Miri Rodriguez is a globally recognized Storyteller, Head of Global Internship Program at Microsoft and author of the soon to be published book: Brand Storytelling. She is a creative journalist and content strategist, evangelizing brand narrative and showcasing how thought leaders can leverage storytelling techniques for culture activation and influence in the digital age. Miri has earned several awards in digital marketing and customer experience and is ranked as top in-demand speaker at leading industry conferences around the world. Miri brings 15+ years of expertise, valuable industry and consulting insights matched with a lighthearted and connected delivery approach. Her social advocacy and philanthropic work include volunteering to train social enterprise leaders in Southeast Africa, coaching students at Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship in Miami area, and mentoring men and women of all ages from around the world to build their personal brand with empathy, passion and purpose. Her biggest accomplishment to date is being a mother of 2 boys and an American Bulldog. She can also run in heels. Ice cream is her superfood
Katie Northlich is an actor, writer, solo performer, improviser, and performing arts coach. She is a Four Time National Monologue Champion, having written, performed and produced original work since 2001. Her solo shows have played to critical acclaim and sold out Off-Broadway houses in New York City, including the Cherry Lane Theatre. Katie's play "Two Of Them, Looking," was produced in New York in 2015, and Katie is in the middle of writing her first novel.
In 2019, Katie booked nine television commercials as an actor in Los Angeles. Working in the commercial industry, Katie applies her sketch and improvisational training to the booking process, having been hired for her own pitches and playfulness in the creative process. She utilizes this approach as a performing arts coach, having taught upward of 1200 students over 9 nine years in both NYC and LA, including international TV stars as well as NBA and NFL players. Currently she works in Development, Marketing and is on the Acting Faculty at the Studio School in Los Angeles, CA. Katie just signed on to direct her first film in Spring, 2020.
In 2019, Katie booked nine television commercials as an actor in Los Angeles. Working in the commercial industry, Katie applies her sketch and improvisational training to the booking process, having been hired for her own pitches and playfulness in the creative process. She utilizes this approach as a performing arts coach, having taught upward of 1200 students over 9 nine years in both NYC and LA, including international TV stars as well as NBA and NFL players. Currently she works in Development, Marketing and is on the Acting Faculty at the Studio School in Los Angeles, CA. Katie just signed on to direct her first film in Spring, 2020.
Originally from San Diego, and now living in San Francisco, Ateken Abla is Adobe for Education’s Social Media & Community Manager. In her role, she helps amplify and engage with the #AdobeEduCreative community. Passionate about storytelling and creativity, she’s worked at several technology brands supporting social media. https://twitter.com/AdobeForEdu
Tanya Avrith M.A. EdTech is a passionate educator and author of “The Google Infused Classroom”; from Montreal Canada, now living in South Florida. She is a Google Certified Innovator and Apple Distinguished Educator. With deep roots as a teacher and pedagogue, Tanya works with schools to help plan and execute large scale deployments and professional development plans for digital citizenship, technology integration initiatives and organizational development in schools. Tanya is currently works at Adobe as the North American Education Evangelist. http://www.tanyaavrith.com/
Kristin Tetuán, principal and founder of Art Club., began her career as a freelance photographer and production artist in the late 2000’s. As her photography studio grew, she began seeing a need for an organization that supports the new definition of visual arts within the rapidly-changing digital landscape. Her goal, through Art Club.’s programming, is to pave the way for young, alternative path artists by providing them with training and real-world, portfolio-building experiences. Kristin is the Community Engagement Producer for North Bend Film Festival and teaches elementary art for SVSD. In her not-so-spare time, she is a music educator, arranger, violinist/violist/vocalist and performs when she can!
