 15 years experience in website production and administration. Anh received his B.A. in Science Technology and Society from Vassar College and has completed graduate work in Educational Technology from San Diego State University. Anh’s passion for creating quality media with power and purpose furthers the SCFFI team’s efforts and mission!
I love working with independent filmmakers and increasing exhibition opportunities for their work, as well as building audiences for documentary films – particularly those which explore green topics.
I started the San Francisco Green Film Festival in 2010 as a dynamic forum for programs and discussions that link media arts with environmental activism and advocacy. There are many brilliant and inspiring films made each year and often few opportunities for filmmakers to get these films in front of a lively San Francisco audience. 2,000 people attended the first festival in March 2011. The 2012 festival is expanding from four days to one week, March 1-7, 2012.
I have fifteen years experience in film exhibition and distribution including work for the Edinburgh, London and San Francisco International Film Festivals and on international theatrical campaigns for UIP (for Paramount, Universal, DreamWorks) and Intermedia. From 2007-2009, I was Festival Director for the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, the first and largest showcase for ocean related films in North America.
I have a Masters degree in Cinema & Television Studies from the British Film Institute (BFI). I have been a member of BAFTA since 2000 and served as Board Treasurer for Bay Area Women in Film & Media 2008-2011.
As a social entrepreneur, Erik comes to the Social Change Film Festival with 20 years experience leading private businesses, raising capital and securing funding for non-profits.
Erik currently serves as the Executive Vice President of the Heroic Imagination Project. Erik owned and operated The Body Shop franchises in Northern California and worked with Anita Roddick for 10 years developing sustainable economic projects around the world. He was co-founder and CEO of Zoup-ah!, a filmed entertainment and lifestyle brand company creating culinary adventures for children. Most recently Erik has been Director of Development for the Nordic Museum driving a 65 million capital campaign.
Mr. Stangvik has served on a variety of boards including Hands That Shape Humanity, The Body Shop, Poncho and Until There’s A Cure Foundation.
Erik currently resides in Woodside, California with his two daughters, Olivia and Allegra.
In 2005, Rob Ganger launched Pollinator Media Group consulting companies/nonprofits including Earth Day Dallas, Green Economy Think Tank Day, The Dallas International Film Festival, Sabertec, ISA Tan Tec’s LITE™ Leather and Downtown LA Fashion Week. Pollinator Media also created EcoNouveau which had a very successful run of events in Los Angeles showcasing the most exciting and fresh output of emerging fashion designers, artists and businesses, all sharing innovation and social benefit as a primary focus.
Rob Executive Produced the award-winning documentary “Trudell.” The film was featured in over 40 festivals in 2005 (including Sundance, Tribeca, Seattle and SilverDocs) and had a 60-city theatrical run in 2006.
He founded Mesh Inc. in 1995, producing the Bryant Gumbel/Walt Disney World Celebrity Golf Tournament (ESPN-TV), which net over $7 million for the United Negro College Fund over a six-year period. Mesh also produced the Jackie Robinson Foundation’s Celebrity Golf Tournament in Los Angeles celebrating the 50th Year Anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. Ganger has produced fundraisers for the Autism Coalition, National Urban League (Golf/Tennis Tournaments) and Stop Cancer (LA Fashion Event), and was also responsible for managing the Cuervo Gold Pro-Am Beach Volleyball Tour from ‘95-’00 (FOX-TV), the largest of its kind in North America. He has worked on promotions for World Cup Soccer and the Barcelona Summer Olympics.
David’s long-standing commitment social innovation has made him a leader in the field. He has helped several socially minded companies get off the ground including most recently, EventMobi, a company that is helping “green” events by providing the tools to show organizers to build there own mobile event apps.
As a social experiment, in 2006, he founded ideaNation, a volunteer network to help raise consciousness through positive media. As well as, provide people with tools to build projects for social change. Projects included the “MS Climb” which has raised over $740,000 for MS in just over 2 years and a fundraising gala for “Hope House” inspired by Academy Award winning film “Born into Brothels”.
