events / past

Evan Shapiro

President, Participant Television
Creative Educators Forum Event Co-Chair

Evan Shapiro is the president of Participant Television, a division of Participant Media. Previously, Shapiro served as president of IFC and Sundance Channel where he executive produced well-received films and series, including “This Film Is Not Yet Rated,” the Peabody Award-winning “Brick City” and the Peabody Award-winning show “Portlandia.” Shapiro is on the Board of The Ghetto Film School and a Professor of Television Management at NYU's Stern School of Business.

Dawn Rodney

SVP, Brand Marketing, National Geographic Society
Education & Industry Development Committee Co-Chair

Dawn Rodney is senior vice president, Brand Marketing, with the National Geographic Society’s Marketing and Community Engagement team. She is responsible for developing and implementing awareness of National Geographic's global brand vision as well as building value for the brand across the organization, creating a relevant, cohesive identity that strengthens customer relationships and drives the next generation of membership for the Society. 

Before joining National Geographic’s Marketing and Community Engagement team in March 2012, Rodney was senior vice president, Strategic Marketing & Creative, for the National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD. She managed the overall brand strategy and creative execution for both National Geographic Channels, including off-air advertising, on-air promotion and program graphic packages, as well as the design and production of all consumer and trade advertising. She led the marketing strategy and execution of major Nat Geo initiatives, including the cross-divisional Preserve Our Planet conservation initiative and annual Expedition Week event. Rodney also headed the Channel’s branding efforts and was a key leader in the 2009 “Live Curious” brand positioning, 2007 Nat Geo rebrand and the 1994 “Dare to Explore” brand. Previously, as vice president, National Geographic Channel Brand Strategy & Creative, Rodney was responsible for the development and implementation of the Channel’s off-air advertising, on-air creative direction and consumer and trade advertising efforts. 

Rodney helped launch Nat Geo WILD in April 2010 and was part of the original award-winning creative team that launched the National Geographic Channel in January 2001. 

Before joining National Geographic Channel, Rodney was the supervising producer at Discovery Health Channel, where she oversaw on-air and cross-channel promotion. She developed the signature look and feel for the daytime programming block and executive-produced graphic packages for the network’s key anthologies. From 1997 to 1999, Rodney was the senior manager of On-Air Promotion at Animal Planet, where she managed, wrote and produced on-air promotion, including award-winning promotions for major initiatives such as World Animal Day, Animal Planet Rescue and the National Dog Championship Finals. 

Rodney started her career in 1987 as a producer at WPXT-TV in Portland, Maine, followed by a position as senior producer at WAVY-TV in Norfolk, Va., in 1988. In 1990, she took on the senior producer position at WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C., and in 1992, became the station’s promotion manager. 

She is currently a Board of Director for Promax/BDA, the television industry’s association for marketing and creative professionals. Rodney is also co-chair of Promax/BDA’s Education Committee and Creative Educators Forum. She has won numerous honors, including multiple Gold and Silver Promax Awards, CTAM Gold and Silver Awards as well as regional Emmy Awards, Telly Awards, Cindy Awards and Omni Intermedia Awards. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 1987 from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

Gary Acord

Lead Faculty, Advertising Department, The Art Institute of California – San Francisco

An ad veteran of 30 years, Gary Acord was a member of the original Activision team at JWT, working on some of the early Atari titles and later becoming a partner in his own agency handling assignments from Intuit, Stormfront Studios and Rocket Science. These days he has graduated from player to coach as lead faculty for the advertising department at The Art Institute of California – San Francisco, where his responsibilities include development of current curriculum and graduate portfolio classes.

Ed Cheetham

Motion Design Department Head, Ringling College of Art and Design

Ed J. Cheetham holds a BFA in graphic design from Drake University and a MA in art education from The Ohio State University. He heads up the department of Motion Design at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. He is the former director of animation and graphics for Country Music Television in Nashville, TN. In addition to teaching, he owns and operates his own animation/design company, Digital Artistry.

Carina Cristiano

Ancillary Adjunct Professor & Business Development, Los Angeles Harbor College

Carina Cristiano has more than 25 years of experience in the restaurant industry and is a champion for small business development and support. As project director of social infrastructure project, the Connected Corridor, she created sustainable systems for team-building and resource-sharing among business and community leaders.

She now serves as ancillary adjunct professor and business development at Los Angeles Harbor College. She is well respected in the education community, has her K-12 teaching credential as well as a Master of Science and Preliminary Administrative Credential in Educational Leadership from Pepperdine University. Cristiano understands both the private and public sectors because she has experience necessary to bridge differences and produce collaboration among partners and stakeholders alike. Her diverse background and genuine people skills are reflected in her natural ability to build relationships and enhance business and community development.

Dominique Elliott

Professor of Motion Media Design, Savannah College of Art and Design

Dominique Elliott is a professor of motion media design at Savannah College of Art and Design. With 21 years of teaching experience, she is a grant recipient from the National Association of Television Program Executives, and has recently been awarded the Excellence in Distance Learning Teaching Bronze Award from the United States Distance Learning Association as well as the Instructional Technology Council’s Distinguished Educator Award.