Candice Baker is a Whidbey Island native and a photographer residing in the Middle East (Manama, Bahrain). Her pieces focus on assessing the human condition and how it weaves into society. Candice’s work has been featured on National Geographic platforms and has lent her work to Starbucks Corporation. While a student of sociology at Arizona State University, Candice has also worked as a political campaign photographer and theatre director. www.candicebaker.com
Tess Wagner is a six-time Emmy-nominated Senior Producer for KING 5 News in Seattle with a passion for telling stories creatively. She was born and raised in Milton, WA and graduated from Boise State University in 2015. She worked as a producer at KTVB in Boise, ID and at KVUE in Austin, TX before making her way back home to the Pacific Northwest. Most recently, Tess produced a true crime documentary about Ted Bundy and his suspected first victim. https://www.king5.com/
Cat Dale is a screenwriter working in both feature and TV projects, focusing on female-driven storytelling. Her script, MOUNT PLEASANT, is the winner of ScreenCraft’s Pilot Launch Competition, was a Featured Script on The Black List, and advanced to the Second Round of the Sundance Episodic Lab. She is currently producing her first feature film, BEASTS UNDISCOVERED, which she co-wrote, is a quarter-finalist for The Academy Nicholl Fellowship, was a top ten finisher in the Seattle International Film Festival, and has partnered with the Jim Henson Creature Shop to create the mythical beings in the film. www.bycatdale.com
Rose Andrews, I've been working in the professional live sound industry for 16+ years. I have a Bachelor degree in Digital Media Arts. I produced a Rock and Roll TV show on Public Access TV for 4 years 2007 - 2011. I love telling stories with images and words. I'm also a big fan of music and creating new imagery through audio.
Isabella Richter de Medeiros is a 19 year old Brazilian-American film student at Willamette University. Writing and directing her internationally recognized 2017 short film “Cheers and Queers” launched her into pursuing film as a career. She wants to continue to create queer content and make the world a better place, and inspire others to do so as well.
http://brdemedeiros.wixsite.com/photoandfilm
http://brdemedeiros.wixsite.com/photoandfilm
Jasmina Mathieu a Kirkland-based visual designer. A Parsons School of Design graduate, with a MFA in Design and Technology, she spent most of her career in New York city navigating between print design, motion graphics, UI design, compositing, special effects, character animation and logo design. Her interests resides in creating fresh designs and memorable experiences whether it may be animated, static, or interactive. Throughout her 20 year career she worked in advertising, broadcast and video games, on projects ranging from award winning games like Grand Theft Auto V, Max Payne 3, Red Dead Redemption, Just Cause 3, and TV shows like Bad Girls All Star Battle, and on leading brands like T-Mobile, Pokemon, Hyundai, Ford, and PBS Kids. www.jasminamathieu.com
An Emmy award winning director-producer, Gargiulo’s work has appeared on PBS, Discovery, Fox, CBS and in numerous film festivals. A graduate of Stanford University and the American Film Institute, she was the first recipient of the Nichol Screenwriting Fellowship. Working as a commercial producer, she was able to subsidize her first documentary work. She has shot in Africa and Asia, and explored diverse domestic communities: Native American, Muslim, Evangelical Christian et al. Her narrative films include: The Collectors, winner of the LATVFest Best drama, and Got 2 Come Up, named USA Film Festival Best Short. As an Artist in Residence, she’s taught in maximum security youth prisons and is currently on staff teaching film production at the UW. https://vimeo.com/luluwild
Laurel Minter is an award winning filmmaker and WGA screenwriter living and working Los Angeles. Her films have been on KCTS and won awards in several film festivals. She also teaches filmmaking for Studio School, a unique college on a studio lot in Los Angeles. She judges screenplays for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and she earned her MFA in Film from UCLA. https://studioschool.edu/
Wynter Rhys is a visionary director, writer and editor. Her work is focused, visually and conceptually, on the human body and the human condition. WynterRhys.com
Monika Liljegren Achury: Almost 10 years at Microsoft in the Software Development role, have worked with back end services and more recently moved to the Office Media Group to work on UI and be closer to customers. A new and exciting move in my career! Prior to joining Microsoft, I attended Florida State University where I graduated with a Masters in Computer Science. I live in Woodinville with my husband Craig and our dog Montana. https://www.linkedin.com/in/monika-achury-4bb539a0
Art Director leading and mentoring teams of artists, designers, and developers to create story driven content and deliver creative products which elevate customer experiences in multi-sensory environments and new technologies. Provides synergistic creative direction at the forefront of innovation in the immersive interactive space. Consistently recognized by partners as being a story-builder. https://www.marisaerven.com
Victoria Nece is the Product Manager for Motion Graphics and Visual Effects at Adobe, which includes After Effects and Character Animator. Before joining Adobe, she was a motion designer for over a decade, as well as a developer of scripts and extensions for After Effects. As Director of Animation at the Documentary Group (successor to Peter Jennings Productions) she oversaw graphics, animation, and design for dozens of productions across broadcast, theatrical and educational markets. As a developer, Victoria has consulted on broadcast automation, developed workflows for motion capture animation, and created tools used in Hollywood films. www.victorianece.com
Brittany Hammer, is a freelance writer and film editor in Seattle and a Senior Media Technician at Seattle University’s Media Production Center, educating students, staff and faculty in media production. When she is not working, she is busy creating her own works of art for local film festivals and competitions.
Monique is a cinematographer who has worked on commercials, short films with a specialty in underwater cinematography. Over the last 10 years she has focused on producing documentaries and education-based for the small screen. She has taught with the Institute for American Indian Arts, Sierra Club, Santa Fe Community College, and is now part of the team at Seattle Film Institute. She loves people's stories and helping discover stories that we need to hear. https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniqueanair/
Baylee Sinner has been working professionally in the film industry for over 10 years. She started as a production assistant and worked several internships with different agencies before graduating from Washington State University. Since graduating, Baylee written, produced, and directed for clients like the Seattle Seahawks, T-Mobile, Amazon, and more as well as made her own short films, documentaries, and music videos. Some of her work can be seen on her website: https://bayleesinner.com
My name is Kendra Fowler. I attended the New York Film Academy from 2008-2010. My degree is in Screenwriting. After college I have worked freelance using my screenwriting and find skills. I edited animal footage for a marine biologist, worked for blue Nile doing 360 video of jewelry and made a historical video for a local historical mansion. I am currently working on a steam punk, fantasy/horror screenplay that I hope to direct myself. https://pastpictures-kendrafowler.weebly.com/
Hilary Sparrow leads executive communications for the Executive Vice President of Xbox, Phil Spencer. Prior to joining Microsoft, Sparrow worked as a Senior Supervising Producer at Vulcan Productions. Vulcan Productions develops and produces feature films, television series, specials, and digital content designed to inspire people to take action on critical issues. Hilary helmed key initiatives at Vulcan, managing the production, marketing, strategy, outreach, and impact of film and television projects. Projects that Sparrow spearheaded for the company include the feature documentaries Racing Extinction, Girl Rising, and Naledi; and television programs such as National Geographic Wild's Minds of Giants and the three-part PBS series This Emotional Life; and Success at the Core, a web-based toolkit for middle-school educators. Sparrow's projects have won numerous awards and nominations including an Oscar nomination, two News and Documentary Emmys, Tellys, and Webbys, among others. https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilarysparrow/
Malory Graham, founder of Reel Grrls, is proud to serve as the current Vice President of Board, after holding the Executive Director position of the organization for its first decade. Malory is dedicated to helping develop a program to support the growing Reel Grrls alumni network by supporting graduates to get into the media industry and produce their first films as professional filmmakers. Malory is a filmmaker, mentor, and Aikido instructor. http://reelgrrls.org/people/malory-graham/
Maya Halfon Cordova is a senior music supervisor at Microsoft and has been working on in game soundtracks and advertising for the last seven years. Recent work includes in game soundtracks and trailers for Forza Horizon 4 and 3, as well as trailers for Gears of War 5, Forza Motorsport 7, and State of Decay 2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayahalfon/
Meera Parat is a Data Scientist at Microsoft and living in Seattle. She's an outdoors enthusiast - loves everything from hiking to camping or even just sitting in nature. She's constantly in awe of the beautiful nature around her, and luckily surrounding the Pacific Northwest area, and this has created her love for photography. She initially began just filling her phone's camera roll with pictures from wherever she went, but soon realized she was actively looking for the aestheticness and beauty in the scenes around her. She claimed her family's DSLR as her own and has been more actively seeking beautiful views, emotional images, and beauty in everything around her. She's expanding her skills by doing photoshoots for her friends and colleagues and finding her groove. She shares her pictures in the portfolio linked here - feel free to share your thoughts or questions with her!
As a professional director and editor, Amy has pursued compelling storytelling through the power of documentary film for more than a decade. From racially-charged educational experiments in the ‘60s to social stigmas around our homeless populations, Amy has a gift for finding the heart of a story and revealing inspiring human moments. She currently writes, directs and edits for outdoor retail company REI. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyenser/
Nancy runs Reel Grrls, a community / film school that wants to help next generation media makers tell stories through a feminist lens. https://www.reelgrrls.org/
Clara is the Global Education Community Lead at Adobe Education. Prior to Adobe, she started out her career as a middle school educator, and has since worked in EdTech for the past seven years for companies including Amazon (Kindle Education), Remind.com, and Edutopia, The George Lucas Educational Foundation. edex.adobe.com
Taylor Quinn is a software engineer on the photos and videos team at Microsoft and loves being surrounded by creatives. She found her passion for photography at the same time that she discovered her love for travel. Photography empowered her to encapsulate the moments and experiences she has had while travelling, as well as share the stories of the amazing people she meets.
As a longtime professional photographer with roots in photojournalism and a passion for the industry.
https://www.facebook.com/MaryMillerPhotography/
https://www.facebook.com/MaryMillerPhotography/
Claire Sisson drives Strategic Planning and Initiatives for XBOX Gaming Cloud. She has experience blending strategic vision with rigorous execution. Deep expertise in Product Management, Program Management, Finance, IT and Operations. Claire is passionate about enabling creators to tell their stories and create their worlds. https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-sisson-bb889619/
Lindy Boustedt is an award-winning writer/director/producer who specializes in character-driven stories. As co-owner of First Sight Productions, she’s spent the past 15 years working on everything from shorts, features, serialized productions, branded content, podcasts, to VR/AR media. http://firstsightproductions.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krisandlindy/ | Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/krisandlindy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krisandlindy/ | Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/krisandlindy
Originally from North Carolina, Nancy Wilson has worked in the entertainment industry for over 10 years. Her experience has taken her from the network side of television as a Digital Producer for several channels on the Discovery Network, to the production side in Los Angeles: as a Production Coordinator on a multitude of commercials and game show episodes, and as a segment producer for an episode of Travel Channel’s 50/50show. After moving to Seattle in 2015 with her family, Nancy’s work experience expanded into the film world as the Production Supervisor for the Tacoma, WA feature, Heartthrob, currently streaming on Netflix. She also most recently worked on Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19. A longtime fan of KEXP, Nancy quickly found her music community by volunteering at the station, and enjoys going to local shows to support the arts and culture scene. https://www.washingtonfilmworks.org/
Finch Izatt is a director, cinematographer, production designer, and explorer.
She is a skilled art director and scenic carpenter, and has worked many years on commercial projects and music videos in that capacity. Her work is evolving to include a lifelong passion for storytelling in the form of filming and directing narrative shorts.
Her work is intuitively driven by the poetry of the moment, skillfully guiding the viewer with a sense of immediacy and intimacy. She vows to stay inspired and to never ever slow down.
She is a skilled art director and scenic carpenter, and has worked many years on commercial projects and music videos in that capacity. Her work is evolving to include a lifelong passion for storytelling in the form of filming and directing narrative shorts.
Her work is intuitively driven by the poetry of the moment, skillfully guiding the viewer with a sense of immediacy and intimacy. She vows to stay inspired and to never ever slow down.
