the women at women in film seattle

BARBARA BROWN, President

Barbara is co-owner of Goosebump Productions LLC, a production/development company working on projects for the Internet, television and feature films. She’s also worked as a script supervisor for almost 25 years. Her many TV credits include: Glee, Northern Exposure, Dangerous Minds, Valley of Light, and The Fugitive; recent feature films include John Carpenter’s The Ward, World’s Greatest Dad starring Robin Williams, and Twilight (2nd Unit). In 2009, Barbara produced and directed the Telly award-winning video Art with Heart, and produced two projects for the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival: the 35th Anniversary short shown at the Opening and Closing Night Galas, and the Fly Film Arthur, a film noir with an Arthurian backdrop. She’s a member of the University of Washington’s Film Department Advisory Board and the Washington Film Works Roundtable. She was a juror for NFFTY in 2009 and most recently a juror for Experience Music Project’s Science Fiction Short Film Festival.

SUE CORCORAN, Vice-President

Director Sue Corcoran is the owner of Von Piglet Productions www.vonpiglet.com based in Seattle. She started her career by making a 16mm short that told the epic story of a love triangle between two clowns and a mime—not the break-out hit Sue expected but she continued undaunted. Her debut feature film Gory Gory Hallelujah is currently in worldwide video release. Sue was named “One to Watch” by the Seattle Stranger's Genius Awards in Film and has been called a bankable Yankee blond by the London Standard. Her most recent short film won the Nell Shipman award for Best Short and also won an Accolade Award. Sue believes in the art and craft of filmmaking and is dedicated to her vision: human drama told through comedy and fantasy. Sue is in development of her next feature film slated to shoot in 2011. Sue’s new feature film Ira Finklestein’s Christmas is in production 2011.

ILONA ROSSMAN HO, Secretary

An independent filmmaker and owner of the indie film company Canine Productions, LLC www.canineproductions.com, Ilona is interested in stories that humorously explore the female perspective in contemporary life. In 2010 she won an Emmy for her short film Kites Over Washington and was a finalist for the 2010 IFP Spotlight Award. In addition to Women in Film, Ilona also sits on the board of Reel Grrls, an organization that empowers young women through media and is mentoring them for the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival Fly Filmmaking Challenge. She has two shorts in the works for 2011: Outside Experts, which she is directing, and Ode to Kali, which she is producing. Although Ilona started out as an art major in college, she wound up with a degree in Computer Science and she worked in the software industry for 15 years before returning to the arts. She is pleased to be part of the inspiring and smart Seattle indie film community.

JOANNE ORT, Treasurer

Joanne Ort is a Certified Public Accountant and manages her own practice in downtown Seattle. Born and raised in the Seattle area, Joanne received her Master's degree in Accounting and Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington. She has over 15 years of experience providing business consulting, accounting, and tax services to closely held businesses and individuals. Joanne is a member of the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants and is pleased to be on the board of Women in Film Seattle.

VIRGINIA BOGERT, President Emerita

Virginia has directed, written, edited and produced award-winning media for over 25 years, from features, shorts, and commercials, to corporate, documentaries, and television. Virginia’s company Laughing Dog Pictures, laughingdogpictures.com focuses on social concerns and the Arts. Her many credits include multiple Emmy-winner Pike Place Market: Soul of a City, international commercials, the award-winning environmental documentary Fields of Plenty, and Telly award-winning documentaries which tour internationally via Experience Music Project museum. Her short film, The Delivery deliverymovie.com won an Accolade, Best Short film at Port Townsend Film Festival, and is seen on Official Best of the Fest; and Tootie Pie premiered at Seattle International Film Festival tootiepiethemovie.com, screened at Langston Hughes Art Center, Tacoma Art Museum, and on PBS. Other work includes: Supervising Producer 2009 Fly Films for SIFF, MTV web content, Microsoft case studies, field production for Today Show, Food Channel, and NEA documentaries for WA Arts Commission: American Masterworks. Virginia holds a BA in English, an MA in Media Ecology from NYU, and Certification in Educational TV from SUNY. Virginia was WIF VP 2004-2006 and acting president, elected president 2006-2010. She curates Post Alley Film Festival (since 2003), postalleyfilmfestival.com, and teaches documentary filmmaking at University of Washington.

LAURA JEAN CRONIN, Membership Chair

Laura Jean Cronin is an award-winning filmmaker, artist, and educator. Her eclectic education includes a BFA in Photography, Painting & Printmaking, a 3-year sojourn studying art in Italy, an MA in Italian Language, Literature and Cultural Studies, and a Ph.D. ABD in Comparative Literature. Laura Jean learned Film Production at 911 Media Arts in Seattle. During her Doctoral studies she specialized in Cultural Criticism with an emphasis on representations of minorities in Film, Literature and the Media, Gender Studies, Queer Theory and Film Studies. Laura Jean taught Italian for six years and English Composition, History of Film, and Film Analysis for four. She teaches Film, Composition, and Communication at the Center for Linguistic and Cultural Democracy. Her artwork has garnered awards at Seattle Urban League's Minority Art Show, Pound Gallery Shows, and has been exhibited from Bellingham to Olympia. Her screenplay, Princess and Buddha, was a finalist at Slamdance, Sundance, and Washington State Screenplay Competitions. Many of her short films: John Gill, 2000, Block Party, Leave It, Free Parking, Arthur, and One Night have screened worldwide.

