Staff
Press contact |
Volunteer opportunities |
Fundraising & Donations |
||
| Karen Larsen & Associates larsenassc@aol.com |
volunteers@sfjff.org | allyson@sfjff.org |
YEAR-ROUND STAFF | FESTIVAL PRODUCTION STAFF
Year-Round Staff
Peter L. Stein, Executive Director
pstein [at] sfjff.org
Peter L. Stein, who joined SFJFF as Executive Director in 2003, has a producing and management career in the arts that spans theater, television, documentary film and museums. From 1988-1999, Mr. Stein served as Executive Producer at public television station KQED (San Francisco), where he was responsible for developing and producing a wide range of series and programs for American public television. His documentary series Neighborhoods: The Hidden Cities of San Francisco has garnered critical acclaim and numerous prestigious awards, including the George Foster Peabody Award for its episode entitled "The Castro," which Mr. Stein wrote, produced and directed. His series Green Means, short documentary profiles of environmental heroes around the world, ran for four seasons on public television.
In October 1999 he joined The Jewish Museum San Francisco (now The Contemporary Jewish Museum) as Deputy Director for Programming, where he developed the museum's long-range program plan for its planned new facilities (designed by architect Daniel Libeskind) and oversaw ongoing exhibitions and curatorial staff. He was also the primary content developer for the museum's award-winning web site, www.jmsf.org. Among the original exhibitions he curated and/or produced are Hidden in the Walls: The Time Capsule from San Francisco's Lost Sanctuary; Face(t)s of Memory: Found Photographs and Family Albums; and a media-based exhibition focusing on the image of Israelis and Palestinians on film.
He also wrote and produced "The Fillmore," a 90-minute documentary history of San Francisco's premier black neighborhood; it aired on PBS in June 2001, and is now regularly shown during Black History Month. Mr. Stein has also been honored for his culinary productions, including six seasons of programs with renowned chef Jacques Pépin, two-time winner of the James Beard Award for Outstanding National Cooking Series. In the 1980's, Mr. Stein spent several years at KPIX (CBS/San Francisco) where he produced a daily talk show, and worked a brief stint as a free-lance radio journalist in Cambodia.
Mr. Stein is an accomplished public speaker, having been a guest on such programs as NPR's "Fresh Air" and "Weekend Edition" and numerous television news and interview programs. On the other side of the microphone, he frequently moderates public panels and discussions for Bay Area theaters, museums, and media organizations. He co-moderates San Francisco's Key Sunday Cinema Club and has written film-related features for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Mr. Stein is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard University, and a third-generation San Francisco native.
Jay Rosenblatt, Program Director, SFJFF 30
jrosenblatt [at] sfjff.org
Jay Rosenblatt is an internationally recognized filmmaker whose work has received many awards. A selection of his films had theatrical runs at the Film Forum in New York and at theaters around the country. Eight of his films have been at the Sundance Film Festival and several of his films have shown on HBO/Cinemax, the Independent Film Channel and the Sundance Channel. Articles about his work have appeared in the Sunday NY Times Arts & Leisure section, the LA Times, the NY Times, Filmmaker magazine and the Village Voice. Jay is a recipient of a Guggenheim, a USA Artists grant and a Rockefeller Fellowship. He has served on numerous festival juries throughout the world including the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) and the Tampere Film Festival in Finland. In 2002, he co-produced and curated the 9/11 program “Underground Zero” which was named one of the Ten Best Films in 2002 by the San Francisco Chronicle. In 2005, Jay received the inaugural Freedom of Expression Award from the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
Jay is originally from New York and has lived in San Francisco for many years. Since 1989, he has taught film at various universities in the Bay Area, including Stanford University, S.F. State University, and the San Francisco Art Institute. He has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology and, in a former life, worked as a therapist.
Allyson Halpern, Development Director
allyson [at] sfjff.org
A native of Newton, Massachusetts, Allyson joined the SFJFF staff in 2006 where she brings a long and impressive history as a development professional. She was the first Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Glass Center, where she raised $3 million in less than three years to launch a new building and art center. Before that she spent 10 years in the development office of Carnegie Mellon University in various capacities of fundraising. After moving to the Bay Area in 2002, she launched the development effort at Creative Growth Art Center in the East Bay and has been an executive consultant with Ketchum, Inc., a national fundraising consulting firm. She has a B.S. in Writing and a Master's in Non-Profit Management, both from Carnegie Mellon, and lives happily in San Francisco's sun belt with her husband and daughters.