Past Presenters
Delaney's passion for digital storytelling started at Newport High School in the media production program, NTV. She continued to study at the University of Washington achieving an individualized, interdisciplinary degree known as CineMedia with a focus in film directing. Delaney is a freelancer in media production in a variety of capacities. From associate producing lifestyle pieces to copywriting for small businesses, current commercial work leads everywhere from the neighborhood pool to Los Angeles. Delaney also works to pull together local creatives for fashion and art focused work. delaneycerna.com
Sarah Salcedo is a producer, filmmaker, writer, and graphic artist from Seattle, Washington. She is the co-founder of Tall Firs Cinema, whose first feature film is an award-winning documentary and whose second feature, a female-led scifi adventure, is currently in development. A graduate from the University of Washington, she also co-founded Tall Firs Productions with her filmmaking partner Vasant Salcedo. They have done video for arts non-profits such as Hugo House, Seattle City of Literature, Seattle Arts & Lectures, Hedgebrook, as well as graphic and web design for numerous authors and poets. Sarah is also a writer and has had work published in several journals. http://tallfirscinema.com
For the past 20 years, Aimie Vallat has been a social change agent in both the non-profit and documentary film sectors and owns Reel Witness Productions. Her passion for capturing the essence of a story has led to creating a diverse body of work for various non profits working in the area of: thriving communities, grassroots leaders, sustainability and refugee stories. In 2015 Reel Witness debuted their short documentary, Present Moment, which went on to play 26 festivals, earning 5 awards and was nominated for a NW Emmy. Little Rebel is their second short, celebrating the courageous story of local asylee, Isatou Jallow.
http://www.reelwitness.com
http://www.reelwitness.com
SJ Chiro is a Seattle filmmaker. After a decade making short film, her first feature, LANE 1974 was released in 2017. The film premiered as SXSW and went on to screen at festivals around the world. This award winning film was picked up for distribution by The Orchard, and is currently available on iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Hulu and On Demand. www.lane1974film.com/
Mary Olson joined the game industry over 20 years ago as a sound designer after completing her studies in sound engineering and experimental music. Mary went on to enjoy years as a sound designer, sound engineer and field recordist for Microsoft, started her own audio production company in 2000, and joined Sony’s Zipper Interactive as Audio Director in 2006. Audio was Mary’s gateway into a passion for all aspects of game development, and in 2012 she joined 343industries where she now works as Executive Producer of the FPS Team. https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryshokesolson/ www.linkedin.com/in/maryshokesolson/
Annie Patterson has worked in advertising, film and video production for more than 15 years. Most recently she has focused on networking and new business development. http://vossler.co/
Laila Kazmi is a NW Emmy Award-winning independent producer and filmmaker. As a senior producer at Seattle's PBS television station KCTS, she pitched and launched the immigration stories series Borders & Heritage, as well as produced the independent film series REEL NW. Laila's work has aired on KCTS, KPBS (San Diego), and streamed on PBS NewsHour. Laila currently works as an independent producer and serves on the Board of Directors for Seattle Documentary Association. http://kazbarmedia.com/laila/
Alexandra graduated from Washington State in 2013 and then promptly found herself being a Multi Media Journalist in Helena, Montana. She dabbled in sports anchoring, sideline reporting and announcing basketball games before she found her way back to Seattle to be a writer/associate producer at KIRO 7. She currently works at Mighty Media Studios in Bellevue where she is a line producer. She also helps produce the Q13 Seahawk shows during football season.
An Emmy award winning director-producer, Gargiulo’s work has appeared on PBS, Discovery, Fox, CBS and in numerous film festivals. A graduate of Stanford University and the American Film Institute, she was the first recipient of the Nichol Screenwriting Fellowship. Working as a commercial producer, she was able to subsidize her first documentary work. She has shot in Africa and Asia, and explored diverse domestic communities: Native American, Muslim, Evangelical Christian et al. Her narrative films include: The Collectors, winner of the LATVFest Best drama, and Got 2 Come Up, named USA Film Festival Best Short. As an Artist in Residence, she’s taught in maximum security youth prisons and is currently on staff teaching film production at the UW.
