Faculty

Professors

Iwan Bagus was born in Jakarta, Indonesia. He began his career on the other side of the camera, working as a model in South East Asia for more than 10 years. While modeling, he received a B.A. in Economics in Jakarta and before he moved to Washington, D.C. to pursue his education further. He earned his MS in Engineering from George Washington University and MA in Film Production from American University.

Tucker Barnes joined the Fox 5 Storm Force in November 2003 and works as a weather producer and on-air meteorologist.  When he is not on the air he can often be found in the Fox 5 Weather Center helping to prepare and produce weather forecasts for Fox 5 Morning News.  Raised in the Washington area, Tucker's passion for the weather began at an early age when his interest in hurricanes and big East Coast Nor'easters storm led him to follow national severe weather patterns.  He loves this area of the country and the challenges it presents in forecasting.  Born in New England, Tucker graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and completed his graduate work at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Josh Barr has worked for The Washington Post since October 1995. He is a 1994 graduate of Lafayette College, where he majored in American Studies. Before coming to the Post, he interned as a reporter at The Express-Times in Easton, