Jacob Burns Film Center and Media Arts Lab - Education

Faculty

Linda Cimillo Linda Cimillo was an educator in the Yonkers Public School system for 32 years. As communications/media enrichment coordinator, she designed and implemented a curriculum for the gifted and talented elementary program. Upon her retirement in 2002 she began volunteering with JBFC education programs and currently serves as a session leader for See, Hear, Feel Film. She acts as board advisor on the Rivertowns Arts Council.	Theresa Dawson Theresa Dawson began her career as a film professor in the UK and has since worked with the Families First nonprofit educational center, developed curriculum materials for the American Museum of the Moving Image, and consulted for Witness. Theresa has a deep interest in teaching, inspiring, and mobilizing students to create media that advances social change. Theresa recently published the article "Information Activism: 10 Tactics for Real World Impact" on MediaRights.org, which explores stories from activists describing how they have used digital technologies to instigate real change. She has taught Reel Change, Reel Change for Nonprofits, and the Summer Teachers Institute at the Lab.
Barbara De George Barbara De George taught elementary school in the Mount Vernon City School District for 30 years. In addition to her work in the classroom, she designed and implemented a new humanities and multicultural education curricula. She was a member of the Strategic Planning Professional Development Committee and Mentoring Committee. Mrs. De George has won many awards, including the Mosaic Award for excellence in Multicultural Education and the Community Service Award from the city of Mount Vernon. She has been a session leader for See, Hear, Feel, Film since 2004.	Guy Gerace Guy Gerace, an educator for nearly 40 years, has been teaching film animation to young people for two decades. He pioneered the film animation program at the award-winning Grimes Magnet School in Mount Vernon after studying with animator/educator Yvonne Anderson. Since 2005, he has been an instructor in the Minds in Motion program for the JBFC and now teaches KidToons at the Media Arts Lab as well. With a degree from Iona College and a Masters in Library Science from St. John’s University, he has spent 14 years as a school librarian at the elementary level.
Joy Goodwin Joy’s screenplays include an adaptation of William Faulkner’s Intruder in the Dust, being produced by Plum Pictures/Picture Entertainment. She is currently executive-producing an adaptation of Langston Hughes’s Black Nativity for Fox Searchlight, adapting Leanne Shapton’s Was She Pretty for the screen, and developing a cable television series for CBS/Paramount. She is a former Emmy-winning documentary television producer and the author of the award-winning nonfiction book The Second Mark. As a journalist, she has covered New York theater and dance for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Village Voice, and The New York Sun.	Bill Gordh Bill Gordh is an award-winning storyteller, author, musician and educator. He is the author of Stories in Action: Interactive Tales and Learning Activities to Promote Early Literacy. Bill has performed with the New York Philharmonic, at the Clearwater Festival, and at the White House Easter Egg Roll. He is the Director of Expressive Arts at the Episcopal School (NYC) and the Director of the Summer Arts Institute at Manhattanville College. He collaborated with the JBFC to create a curriculum for Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade called Seeing Stories, which uses storytelling and media to foster early literacy.
Bobby Houston Bobby Houston is an Academy Award–winning writerdirector. His projects include a series of documentaries for the Southern Poverty Law Center, including Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks, which received an Emmy Award and an Oscar nomination, and Mighty Times: The Children’s March, winner of the Oscar in 2005 for Best Documentary Short Subject. Bobby also produced segments for PBS. He has consulted for the JBFC and has taught Crafting the Documentary.	Nancy Israel Nancy Israel is head of development at the digital video production company InDigEnt, where she has worked on projects including November, Puccini for Beginners, and Starting Out in the Evening. She has also worked in community and affordable housing development and taught in the film department at NYU. She is the host of The Collaborative Art.
Mike Kraus Mike Kraus worked as a video journalist for the BBC, producing uniquely stylized films and earning several awards. Now based in New York, Mike runs Goldenpin Productions, a video production company, and consults and leads video journalism training for a variety of groups ranging from youth programs to television stations. Mike teaches Final Cut Pro, and a digital video course at the Westchester County Jail.	Gregory Lewis Gregory Lewis is a graduate of Western Connecticut State University, with a B.A. in Media Arts. He works as a creative developer in the field of media production and is a freelance photographer. He has worked on two feature films, Horton Hears a Who and Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Blue Sky Studios/20th Century Fox) as well as various short films. In addition to experience with Minds in Motion, he currently teaches Kidtoons and A Taste of Animation.