Jennifer King is an international media educator with a passion for digital skills equity, women in STEM and women in media and film. Currently serving on the executive board at Reel Grrls. Recently returned to the US from London.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferblum/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferblum/
Vivian Hua (華婷婷) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer. As the Executive Director at Northwest Film Forum in Seattle, a Co-Founder of the civil rights film series, The Seventh Art Stand, and the Editor-in-Chief of the interdisciplinary arts publication, REDEFINE, much of her work unifies her interest in the metaphysical with her belief that art can positively transform the self and society. Her narrative short film, Searching Skies–which touches on the controversial topic of Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States–was publicly released in 2018, after making festival rounds. She is currently writing her next film projects, as well as researching national efforts to preserve cultural space. http://nwfilmforum.org and http://vivianhua.com
Amy Walker is an actress, singer, and founder/CEO of 21Accents.com, who has been featured on TEDx, the TODAY Show, NPR, Inside Edition, and more.
Her passion is empowerment ~ whether performing (in film, theatre, voice over, new media), coaching, or creating content that entertains and inspires positive change. Her online videos have garnered over 40 million views on YouTube Channel and beyond, from the viral "21 Accents", to memorable characters, songs, and inspirational insights. She toured internationally with her one-woman show, Amy Walker: Inside Out, playing to standing ovations in London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sydney, Melbourne, and more. Amy is currently in production for sitcom pilot, "Group-Ease", in partnership with YouTube and Elizabeth Banks' comedy company WhoHaha, as part of YouTube's international Women In Comedy program.
Her passion is empowerment ~ whether performing (in film, theatre, voice over, new media), coaching, or creating content that entertains and inspires positive change. Her online videos have garnered over 40 million views on YouTube Channel and beyond, from the viral "21 Accents", to memorable characters, songs, and inspirational insights. She toured internationally with her one-woman show, Amy Walker: Inside Out, playing to standing ovations in London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sydney, Melbourne, and more. Amy is currently in production for sitcom pilot, "Group-Ease", in partnership with YouTube and Elizabeth Banks' comedy company WhoHaha, as part of YouTube's international Women In Comedy program.
Stefanie Malone is an award-winning producer and an engagement specialist. Stefanie boasts a long history with public broadcasting, having worked for KCTS (Seattle) and WETA (Washington DC). During her Public Broadcasting tenure, Stefanie has led national and local multimedia projects, which included television productions, educational content and community engagement strategies. Most recently, she acted as Interactive and Engagement Consultant for WETA (PBS, D.C.) on Ken Burns’ The Vietnam War and recently on Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s Africa’s Greatest Civilizations. Stefanie is previously the director of NFFTY (National Film Festival for Talented Youth), the world’s largest film festival for emerging directors. As Executive Producer of NFFTY Creative projects, Stefanie oversaw award-winning projects for clients such as Expedia, vitaminwater®, KIND and more. Stefanie currently produces for Creative Media Alliance, working with Amazon. Stefanie has her Master of Arts in Communication from Ohio University, where she was awarded a Public Broadcasting Fellowship. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Seattle’s Women in Film. http://www.maloneportfolio.com/
Award-winning filmmakers, Tay and Val left successful media careers, closed their production company, wrapped work on their nationally televised television series P.S. I’m Sorry, and set off to travel the world by bicycle for a documentary project to inspire dreams. Six years, three continents, more than 400 public talks and national radio and TV appearances (in twelve countries), and 2 TEDx talks later, Tay and Val settled in the Pacific Northwest as City Artists of Seattle. Committed to helping visionary leaders meet their call to greatness with clear-eyed vision, groundedness, and deep trust - they work with leaders and businesses around the globe who hear the call to rise and say yes. More recently, their work has also appeared on Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, and Thrive Global. They are also co-founders of M Meditation, Seattle’s premier modern meditation movement. https://www.taynval.com/
City of Mukilteo City Council Vice President Kneller was elected to council in 2017. Ms. Kneller graduated from Washington State University with a degree in Broadcasting and Production Management and currently works at Valve Corporation as an Executive Producer and co-owns a production company managing live broadcast needs for professional sports broadcasts around the country.
Meg has been a camera technician for 14 yrs, 11 of those years at Koerner Camera Systems in Seattle. She is also an award winning documentary filmmaker and Photographer. When not in the camera world you can find This mother of two on a bicycle where she is an active participant, Coach for Sweetlines and Brand Ambassador for Liv Cycling. http://www.koernercamera.com/
