Jacob Burns Film Center and Media Arts Lab - Education

Faculty

Elizabeth Brown Liz is a film scholar, teacher, writer, and critic. Her essays, reviews, and interviews about film, performing arts, and contemporary fiction have appeared in the London Review of Books, Los Angeles Times, New York Times Book Review, Newsday, Time Out New York, and other publications. Liz has taught at the International Center for Photography and The New School, where she received her MFA in Creative Writing. She teaches film studies courses for adults at the Lab.	Linda Cimillo Linda 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 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. She has taught Reel Change, Reel Change for Nonprofits, Expanding the View, and the Summer Teachers Institute at the Lab.	Barbara De George Barbara 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 new humanities and multicultural education curricula. She was a member of the Strategic Planning Professional Development Committee and Mentoring Committee. Barbara 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.
Joy Goodwin Joy’s screenplays include an adaptation of William Faulkner’s Intruder in the Dust, currently being produced. She is executive-producing an adaptation of Langston Hughes’s Black Nativity, 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. She teaches Writing for the Screen and Scene Writing Workshop and Adaptation Workshop.	Bill Gordh Bill 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 Seeing Stories, which uses storytelling and media to foster early literacy, and is teaching Family Tales.
Nancy Israel Nancy Israel was formerly the head of development at the digital video production company InDigEnt, where she worked on projects including November, Puccini for Beginners, and Starting Out in the Evening. She also taught in the film department at NYU. She teaches And the Oscar® Goes To….	Holen Sabrina Kahn Holen’s award-winning film projects have been exhibited widely and supported through fellowships with the Whitney Museum’s Studio Program, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and Yale University. Holen was a documentary editor on internationally broadcast films and worked as a Post Manager for HBO. She has developed curricula for and taught at UCSD, CUNY, and film organizations. She received her MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the Director of Educational Innovation at the JBFC and has taught Documentary: Start to Finish, Mastering Media, and the Summer Teachers Institute.
Gerry Katzban Gerry is a motion graphics designer for film and broadcast television. His work has appeared on PBS, The History Channel, the Biography Channel, and others. He received his BlD from Pratt Institute and MA degrees in education and fine art from New York University. His work as a multimedia designer includes interactive and video programs currently running in several museums and city centers. Gerry teaches Final Cut Pro v.1 and v.2.	Mike Kraus Mike 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 as well as a digital video course at the Westchester County Jail.
Michael Kugler Michael graduated with a BA in Comparative Arts from Washington University in St. Louis. He is a media educator and teaching artist and has worked with the Tribeca Film Institute, the Museum of the Moving Image, and Urban Arts Partnership. His films and audiovisual installations have been exhibited in New York, Providence, and St. Louis. He was a 2010–11 artist-in-residence with the Brooklyn-based media collaborative UnionDocs. Michael teaches Experiments in Media.	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, 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, full-time faculty Aaron has crewed on and produced numerous short films and has worked as a JBFC projectionist. He has taught and supervised See Hear Feel Film, the JBFC’s program for third graders, since 2004. He teaches Experiments in Media, Projects in Media, Special Effects and Make-Up, and many other JBFC classes. He is also director of the summer program, Lab Camp.	Rob Morton Rob is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and film scholar. After majoring in film at Hobart College in Geneva, NY, he earned his MFA in writing and directing from NYU. His feature-length screenplays include the kidnapping comedy Bus 12, a ghost story entitled Dead Born, and the comic drama Side Tracks. Now based in Pleasantville, NY, Rob continues writing features and teaches screenwriting at NYU. He teaches The Art of the Short Screenplay and screenwriting courses for the Creators’ Co-Op at the Lab
Gregory Nemec Greg 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 is the coauthor and illustrator of a humor book for parents. He teaches traditional art classes for kids from preschool to college and is an instructor with Minds in Motion, KidToons, Advanced Animation, and A Taste of Animation.	Emily Ohara Emily received her BA in Cinema Studies from SUNY Purchase College with a double minor in Art History and Gender Studies. She has interned at the Neuberger Museum of Art, Discovery Channel, Clocktower Productions, and Women Make Movies. Emily teaches Lab Camp, Experiments in Media, Projects and Media, and Cinemania.
Dr. Ara Osterweil Ara 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. Ara has written for many film publications and recently wrote and produced her own feature film. She developed the JBFC’s Cinemania program and designs the annual Summer Teachers Institute.	Yolanda Pividal, full-time faculty Yolanda Pividal is an independent documentary filmmaker, journalist, and Emmy Award–winning TV producer from Spain. As a filmmaker, she has won numerous grants and awards. She is currently working as a producer-editor for CUNY TV and as a freelance correspondent for Spanish media while she completes her first feature documentary film, Fighting Kites. A former JBFC International Filmmaker-in Residence, Yolanda teaches a range of courses for kids, teens, and adults.
Adam Rokhsar, full-time faculty Adam received degrees in human development and counseling psychology from Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania. As a psychologist, he treated children, adolescents, and adults dealing with homelessness, child abuse, autism, and other issues. In 2009, he became Technical Director of the Manhattan-based arts nonprofit Harvestworks, where he designed and taught classes in music, video, and computer programming to create new forms of art. He teaches Experiments in Media and is a technical consultant for the JBFC’s Interactive Learning and Teaching Platform.	Anne Marie Santoro Anne Marie 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 I, II, and III. She created the new professional development course, Teaching and Technology in the Digital Age.
Brady Shoemaker, full-time faculty Brady, a certified K–12 arts educator with a MA in Art Education, taught computer art on the high school level in Pennsylvania and worked on several films before joining the JBFC 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 Experiments in Media and Projects in Media and more.	Joseph Summerhays Joe 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 fourth 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.
Darrel Swann Darrel received his BA in Poltical Science from Boston College, attended New York Film Academy for screenwriting, and is a screenwriter and filmmaker. He teaches Experiments in Media, Projects in Media, Digital Music, Interactive Art,and Screenwriting.	Sean Weiner, full-time faculty Sean 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, Experiments in Media, and Reel Change and is the host for Friday Night Films @ the Lab and an instructor in the JBFC’s digital video program for incarcerated youth. He is completing his MFA in Integrated Media Arts at Hunter College.
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 bachelors degree in theater and has recently completed his masters in school counseling. Mike works as a guidance counselor at Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School in Yorktown Heights and teaches Acting for the Camera.	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 has taught See Hear Feel Film since 2009.