DINAH BREIN, Public Relations Chair

Dinah’s impressive media credentials span three decades. While living in Los Angeles she worked as a talent coordinator for the Tom Snyder Show and a writer on Love Connection before entering the PR arena. Her clients ran the gamut from Ozzy Osborne to Charlton Heston. Dinah served as Director of PR at BMI where she conducted seminars on Congressional legislation affecting songwriters, and worked with the Starlight Foundation and Make A Wish Foundation. Dinah pursued her other great love as a music writer/producer and penned a #1 hit single with Stephanie Mills, “The Comfort of a Man.” Dinah has been a staff writer with EMI, Famous Music, and Motown. Her music has been covered by Christopher Cross, Rita Coolidge, and Thelma Houston; featured on Melrose Place, Touched by an Angel, and Dawson's Creek; and on the soundtracks of Kickboxer, Jackknife, and Nightmare on Elm Street. Dinah is Director of Entertainment at the Historic Admiral Theater and freelances in music and PR/Marketing.

VANESSA ENG, Workshop and Seminars Chair

Vanessa got her start in documentary filmmaking and is now a production coordinator with experience working on commercials, television, and corporate videos. Her credits include commercials for Bridgestone Tires, Quiznos, Kia Motors, and more videos for Microsoft than she can count. When not on set, Vanessa can be found proudly debunking the myth that knitting groups are full of little old ladies knitting afghans.

RACHAEL ELLISON-TAYLOR, Communications Chair

A producer and account manager, Rachael began in public relations working for agencies Ogilvy & Mather and The Rockey Company. She later moved into production, winning a Telly on her first project. Using her marketing communication skills, she’s served as a savvy producer, production manager and marketing manager for companies in Seattle and England. Her clients have included Wong Doody, Von Piglet, Piranha, Eyeplay, The Production Network, and Try This Films; international blue chip companies GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, and Halifax Bank of Scotland; and local companies Boeing, Alaska Airlines, Safeco, and PopCap Games. While the majority of her work is corporate, Rachael worked on WBGH-Boston's national TV series Rx for Survival, and produced a cooking show pilot in France. She's also worked on short films, including Wes Kim's Cookies for Sale, and SIFF's 2009 fundraising film directed by Rick Stevenson. Rachael holds a BA in Speech and Broadcast from Western Washington University.

ANNIE GROSSHANS, Movie Salon & Discourse Chair

Annie is a writer with a background in visual art and critical theory. Early on, as a participant in Seattle’s alternative art scene, she co-founded Art In Form, an artists’ bookstore in Belltown, and wrote for local and costal publications on Feminist art and film theory. After scripting and shooting a number of locally screened video poems and art documentaries and then working on educational videos, Annie settled some years ago into her current role in the NW commercial production community as a script supervisor. She has one feature screenplay optioned, one screen short in pre-production, and multiple writing projects being developed in digital web formats. All the while she keeps at least one eye trained on the vast, evolving language of story and narrative playing out on our cultural landscape.

THERESA MAJERES, Mentoring and Education Chair

After receiving her degree in Video Production from the University of Oregon, Theresa moved to Seattle to start her film career. She spent two years working as a chef in a French restaurant before breaking into the grip & electric department and she never looked back. For the past five years she has been working as a grip and electrician on many independent, commercial, and corporate productions. Her feature film credits include: We Go Way Back, The Dark Horse, World's Greatest Dad, Something Wicked, and The Ward and Ira Finklestein’s Christmas..

JENN GEORGE, The Second Tuesday Co-Chair

Jenn is co-owner, Producer, and Communications Director at Coffee N Donutz Productions, a Seattle based independent film production company committed to making award-winning films, focusing on women in thought-provoking roles.

Jenn has been a producer extraordinaire since hosting her first tea party at the age of five on the island paradise of Grenada. Graduating from Western Washington University with a BA in English Literature in 1995, she further developed her administrative and communications skills through post-graduate jobs in the Seattle area. In 1999 Jenn officially began her career as a Producer with PGI, producing events with a budget average of 1.5 million per year.

In 2008 she entered the world of independent filmmaking on the set of the award-winning film, The Book of Zombie. This experience illustrated that her expertise in logistics, the creative, and finance, combined with her love of film, could make for one dynamic production company. Coffee N Donutz was born on Oscar Sunday 2011. Composer Catherine Grealish joined the company the following August as partner. CND's first film, Reversal, is currently on the film festival circuit, and CND has three feature films and an award-winning short screenplay in development.

CATHERINE GREALISH, The Second Tuesday Co-Chair

Catherine is a composer for film, media, and live performance with a wide range of experience in diverse musical genres. She is producer, partner, and creative director at Coffee N Donutz Productions, a Seattle-based independent film production company that focuses on making films featuring women in thought-provoking roles.

Catherine grew up in Tasmania, Australia and moved to the US to pursue a career in music. A multi-instrumentalist, Catherine has studied classical voice and plays violin, piano, and guitar. Her music has been featured in award-winning films, including her short Ego Boost, which won the 3 Minute Masterpiece Competition at the Seattle International Film Festival. Her music has been featured in many independent films, including After All This, Nothing Against Life, A Musing, Playfish, and Reversal. Hear and read more about Catherine's work at www.catherinegrealish.com.