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SIMON KILMURRY

Executive Director

Simon served as chief operating officer of American Documentary for six years before assuming the role of executive director in Fall 2006. Since joining AmDoc in 1999, he has played a key role in helping to set strategic direction for the organization and implementing new initiatives, including the Diverse Voices Project, P.O.V.'s co-production initiative in support of emerging filmmakers; P.O.V.'s Borders, PBS' Webby Award-winning online series; and True Lives, a second-run series for independent documentaries on public television. In addition, he worked to secure pioneering partnerships with both Netflix and Docurama to expand the distribution opportunities for P.O.V. filmmakers and enhance branding for P.O.V. Previously, Simon was associate director at Teachers & Writers Collaborative, a nonprofit literary arts and education organization and publisher, where he is now a member of the board of directors. He has also served as a board member and treasurer for Elders Share the Arts and East Harlem Block Schools, and as an informal advisor and funding panel member for other organizations including the New York City Center for Arts Education, the Association for Independent Video and Filmmakers and New York State Council on the Arts. Simon attended the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and Columbia University Business School's Institute for Not-for-Profit Management.

 

CYNTHIA LÓPEZ

Vice President

Cynthia is the vice president for American Documentary | P.O.V. From 2000 to 2003, she served as P.O.V.'s director of communications, during which she increased national coverage of P.O.V. documentaries by 700 percent and won an EPPSilon Award for the Farmingville campaign.  In her new expanded role, Cynthia's responsibilities include overall development of the organization, programming/content development and delivery and strategic planning. In addition, she continues to maintain oversight of P.O.V.'s communications and marketing department, driving the department’s communications and brand development.  Cynthia has built strategic partnerships with Pentagram, Inc., Harpo Studios, Netflix, ABC News’ Nightline, WNYC New York Public Radio and Ms. Magazine, among others. Cynthia is a founding board member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. She is an advisor to REEL New York (Thirteen/WNET New York), the Heinz Awards, the Rockefeller Foundation, White House Conference on Libraries, Latino Public Broadcasting, the Banff Centre in Canada, United Nations Women’s Conference and the Center for Democratic Communications (South Africa), among many others.

JILLIAN AYALA

Communications Coordinator

Jillian joined P.O.V.'s communications team in 1999 as temporary messenger/runner. She was later promoted to communications assistant and recently assumed the role of communications coordinator. In addition to working closely with P.O.V.'s filmmakers, Jillian is responsible for assisting in the development of press materials and distributing them to thousands of print, radio, television and online media outlets nationwide. She also produces products for the marketing and promotion of P.O.V. films and the P.O.V. brand.

 

ANNE DEL CASTILLO

Director, Development and Special Projects

Anne has been active in the independent media arts and public television as a producer, programmer and fundraiser for over 12 years. She currently manages American Documentary’s fundraising activities, content research and program licensing. In addition, she is coordinating P.O.V.’s 20th anniversary activities in 2007. Prior to joining the AmDoc staff in 2002, she was a production associate at American Masters in New York and then series coordinator for Frontline in Boston. In 1997, she moved to Austin, Texas, where she served as associate director of the Austin Film Society, and worked on numerous documentary and narrative film projects. She served as vice president of the board of Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers and has been a panelist for numerous arts and media organizations.

 

ANDREW CATAURO

Production Assistant

Andrew became the assistant to P.O.V.'s Production and Programming departments in March of 2008. Prior to joining us, he was with the National Hockey League and also at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. His work and studies in Italian Cinema earned him the Immersion Award from the Milan International Film Festival and his filmmaking resume includes documentary work with Alexandra Kerry. Andrew has a dual bachelor's degree from the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University.

BETTY CORDERO

Manager of Finance and Operations

Betty was the operations manager at the Kingsbridge Women's Assessment Center in the Bronx for over five years. In 2000, she was hired as P.O.V.'s office manager, and she has since expanded her role. As a member of the administrative team of AmDoc, Betty manages the organization's financial activities, administers employee benefits and oversees all aspects of AmDoc's operations. In addition, she coordinates P.O.V.'s annual mailings and special events.

CATHY FISHER

Senior Manager, Communications

Cathy is responsible for publicizing P.O.V.'s programs and initiatives to media and consumers. She joined P.O.V. in 2003 after five years as manager of program press relations at PBS. Previously, she served as public relations director at Bravo and the Independent Film Channel; Group W Satellite Communications, where she managed PR for TNN: The Nashville Network; Westwood One Radio Networks; and D.L. Blackman, where she promoted classical music artists and IMAX movies. She was also the manager of press, advertising and promotion for NBC and ABC Radio.