David has consulted to various levels of government and is known for producing international conferences, award shows and special events. His clients have included many social mission organizations including Special Olympics International, the Institute of Corporate Directors, the Centre for Social Innovation, Tides Foundation, Social, Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI) and Canadian Business for Social Responsibility.
David is passionate about volunteerism and over the past 15 years, has provided leadership and expertise to many charities/non-profits and through events, helped raise over 2 million dollars.
One of David’s latest projects is building a social action campaign for the motion picture “Machine Gun Preacher” being released by Lionsgate next year and he continues to look for ways to contribute to the social change movement.
Originally from Georgia, Nevada McPherson received her BA in Creative Writing and MFA in Screenwriting at Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge. Nevada currently teaches screenwriting and film studies in the Media Arts Program at Tulane University’s School of Continuing Studies in New Orleans. She also teaches English, literature and screeenwriting at Nunez Community College in nearby St. Bernard parish, where she is the director Pelican d’Or Short Film Festival. Nevada has written over a dozen feature length screenplays, several of which have won or placed in national and international competitions. Her award-winning original screenplay, Piano Lessons, was a first place winner in the One-in-Ten Screenwriting Competition, which is dedicated to the positive portrayal of gays and lesbians in film, and most recently won first place in the the Honolulu/ Waikiki Film Festival Screenwriting Competition. Piano Lessons also was a selected project for the Summer 2009 Screenwriting Program at the Community of Writers Conference in Squaw Valley, CA. In addition, Nevada wrote, directed and acted in her first short film, “Route of All Evil,” which won the Landmark Theatres Festival Scholarship at the 2008 Big Easy Shorts Film Festival (now Big Easy International Film Festival).
Francis DellaVecchia is the founder of the Joyful Activist network, Cultural Connections LLC, and has been a resident of Los Angeles since 1984. Throughout these years he has built and maintained connections within and between the worlds of social action, politics and culture.
DellaVecchia is the author of “The Joyful Activist Playbook: Transforming Outrage into Outrageous Fun”, due out late in 2011. The book features interviews with a variety of Joyful Activists and highlights cutting edge organizations, while taking readers through a step by step process to get them activated. Partnering with Whole Foods Market, DellaVecchia launched the Joyful Activist Club, which holds monthly actions in Venice, CA that provide participants exciting and engaging ways to joyfully improve their community.
Francis regularly speaks on Joyful Activist topics at events such as Leaders Causing Leaders, Earthdance, Lightning in a Bottle, Dance for Peace, 4 Days of Unity, and Freedom to Dance. DellaVecchia has written culture issues for “LA Weekly”, “Lotus”, “Urb”, and “Deep Style” magazines, and he blogs at JoyfulActivist.com. In 2003, DellaVecchia was invited to the State of Possible Retreat in Kalamazoo Michigan to share his vision of the ‘Joyful Activist’ with 27 other forward thinkers.
DellaVecchia is a producer of the award-winning short film Help Wanted. The feature version of Help Wanted is now in the casting and fundraising stage. Hector Elizondo (Valentine’s Day, Pretty Woman, Chicago Hope), is attached to play one of the lead roles.
DellaVecchia’s role of producer and media consultant has seen him in a variety of positions. He has been a Technical Consultant for Showtime’s “Weeds”. He has worked to raise the visibility of the Artivist Film Festival. In 2009, he brought them their opening night film, Benjamin Bratt’s “La Mission”. He also procured the talent for the Artivist Awards, including Olivia Wilde, Hank Azaria, Frances Fisher, Maria Bello, and Rev. Michael Beckwith.