Owen Levin, Administrative Director
olevin [at] sfjff.org
Owen Levin has broad experience in the film business, with stints in acquisitions, international sales, marketing, publicity, distribution and production for companies including Miramax Films and The Shooting Gallery. Most recently, Owen worked as COO and Line Producer for Stick Figure Productions, a documentary film and television company in New York. He is delighted to be helping connect quality films and engaged audiences through the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
Recent transplants from Brooklyn, Owen and his family are enjoying all the great food, lovely weather and beauty the Bay Area has to offer. He has a BA from Vassar College and is a Masters candidate in Arts Administration from Columbia University.
Sam Ball, New Jewish Filmmaking Project Director
Sam Ball is an award-winning filmmaker, whose work has been exhibited at modern art museums around the world, including New York’s MoMA, Washington's Hirschorn Museum and the Pompidou Center in Paris; at many film festivals, including Sundance (1996 and 2000); and on PBS. His Jewish-subject films include PLEASURES OF URBAN DECAY, about cartoonist Ben Katchor and POUMY about a 92-year-old Jewish woman who fought in the French resistance during WW II. Ball has also received commissions to make films for several not-for-profit organizations including the National Yiddish Book Center (A BRIDGE OF BOOKS, 2001, is currently touring the many Jewish Film Festivals around the world). In 2001, he was awarded a fellowship from Joshua Venture to launch the New Jewish Filmmaking Project with the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, the largest, most prestigious event of its kind. The New Jewish Filmmaking Project gives teenagers the resources and training they need to tell their own Jewish stories and exhibit their work around the world.
A dual citizen of France and the United States, Ball holds a Masters Degree in documentary film production from Stanford University (1995) and a BA from McGill University in Montreal, where he studied under Ruth Wisse and earned the Yaffee Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Yiddish Studies. He is the founder of Citizen Film. a San Francisco-based production company.
Kerri Gawryn, Development and Membership Associate
kerri [at] sfjff.org
Before joining the SFJFF staff, Kerri Gawryn spent six years as a social advocate for homeless individuals and domestic violence survivors. Her interest in the arts and social policy runs deep: for her masters thesis at San Francisco State University, she created a community organizing photography workshop and directed and produced the accompanying documentary film, Exposing Homelessness.
Joshua Moore, Associate Programmer
jmoore [at] sfjff.org
Before arriving at SFJFF, Joshua spent two years as a programmer at the Mill Valley Film Festival working alongside SFJFF co-founder Janis Plotkin and curated a showcase of Swedish short films as well as independent feature films from around the world. Joshua graduated the Los Angeles Film School in 2000 where he studied all aspects of film production and post-production under the teachings of Donn Cambern (The Last Picture Show), Carol Littleton (ET), Lawrence Paul (Blade Runner), Charles Edward Pogue (The Fly), and David Klein (Clerks) among others, focusing on editing and directing. Joshua continued his film studies at San Francisco State University earning his BA in Cinema production and theory, and worked as a teaching assistant in courses focusing on film history and international cinema. An independent filmmaker, writer, and amateur photographer, Joshua also worked as a reader for Michael Douglas and Francis Coppola, as well as an editor for the San Francisco International Film Festival. He lives, works, plays and creates in San Francisco.
Shira Zucker, Manager, Marketing/PR
szucker [at] sfjff.org
Shira Zucker sharpened her communication skills at a number of Bay Area media organizations including the Institute for Public Accuracy, KQED Public Television and LOGO TV. A graduate of Mills College where she majored in Journalism and Comparative Media Studies, Shira has worked on both sides of the publicist-journalist divide. Her reportage has earned numerous awards, including two prestigious Gracie Allen awards for outstanding documentary, a National Award for Education Reporting, a California College Media Association award and a Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to catching the marketing and communications itch, Shira worked as an advocate for homeless and abused women and children and as an instructor of self-defense and conflict resolution. If you ask nicely, she might teach you a few basic moves between screenings.