YANCE FORD

SERIES Producer

Yance works closely with P.O.V.'s executive director and programming director to evaluate films submitted to P.O.V. She is instrumental in curating the series, a showcase of acclaimed documentary film on PBS. Yance frequently represents P.O.V. | American Documentary at conferences, festivals and markets, procuring work from filmmakers both nationally and internationally. Yance also oversees P.O.V.'s annual call for entries, which yields upwards of one thousand entries, and coordinates P.O.V.'s annual programming advisory board. Yance is a Programming Consultant and Pre- Screener for film festivals around the country, including the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Black Maria Film Festival, the Newport International Film Festival, Latino Public Broadcasting, Creative Capital and the Sundance Film Festival. She has served on festival juries at Full Frame and Silverdocs, appeared on panels at Sunny Side of the Doc and DocuClub and served on the IFP Advisory Committee. A graduate of Hamilton College and the production workshop at Third World Newsreel, Yance is a former Production Stage Manager for the Girls Choir of Harlem and has worked as a Production Manager on numerous independent productions for the Discovery Health and History channels. Ford has also worked in various capacities on the documentaries The Favorite Poem Project, Juanita Anderson, Executive Producer, Brian Lanker's They Drew Fire (PBS), and Barry Levinson's Yesterday's Tomorrows (Showtime).

CATHERINE JHEE

Senior Producer, P.O.V. Interactive

Catherine joined P.O.V. Interactive as senior producer in 2008. Before joining P.O.V., she was the editorial producer for Columbia University's Center for New Media Teaching and Learning. Previously, she worked for the American Museum of Natural History's Science Bulletins, where she wrote and produced weekly multimedia news updates and produced a number of websites for Picture Projects, including 360degrees.org, an award-winning examination of the American criminal justice system. Catherine received her AB from Duke University and a master's degree from the University at Buffalo in Comparative Literature and Media Studies. She has taught courses on documentary video production and filmmaking at the University at Buffalo and interactive design at the Cooper Union School of Art. She is currently completing an M.S. at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

JESSICA LEE

Outreach and Development Assistant

Jessica assists in coordinating community screenings of P.O.V. films, producing educational materials and provides general administrative assistance to the Community Engagement and Education and Development department.

ELIZA LICHT

Director, Community Engagement and Education

Eliza oversees the development and implementation of P.O.V.'s national community engagement and education campaigns. She works with public television stations, educators, and community-based organizations to present community screenings of P.O.V. films and to develop and distribute accompanying educational resource materials to teachers nationwide. Over the years, she has expanded P.O.V.'s community engagement activities by nearly 400% and increased P.O.V.'s educational efforts by over 80%. To further develop these areas, Eliza established a Library Board and a Teachers' Advisory Board, which provide feedback on activities and help produce P.O.V.'s companion resource materials. Before joining P.O.V. in 2001, she traveled extensively in Spain and Mexico, teaching English as a foreign language. Eliza is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University.

DAVID NANASI

Consulting Producer, P.O.V. Interactive

David has worked on the P.O.V. Web site, P.O.V. Interactive, since its infancy, helping to develop and improve it as well as producing special features. David also oversees and administers P.O.V.'s internal computer network, maintaining hardware and software for the P.O.V. staff. Prior to joining P.O.V., David, served on the staff of CyberEd, an 18-wheeler Internet classroom that toured nationwide. Since 1997, David has worked independently as a computer consultant, specializing in systems, networks and Web design and construction.

THERESA RILEY

Director of P.O.V. Interactive

Theresa Riley joined P.O.V. in 2002 and is responsible for overseeing editorial and production for P.O.V. Interactive, P.O.V.'s Web site. She is an award-winning Web producer and editor whose work has been featured on PBS Online, onmagazine.com and time.com. In 1998, she joined PBS Online as the editor for news, history and documentary film Web sites. She co-produced a number of companion sites for PBS programs including the award-winning Ken Burns' Frank Lloyd Wright Web site, Wonders of the African World with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Conquistadors with Michael Wood and Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure.

IRENE VILLASEÑOR

Youth Views Manager

Since joining P.O.V. in 2000, Irene has developed P.O.V.'s Youth Views into a year-round project that works with youth, educators and youth-serving organizations to use P.O.V. films as a tool for youth engagement. An award-winning community organizer and filmmaker, she is a graduate of Educational Video Center's High School Documentary Workshop and City-as-School High School.

CHRIS WHITE

Director, PROGRAMMING AND Production

Chris and his team work closely with the executive Ddirector in the areas of programming, production and PBS station relations. Previously, he worked as associate producer and production office manager on the documentary Blue Vinyl (HBO, 2002). Chris spent a number of years as vice president of sales and acquisitions at Angelika Films International, and at BNN-TV in New York as associate producer on projects for the History Channel and the Smithsonian Museum. He also produced the children's program An Introduction to the Italian Renaissance for the Museo Italo-Americano in San Francisco.

RUIYAN XU

Web Producer, P.O.V. Interactive

Ruiyan joined P.O.V. in 2006 and works on developing and producing materials for P.O.V.'s Web site. Before coming to P.O.V., she worked in the Interactive and Broadband department at Channel Thirteen/WNET. Ruiyan was born in Shanghai and graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Modern Culture and Media.

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