Francis has first-hand experience organizing projects for both the political and entertainment worlds. He has amassed entertainment credits including producer, associate producer, consulting producer, writer, director, and actor. He has produced live events at locales as varied as the Playboy Mansion, New York’s Capitale, Venice Beach boardwalk, and the Los Angeles Federal Building. Connecting these endeavors is DellaVecchia’s enthusiasm to create excitement around ideas, causes, and events.
Karina’s role is to engage sponsors in the vibrant city of Jakarta. Recently she left her position as a management consultant in sunny Sydney to lead an exciting business expansion project in Jakarta with a start-up social enterprise, RUMA. From this work she has been able to see that even an extra $1 per day can make a big difference to the poorest of the poor and that through sustainable social enterprises such as RUMA, we can work towards the goal of alleviating poverty. She believes that film is one of the key mediums that can raise global awareness and promote change. During her time in Jakarta, Karina has been involved with the city’s diverse cultural as a volunteer and host of the Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFFEST 2010) and with a local cycling organisation promoting the health and environmental benefits to young cyclists and encouraging the local government to become more bike friendly.
Nicholas is an aspiring designer and visual artist studying at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. His focus is in Graphic Design, but his early interest in art dwelled in the realm of film. Growing up he wanted to become a director or special effects artist, though the ebbs of life eventually lead him to graphic design. Moving along in school, he soon realized that he didn’t want to work so much in the commercial realm, making junk that entices people to buy more junk. He came to see the expansive potential of design thinking and how it can be applied to many mediums, including film. His goal has become to understand himself and his environments better and to learn, through creation, his stance on issues and what the world could be. He is ecstatic to have the opportunity to work side by side with a talented group of minds, while immersed in the beautiful culture of Bali.
Helen Ip is a graphic designer based in San Francisco, California. She currently freelances at MacFadden and Thorpe, and has interned previously through California College of the Arts’s in-house design studio, Sputnik, as well as San Francisco Center for the Book. While she is pursuing a Graphic Design degree, her background is in fine art. Born and raised in New Zealand, she moved to the Silicon Valley as a teenager and since then has had the opportunity to live all over, from Honolulu, to Baltimore, to Berkeley, and now the lovely San Francisco. She is extremely excited to be part of the 2012 New Orleans team, and hopes to venture through some Louisiana bayous.
Skye began her professional career as a conservatory-trained actress, in the United States and France, and now continues her interest in film through pursuits in oral history, film curation, and film festival direction. She has a bachelors degree in Cultural Anthropology from Reed College in Portland Oregon and studied French language and civilization at the Universite de la Sorbonne in Paris. Her undergraduate thesis concerned the growing film industry in Rwanda, where she conducted fieldwork during the 2009 Rwanda Film Festival, aka Hillywood. She went to the country on a Davis Projects for Peace grant and, while there, conducted non-violent communication workshops with children and co-founded what is now one of Rwanda’s largest public libraries.
After working as an anthropological researcher on West Africa at the American Museum of Natural History and as a one-on-one tutor for disadvantaged public school students in New York City, Skye has relocated to New Orleans. In addition to serving as Program Manager and consultant at Gris Gris Lab, Inc, Skye works at Zeitgeist Multidisciplinary Arts Center and was festival coordinator for the 2011 New Orleans Film Festival.
Ty Lawson is an award-winning journalist turned film producer. The New Orleans native, began his career as a television news producer after attending Loyola University New Orleans. He has lived and traveled around the world from Chicago to Seoul. Ty is now in Singapore producing films throughout the region and world. He’s also pursing a Master’s of Fine Arts degree in International Media Producing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Now as an international media producer Ty would like to shed some light on the stories of the people who are often ignored and neglected. This does not mean he will avoid making films that entertain and provide viewers with an escape from their normal lives. Ty just wants to make sure his time and talents are used to make a gumbo variety of films.
