Annie Folger (formerly Annie Niehaus)
Executive Director
annie@midpenmedia.org

I'm Annie Folger, the Media Center's Executive Director. My job is to represent and manage the Media Center. I authored the bumper sticker "Let's Put the VISION in Television!" I believe that grassroots communication and building community through media are essential ingredients for a healthy democracy. I work with an incredible staff and a diverse and involved Board of Directors. Together our job is to help members of our community explore and use video and other technologies to tell their stories, so we can all learn about our diversity and engage in dialogue with one another. I was on the founding Board of MPAC, the Media Center's predecessor, that hired award-winning access director Elliot Margolies as our Executive Director in 1990. Working closely with Elliot those first ten plus years, I ran the day-to-day administrative and financial operations. Previously, I co-founded and directed Choosing Our Future, a non-profit organization that encouraged interactive citizen participation in government by developing a pilot Electronic Town Meeting in cooperation with KGO-TV (ABC-TV in San Francisco). Prior to that, I managed an industrial TV studio and produced video training packages for AT&T's Sales and Marketing Education Center in Cincinnati, my hometown, where I earned a BS from the University.

Dave Sorokach
Office Manager & City Hall Video Mgr.
dave@midpenmedia.org

Delicious… Eclectic is how Dave Sorokach describes living in California (having moved here from the East Coast a dozen years ago) and in particular his experiences at the Media Center. Unless for no particular reason staff is hanging out in the parking lot, Dave’s is usually the first Media Center face visitors encounter. You see, Dave works the front desk, greeting The People, answering The Phone, and anticipating his strategy for dealing with The Next Solicitor. His duties include scheduling producers in the studio, coordinating class offerings, posting the program schedules on the web page and submitting them to the local newspapers, and making sure there’s plenty of paper in the copy machine. Occasionally donning the “Instructor’s Hat,” Dave teaches a class in Lighting. When not at the Media Center, Dave is other places, including the kitchen at home where he enjoys making and eating things.

Becky Sanders
Director of Programming
becky@midpenmedia.org

I took the Media Center studio class here in April 2007 and began volunteering regularly thereafter. I liked the work and the environment so much I joined the Media Center Staff part time in October 2007. Among other duties, I am responsible for scheduling the programs that you see on Channels 27, 28 and 30. I am also a producer, and am particularly interested in identifying local songwriters and profiling their music on the Channel 27 show American Songwriter. Additionally, I am always looking for ways to raise awareness of this wonderful resource. This Media Center is the perfect place to develop and publicize your particular talents or interests or opinions. Public Access is a great way to incubate your talent if you plan to go national. Public Access is also the best media resource I know of that allows you to serve your community right here. National media outlets rarely reflect the interests of the local community. The Media Center gives us locals a real voice and a real choice.

Jeff McGinnis
Equipment Monitor
jeff@midpenmedia.org

Hello, my name is Jeff McGinnis. Amongst other things, I am the Media Center Equipment Monitor, in charge of leasing out cameras, lights, microphones, etc. to our producers. I also teach the Media Center's Final Cut Pro editing classes and work on videos for the Media Center.

I graduated from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Communication in 2000 with a degree in television production. I started with the Media Center as an intern in 1999, and have been working for the Center in a variety of ways since 2000. I also work for Millbrae Community Television in Millbrae, and have done work for Peninsula Television. My office hours in the Equipment Room are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 4pm and 8pm. If you happen to be around, please feel free to stop by and say hello!

Lupita Segura
Admin & Finance Assistant
lupita@midpenmedia.org

My name is Lupita Segura and I’m the Administrative/Finance Assistant here at the Media Center. I have a BA in Radio and Television from San Francisco State University. When I’m not working, I like to volunteer on shows, here at the Media Center, go to the movies, and read.

