Karen Andrews, SPHR, Andrews Group
Andrews is an award-winning executive with expertise in human resources. She is managing director of The Andrews Group which specializes in executive coaching and training, human resource strategy, strategic planning, employee rewards/benefits strategies and solutions, change management and organizational design strategy, and executive team building and facilitation. Additionally, she is an instructor in professional human resource management at Eastern Michigan University.
Michelle Baroody, Mizna Arab Film Festival
Michelle Baroody received her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Minnesota in 2019, where she taught classes on film, literature, and history. She served as director and curator of the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival from 2014-2018, and executive director of the Italian Film Festival of Minneapolis / St. Paul in 2015 and 2018. She is a volunteer and board member at the Trylon Cinema in Minneapolis. Her academic research focuses on the international circulation and exhibition of Arab film and literary texts.
Emily Eddy, Co-Curator, Nightingale Cinema
Emily Eddy is a film, video, and digital media artist and curator based in Chicago, IL. Since 2014 she has been curating film, video, and new media works at the Nightingale Cinema in Chicago and for the online zine Video! Video! Her curatorial projects include “How to Fight Like A Girl” and “How to Survive: Pinky Swear.” Emily has shown her work and programmed screenings at many venues in Chicago, as well as her hometown, Portland Oregon, Los Angeles, and Reykjavík, Iceland.
Rebecca Fons, Board Member, Iowa Theater
Rebecca Fons served as the Education Director at the Chicago International Film Festival for nine years and now work full-time the Programming Director at FilmScene in Iowa City, Iowa and as the Development and Programming Director for The Iowa Theater, in Winterset, Iowa which she renovated.
Elnian Gilbert, Trainer, ZingTrain
Voted the best small business in America, Zingerman’s is known for pioneering a new and sustainable way to work, grounded in a commitment to quality and service, as well as finance. With an eclectic background in customer service, trainer Gilbert leads educational seminars around the country on vision and customer service, helping businesses of all sizes develop strategies for employee ownership and healthy growth.
Amir George, Film Programmer, True/ False
Amir George is a filmmaker and curator. Amir has organized cinematic themed symposiums at Cooper Union, and Talbot Rice Gallery at the University of Edinburgh. Amir has curated exhibitions at Transmission Gallery Scotland, and Silent Funny Chicago. In addition to founding The Cinema Culture, a grassroots film programming organization, Amir is the co-founder of Black Radical Imagination a touring experimental short film series with Erin Christovale. Black Radical Imagination focuses on the aesthetics of Afro-futurism, Afro-surrealism, and the magnificent through the context of cinema and has presented experimental works at venues including the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Brooklyn Museum. Amir’s motion picture work has screened at film festivals and cultural organizations including Ann Arbor Film Festival, Anthology Film Archives, and Museum of Contemporary Arts Detroit.
Allison Inman, Education and Engagement Director, Belcourt Theatre
Allison Inman develops a variety of educational and engagement programs for the Belcourt Theatre including filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions, performances and seminars, and teaches visual literacy/cinema appreciation in schools and community centers with the Belcourt’s Mobile Movie Theatre. Before joining the Belcourt, she was a national engagement consultant for San Francisco-based ITVS, coordinating its popular public documentary screening series, Community Cinema, in Nashville. Prior to that, she was communications manager for Rocky Mountain PBS in Denver and a communications consultant in Denver, Nashville, and New Orleans. She is a member of the board of the Southern Documentary Fund.
Leslie Raymond, Executive Director, Ann Arbor Film Festival
Leslie Raymond has been the Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the oldest oldest avant-garde and experimental film festival in North America, since 2013. The festival’s mission is to promote bold, visionary filmmakers through the advancement of film and new media art, and to engage communities with remarkable cinematic experiences, in 2019 they hosted over 100 artists and screened over 130 films.
David Serio, Education and Public Programming Specialist, Arab American National Museum (AANM)
David Serio holds a M.A. in Near Eastern Studies and Arabic from Wayne State University. Serio joined the AANM in January of 2011, initially as an AmeriCorps, later being hired as a full-time Educator and Public Programmer. As an Educator and Public Programmer, Serio has conducted educational presentations and workshops throughout the Mid-West. Serio also helps in the planning and implementation of youth programs and cultural events, such as the SURA Arts Academy, a youth photography program. Serio is also the Curator of the Arab Film Festival and manages all of AANM’s film programming, both at AANM and at offsite locations around the world. He is also the Volunteer Coordinator and responsible for growing and managing the volunteer program. Mr. Serio continues to implement educational and cultural programming to audiences far and wide.
