Organization
The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It was formed in 1998 under the name The Friends of the Rome Theater, Inc., to create a cultural arts institution focused on film. It was renamed Jacob Burns Film Center, Inc., in April 1999 to commemorate a leadership gift from the Jacob Burns Foundation.
The organization is led by Executive Director Stephen Apkon, who reports to the Board of Directors.
2011 Annual Report (2 MB pdf file)
| Board of Directors | Industry Advisory Committee | |
|
David Swope, Chairman Directors Emeriti |
Richard Abramowitz William Baldwin Michael Barker Glenn Close Robert Conte Pat Eisemann Frederick Elmes Terry George Richard Gere Robert Harris Arliss Howard Mary Beth Hurt Stephen Lang Ang Lee Dan Lindau Liam Neeson |
Chazz Palminteri *in memoriam |
Stephen Apkon. Founder & Executive Director
As Founder and Executive Director of the Jacob Burns Film Center, Stephen Apkon has combined a lifelong passion for film with his desire to create community and dialogue through shared cultural experiences. Mr. Apkon has brought vision, direction, and leadership to this burgeoning arts organization whose mission is to bring a diversity of film and educational programs to Westchester County and its surrounding communities.
A native of Framingham, MA, Mr. Apkon graduated from Georgetown University in 1983. In 1986, he received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with distinction. From 1992 to 1999, Mr. Apkon was a General Partner in Crossroads Partners, EEC, a private merchant banking partnership based in Westchester. Before then, from 1988 to 1992, he was a Principal at Odyssey Partners, LP, a private Manhattan-based investment partnership primarily involved in management buyouts in industries as diverse as technology and retailing. From 1986 to 1988, he was an Associate in the Merger and Acquisitions Department of Goldman Sachs & Co. in Manhattan. In 1998, Mr. Apkon formed the Friends of the Rome Theater, now known as the Jacob Burns Film Center, Inc.
In addition to his position at the JBFC, Mr. Apkon serves on the boards of the World Cinema Foundation and Advancing Human Rights, and is a member of the Sundance Art House Convergence Leadership Team and the Creative Coalition Entertainment Industry’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Education. He is an Advisory Board member of Teatown Lake Reservation and World Hunger Year. Mr. Apkon is also the author of the upcoming book The Age of the Image: A Call to Redefine Literacy in a Visually Driven World, to be published by Farrar, Strauss & Giroux in 2012. Mr. Apkon, his wife Lisa Hertz Apkon, and their three children live in Pleasantville, NY.