Doug Blakely, Administrative Coordinator
dblakely [at] sfjff.org
Doug began his creative journey at the University of South Florida studying theater arts, film and art history. He then left South Florida in his twenties to pursue various roles in the business world of optical marketing, medical finance and retail merchandising after completing a Marketing degree at the University of Phoenix. Doug was a member of the Odyssey Theater Group in Sonoma for 4 years and is happy to be back in the world of creative arts. Doug is currently pursuing his latest venture, “Life as Art” while living in downtown San Francisco and working at SFJFF.
Ada Chester, Bookkeeper
achester [at] sfjff.org
At Burning Man, Ada was Operations Manager and Logistics Superintendent for the DPW for 5 years. She left to start my own accounting company, and have had local and global clients, like Gama-Go, Robert W. Cameron,and Grenade Gloves. Ada has a BFA in metal casting, specializing in lost wax bronze from University of Texas. She is currently studying for my MBA and CPA at UOP, San Francisco.
Christopher Smith, Digital Archive Coordinator
csmith [at] sfjff.org
Christopher Smith recently graduated with a BA in Anthropology and French from Indiana University. He is currently pursuing a MA in Museum Studies at San Francisco State University, and plans to graduate in 2010 with an emphasis in museum collections management. Christopher enjoys working with the nonprofit sector and has learned a lot about digital media through the preparation of the Festival’s online photo archive.
Production Staff, SFJFF30
Peter L. Stein, Executive Director
Owen Levin, Administrative Director
Jay Rosenblatt, Program Director, SFJFF30
Allyson Halpern, Development Director
Joshua Moore, Associate Programmer
Kerri Gawryn, Development & Membership Associate
Shira Zucker, Marketing/PR Manager
Doug Blakely, Administrative Coordinator
Ada Chester, Bookkeeper
Chris Smith, Digital Archive Coordinator
Monica Reid, Hospitality Coordinator
Marketing by Storm—Cara Storm, Marketing Consultant
K Sato, Publications & Website
Ani Klose, Publicity Coordinator
Larsen Associates—Karen Larsen, Leo Wong, Jane Gould, Festival Publicists
Myra Feiger, Community Outreach Coordinator
Suzy Drell, Events Coordinator
Jennifer Brown, Meaghan Curran, Evan Haigh, Michael Carriero, Production Interns
Jennie Adler, Volunteer Coordinator
Ninfa Dawson, Alysanne Taylor, Volunteer Coordinators Marin
415 Productions, San Francisco—Doug Domonkos, Chris Purvis, Ben Rigby, Web Design/Development
2010 SFJFF Trailer
Mario Grijalva, Director
Benjamin Mullins, Producer
Special Agent Productions, LLC, Animation
Mike Overbeck, Animation Director
Amy Capen, Animation Executive Producer
Jason Rufuss Sewell, Wesley James Steck II, Music / Sound Design
David White, Sponsor Reel
David Gutierez, Brian Freeman, John Bouvier, Hospitality Assistants
Brad Robinson, House Manager
Gino Caputi, Palo Alto House Manager
Lalita Noam, Production Manager
Hal Rowland, Technical Director
Mitchell Vaughn, Box Office Manager
In-Ticketing, Box Office
Alison Cartwright, Photographer
Robert Avila, Copy Editor
Alex Cantin, Print Traffic Coordinator
p.s. Printsmart—Donna Steger, Diean Hala’ufia, Print Broker
Margot Breier, Bonnie Burt, Myra Feiger, Ed Feldman, Max Goldberg, Deborah Hoffmann, Marcia Jarmel, Vivian Kleiman, Donna Korones, Jan Krawitz, Valerie Lapin-Ganley, Sarah Lefton, Ron Levaco, Rozlyn Levaco, David Liu, Alon Raab, Shevi Rosenfeld, Ken Schneider, Harvey Schwartz, Jennifer Schwartz, Mark Valentine, Lauren Vanett, Marlene Velasco-Begue, Diane Wolf, Pre-Screeners 2010
Nancy K. Fishman, Deborah Kaufman, Tom Luddy, Janis Plotkin, Program Consultants
Mende Design—Jeremy Mende, Bryn Bowman, James Provenza, Cynthia Garcia, Creative Direction and Design
Debbie Berne, David White, Additional Graphic Design
Nancy K. Fishman, Guest Curator, Tough Guys Program
Joshua Moore, Jay Rosenblatt, Peter L. Stein, Program Catalog Editors