He is a founding member of the Haiti Christian Missionary Support Group. The support group provides healthcare and clean drinking water to thousand of people in the village of Cabaret. Ty’s first trip to Haiti reminded him how grateful he should be for the opportunities he has been given. Oddly enough, a year after that trip to Haiti New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. At that point Ty realized that there is not much difference between the suffering of people in the poorest country in the western hemisphere and those living in the richest one. Fortunately, the resiliency of people helped revive New Orleans, the place Ty will always be proud to call home.
Rebecca Koppenhaver has been producing and directing educational documentaries, and writing about community, social and environmental issues since 1992.
Her experience includes writing, directing and producing a 28 part series on environmental technology and education, “Preserving the Legacy,” for PBS and their distance learning affiliates. The series received over 1.5 million dollars in funding from The National Science Foundation. She continued her career in distance learning writing several episodes for the series “The Human Condition,” produced by Intelecom, and “Child Development, The Stepping Stones,” produced by Coast Learning Systems.
More recently, she has been writing and reporting on issues that affect her community. She blogs about schools and education for The Eastsider LA., and has published several articles on the benefits of progressive education for children. Presently, she continues interviewing subjects for her long-term documentary/oral history project, Voices of A City, Past and Present.
Pat Flickner, a web developer and lead programmer analyst at American Express, graduated magna cum laude from DeVry University in computer information systems. She is a veteran of U.S. Army and was a candidate for the Arizona State Senate in 2010. Pat comes to the festival with a strong background in managing culturally diverse technical teams and has a passion for excellence and teamwork. She is on the Board of the Solet Initiative and serves as its webmaster. As the GSCFFI project facilitator, Pat will assure audiences the highest quality film viewing experience. Her commitment to excellence in communication help all projects run more smoothly.
American Meghan Pappenheim has lived in Bali since 1994 with her Ubud-born husband Made Gunarta – together they support a wide range of craft producers from around the Indonesian archipelago and drive the ever-growing holistic travel market to Bali through their businesses: Balispirit.com, Kafe, The Yoga Barn and KUSH Ayurveda, The Yoga Shop, The BaliSpirit Festival, Tegun Galeri and Dek’s Studio. Kadek’s deep grounding in the Balinese culture and its spiritual values makes him an ideal resource for those who want a genuine Balinese experience. 18 years and two kids later, Both Meghan and Kadek are committed to their family, the prosperity of their community and the island of Bali. Every project they undertake embraces Fair Trade principals and strives to protect the environment. Originally from New York City, Meghan arrived in Bali in 1992 to complete her BA in Art History, with a focus on Indigenous Balinese Art. It was then that she met her future husband Dekgun. During the 18 years of their partnership they have expanded a vibrant group of companies in Ubud including Tegun Folk Art Galeri, Dek’s Studio, the Kafe, BaliSpirit.com, The Yoga Shop, and KUSH Ayurvedic Rejuvenation Center at The Yoga Barn. Although a certified yoga teacher, Meghan never materialized as an instructor, but feels strongly that the practice of yoga greatly enhances people’s lives on every level. This realization, along with her personal commitment to supporting and creating local community outreach and support programs, has been the driving force behind the creation of the BaliSpirit Festival, the latest addition to “The BaliSpirit” group of businesses.
Sally Navarro is a gifted administrator serving leadership roles in HOAs and other enterprises after a long career as a director in corporate technology services. She is also a talented artist working in metal sculptures and painting.
Richard Marks works on the frontiers that support positive solutions and a bright future. He works with talented teams to create and communicate clarity and visibility for high-impact sustainability initiatives in Washington DC, China and Mongolia, with a specialization in energy and environmental projects. He is the founder of Productions 1000, a Washington DC-based company that provides organizations and businesses with innovative communications strategies, targeted industry expertise and branded content. He is also the co-founder of the Green Salon, which welcomes solution-oriented speakers on environmental issues of importance events in a private setting in Washington DC and New York City; the Green Salon invites guests with knowledge, resources and a desire to use their influence to create positive change through exchanging ideas and provoking thought into action. Prior to this, he worked in large budget feature film production management for all of the major studios, including Disney, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Castle Rock Pictures; was a staff creative development executive in the National Geographic Feature Films group; and a staff journalist at CNN (significantly, during the O.J. Simpson case) in his native city of Los Angeles.