Karen Adams
Production Manager and Staff Producer
kadams@midpenmedia.org

Hi, I'm Karen Adams, Production Manager and Staff Producer at the Media Center. I began my professional career as a geologic researcher and technical editor, employed for a total of 12 years by the Alaska State Geological Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey. My research focused on the Alaskan Brooks Range, the northernmost mountain range in Alaska, where I first encountered my phobia of bears.

I branched into video and television production to bring natural sciences to the public and now have been employed in the video arena for nearly a decade. In earlier years, I worked primarily in the field as camera operator and director of multi-camera shoots covering community & government meetings & events. In recent years, I’ve worked mainly in the studio as staff producer--creating 148 episodes of local news & issues programming--and as studio manager--overseeing productions of 50 community producers and 220 volunteer crew, as well as professional productions for client services.

My video work has been recognized with over a dozen awards & honors, including 2 regional Emmy nominations & 2 San Jose Video & Film Commission Joey Awards. Of all my professional accomplishments, I am most proud of providing a media platform to raise awareness around social issues and the state of the natural world.

Louise Pencavel
Production Services Manager
louise@midpenmedia.org

Hi I'm Louise Pencavel. I produced and hosted two interview series,at the Media Center for many years. Now I'm Director of Production Services, the branch of the Media Center that produces professional videos in support of our non-profit work.

I grew up in the wild woods of Northern Maine and later received a BA cum laude with in drama from Vassar and an MA in Communications from Stanford. I have produced, written, shot, and edited film and video in the Bay Area for over 25 years. Productions have included news, documentaries, and children's programs for KPIX, KRON, and KGO in San Francisco and three nationally televised documentaries for PBS through KTEH in San Jose: What Price Employment?, Master Class, and All Stressed Up and No Way to Grow. Most recently I produced a two-part pilot for a parenting series for KTEH, The Parent Survival Guide, which we hope to turn into an ongoing series.

I have also produced several independent programs for Bay Area corporations such as Sunset Films, Bechtel Corporation, and Raychem. I currently work part-time as a reporter for California Courts News, a series for California Court Employees and I teach several video classes locally. I am married to a professor of economics at Stanford University and have three children. In my spare time I volunteer as a tutor and mentor in the public schools.

Katherine Saviskas
Youth Education Coordinator
katherine@midpenmedia.org

Katherine is delighted to join the Media Center team, just in time for the 2012-2013 school year. While she currently hails from San Francisco, Katherine has roots in: Oakland, Philadelphia, Austin, Providence, New York, and Connecticut. She has worked as an educator, community organizer, filmmaker, writer and baker. She is excited to support young media makers as they bring their big questions to the big screen. Katherine believes in young people's abilities to create powerful change in their communities through critical thinking, leadership, and creative action. She is looking forward to working with youth on media projects inspired by their lives and passions.

Katherine received her Master's in Urban Education from Temple University in Philly, and her B.A. in Education History and Policy from Brown University. Once she built a life size paper mache dinosaur in her basement.

Part-Time Staff

• Nancy Brown, Studio Tech & Instructor
• Yolanda Fox, Production Crew
• Brian Jones, Master Control Operator
• Roger Nyemaster, Production Crew
• Chris Pearce, IT & Studio Tech
• Doug Smith, Sports Producer, SIB Director
• Bakari Thompson, Studio Tech & Instructor
• Andrea Throndson, Web Updater

City Hall Video Operators

• Dan Conway
• Alex Gomez
• Daniel Gomez
• Brian Jones
• Patricia Neme-Ttujillo
• Yusong Rogers
• Felishia White

Consultants

• Judy Blumenstein, Finance
• Elliot Margolies, Strategic Initiatives

"The teachers, Ravenswood staff and I have learned a ton of information about the video creation process and about the equipment. My favorite thing was how quickly they had us actually go out in the field and shoot our first video (within two hours of the first class!), then teach us more about lighting and other things after we critiqued our own videos. "

Solomon Hill
Director of Technology
Ravenswood City School District