Aaron Mace Aaron Mace has crewed on and produced numerous short films and has worked as a JBFC projectionist. He has taught and overseen See Hear Feel Film, the JBFC’s program for third graders, since 2004. He has also been an instructor for courses such as Minds in Motion; First Take; Lights, Camera, Action; Screen Stories; and many more. In 2009, he was Camp Director for the JBFC’s first Summer @ the Lab camp program.	Gregory Nemec Gregory Nemec is a graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He is a freelance illustrator, author, and educator. His illustrations have appeared in educational books, magazines, newspapers, and on posters and t-shirts. He cowrote and illustrated a humor book for parents. He teaches traditional art classes for kids from preschool to college and teaches Minds in Motion, KidToons, KidToons: Second Frame and A Tase of Animation for the JBFC.
Dr. Ara Osterweil Dr. Ara Osterweil is a film scholar, writer and educator. She is currently Assistant Professor at McGill University and has previously taught at the University of California, Berkeley, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Muhlenberg College, and Ghetto Film School. Dr. Osterweil has written for many film publications and recently wrote and produced her own feature film. She developed the JBFC’s Cinemania program and teaches film studies courses such as The Psychedelic 60’s.	Eric Pfriender Eric Pfriender codesigned Unscripted, our summer documentary class for high school students, and has taught the class for the past six years. He is codirector of The Lettermen, a documentary about professional Scrabble players, has produced three independent feature films, and served as associate producer on Albert Maysles’ film The Gates, about Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s project for Central Park. He is currently an editor for MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show.
Anne Marie Santoro Anne Marie Santoro is an award-winning program designer, writer, and producer of educational media and national projects that nourish the best in the human spirit. With 30 years of experience, she has developed a national reputation as an author and educator whose curricula and professional development programs bring communities together around a common goal. Anne Marie, founder and president of From the Heart Communications, created and teaches the JBFC’s first education program, See Hear Feel Film, as well as The Power of Story. In addition, she is developing a new professional development course, Teaching and Technology in the Digital Age.	Brady Shoemaker Brady Shoemaker, a certified K-12 arts educator, taught computer art on the high school level in Pennsylvania and worked on several films before joining the JBFC as a member of the education faculty. Brady has developed the JBFC’s Digital Storytelling programs, which encompass a course for English language learners at Westchester Community College, a course for adults and teens at the Media Arts Lab, and a collaboration with a social studies class at Fox Lane High School. In addition, he teaches First Take; Second Take; Lights, Camera, Action; and more.
Joseph Summerhays Joseph Summerhays is an award-winning media designer whose work has been featured on television, in print, and at venues around the country. He has developed more than 40 children’s software titles, written 35 children’s books, and lectured widely on animation theory and visual intelligence. He created the JBFC’s Minds in Motion program for 4th graders and has guided the production of more than 300 animated short films in that program. He teaches A Taste of Animation at the Lab.	Sean Weiner Sean Weiner is a former house manager at the JBFC Theater, production assistant on several films, and teacher in Japan. He has taught Screen Stories; First Take; Behind the Screen; Classroom to Screening Room; Lights, Camera, Action; Screen Stories; and Reel Change; and is the host for Friday Night Films @ The Lab and an instructor in the JBFC’s Digial Video program for incarcerated youth.
Michael C. Williams Mike is best known for his role in The Blair Witch Project. He can also be seen in such films as The Objective and Altered and has guest-starred on two Law and Order series as well as Without a Trace. He has been teaching acting to youth since 2004. He holds a BA in theater and an MA in school counseling. He teaches Acting for the Camera at the Lab.	Nancy Woolf Nancy Woolf, who holds a masters degree in elementary education, volunteered with See, Hear, Feel, Film and Minds in Motion for many years. She now teaches See, Hear, Feel, Film.