Joe is the founder and owner of Tavana Media. The company will focus on developing cause based and active lifestyle projects. Joe previously spent five years as a Director of Affiliate Sales & Marketing with Fox Cable Networks in Los Angeles. He focused on the marketing, promotion and distribution of National Geographic Channel, FX, SPEED, Fuel TV, Fox Sports Net and numerous other Networks. Prior to Fox, Joe spent five years in a similar position with the premium movie networks Starz and Encore. At both Fox and Starz, Joe managed relationships with clients such as DIRECTV, Dish Network and Time Warner. As an avid outdoor enthusiast and mentor, Joe is also on the board of directors of a non-profit called TWO WHEEL VIEW (TWV). TWV is a charitable organization that provides leadership, environmental and cultural education programs to young people through their participation in bicycle education and expedition programs. TWV programs focus on connecting with local communities and the natural environment, learning about other cultures and encouraging healthy and active lifestyles – from the seat of a bike. Joe graduated from St. Cloud State University with a degree in Mass Communications – Broadcasting Emphasis. His outdoor passions include kiteboarding, stand up paddleboarding and snowboarding.
Rachelle Escaravage and James Connolly co-founded My Story, Our World Productions out of journalism school at California State University, Northridge. After a mutual realization that desks weren’t very comfy, Rachelle and James set out to focus on telling stories of social-change. My Story, Our World provides high quality, cost efficient micro-documentaries to non-profits, social enterprises and other organizations adding social value. These micro-documentaries are leveraged across multiple-platforms and are used to inform and inspire audiences to act. Rachelle and James spend about eight months of every year on assignment internationally. Their roving production studio fits into a few backpacks. Rachelle and James are excited to create inspiring content in partnership with the Global Social Change Film Festival & Institute. For more information visit www.ThePositiveStory.com
Amy grew up in small town Golden, Colorado. In 2008 she received a Bachelors in Arts Cum laude from Montana State University Bozeman, where she focused on cinematography, theatrical lighting design, and global poverty alleviation.
She then returned to Colorado to work for the Denver Center Theatre Company, working as assistant projection designer on the original production of “When Tang Met Laika”. From there she continued on to The Arden Theatre in Philadelphia, working under Jorge Cousineau, Philadelphia Weekly’s ’s 2010 Philadelphia Theater Artist of the Year, on the musical “Sunday’s in the Park with George”, again as assistant lighting designer.
From there, Amy moved to Singapore, and began perusing an MFA in directing, editing, and cinematography at the prestigious NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia, where she is currently in her second year of studies.
Amy has a long history working at film festivals. She began volunteering 4 years and the Hatch Festival in Bozeman, MT, working with the ticket office. In 2008, we was accepted into the Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium, and has since gone on to work on staff for the festival, both in the head office and working special events. At last years inaugural Social Change Film Festival, Amy was fortunate enough to receive a fellowship to attend the institute. She is thrilled to return this year on staff.
Additionally, Amy has worked for HBO, National Geographic, and Fox as a camera and production assistant. She has shot several short films, both fiction and documentary, and is currently working on a short film about a American female reporter in Vietnam during the war.
Eleonora has been a global citizen for the greater part of her life, living all over South East Asia since 1996 but always finding her roots in her native Italy. She has always been in love with film and the power that it has not only to entrain but to inform a mass audience. Eleonora has a background in business management and is currently a graduate student at New York University Tisch School of Arts Asia based in Singapore. She has made a number of short films, one of which an observational documentary, and she has worked on both student as well as professional productions.
Drop by Drop: Water Stories, a video contest for youth created by the Social Change Film Festival & Institute (SCFFI), Channel G and EarthvisionZ, is now accepting submissions.