Bill Galbreath

Education Director, Design and Technology Schools, Full Sail University

Bill Galbreath has worked as a fine artist, multimedia designer, business owner and educator for more than 30 years. Since 2000 Galbreath has been an instructor and administrator at Full Sail University, and is currently director of education for the design and technology programs. In this role he manages the more than 500 staff and curriculum for Full Sail’s design, gaming, computer animation, Web and mobile programs.

Paul Gluck

Associate Professor, Temple University School of Communications & Theater & GM, TUTV/Rudman Media Center

Award-winning, multimedia professional Paul Gluck is currently an associate professor at Philadelphia's Temple University. He also serves as GM of TUTV, Temple's television channel and the Rudman Media Production Center. Gluck spent 37 years managing newsrooms and broadcast outlets, while working in commercial and public media.

Patricia Heard-Greene

Academic Director/Clinical Associate Professor, NYU-SCPS CADA & DDAF

Patricia Heard-Greene is a New York-based visual effects animator, designer and educator who now serves as director of The Center for Advanced Digital Application and Design, Digital Arts and Film at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Heard-Greene’s work spans a multitude of commercial markets and media. She is a proud recipient of various PromaxBDA Gold and Silver awards.

Terrence Masson

Executive Director of Creative Industries, Northeastern University

Author of the industry standard “CG101: A Computer Graphics Industry Reference” and with 20 years of very eclectic production experience, Terrence Masson has served as a creative producer, director and VFX supervisor. Interactive projects have included “Cyberia 2,” “SimCity 4,” “Batman: Dark Tomorrow,” “Alter Echo” and the Xbox launch title “Bruce Lee.” As an award-winning director and producer his short animated film “Bunkie & Booboo” won first place in the World Animation Celebration in 1998. 

A member of the Producers Guild of America and the Visual Effects Society, Masson came up through the ranks on about 20 major feature films, including “Empire Strikes Back,” “Return of the Jedi,” “Hook,” “True Lies,” “Interview with a Vampire,” “Titanic” and “Fantastic Four.” Masson single-handedly developed the original CG pipeline for “South Park” in 1996 and frequently appears as an on-camera image analysis expert for History. An ACM Distinguished Lecturer and active in SIGGRAPH since 1988, Masson most recently served as the 2006 Computer Animation Festival Chair and 2010 SIGGRAPH Conference Chair.

John McIntosh

Chair, Computer Art School of Visual Arts New York City

John McIntosh is the founding chair of SVA’s computer art, computer animation and VFX department. A graduate of Yale University, McIntosh has directed educational initiatives at the Kodak Center for Creative Imaging, the American Film Institute, Digital Domain and the School of Visual Arts. 

In 1998, McIntosh was appointed chair of computer art at SVA. Through his years of service he has directed the development of this program from one of many located in NYC to its current standing of being the largest and widely acknowledged as the best.

McIntosh produced and co-directed the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater in 2002 with his mentor, and BDA Life Achievement Award recipient, Harry Marks.

Harry Mott

Founding Chair, Digital Media, Otis College of Art and Design

Harry Mott is the founding chair of Digital Media at Otis College of Art and Design. Before that, Mott was an education director for AFI. Mott has a MFA/MBA from the Stark program at USC Cinema/TV and is also a chief of the Hempstead Volunteer Fire Department in NY.

Eric Ruggiero

Chair of Integrative Media & Art Department, Wilkes University

Eric Ruggiero is the chair of the integrative media and art department at Wilkes University. In June 2005, as founding director of the integrative media department, Ruggiero was tasked with developing initial curriculum, budget, policies and procedures, staff, marketing, studio and equipment. He has been instrumental in developing local, international and national relationships, fostering community involvement, and brokering internships and permanent positions. He controls operations on a daily basis and is heavily involved in student mentoring in academics as well as career and personal development.

His department has grown from five students at the founding of the department to more than 50, and has already produced students of award-winning caliber.

Ruggiero has successfully bridged academic departments and relationships within the program’s cognate minors and beyond. In January 2010, Ruggiero was awarded the titles of both chair and associate professor. His responsibilities have expanded to include the curriculum and personnel of the art department in the combined integrative media and art department.

Ruggiero continues as an independent producer, director and art director as his time allows.

Ming Tai

Director, Motion Design, Art Center College of Design

Ming Tai is a veteran art creator and designer with more than 15 years of experience in the motion design industry. He has produced numerous award-winning advertising packages for television. Tai co-founded the award-winning motion design company MFactor Inc. in 2002. As a creative director, he has collaborated with such brands as Fox Sports, Fox Entertainment, FX, SPEED, Warner Bros., NFL Network, MLB, Bloomberg, NBC, Lifetime Television, VOOM HD, AMC Network, YES Network and Versus. Under his direction, the company has garnered recognition and coveted multiple international design awards from PromaxBDA and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. 

Since 2002, Tai has been a faculty member at the world-renowned design institute Art Center of Design in Pasadena, California. In addition to his role as a design professor, Tai also serves as the director of motion design for the graphic design department.

Margaret Young

Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Bradley University

Margaret Young, an associate professor in the department of communication at Bradley University, has had more than 30 years of experience in communications including positions in broadcast, acting, journalism and advertising/PR. An award-winning designer and writer, she has coauthored three books and published in a variety of journals and other publications.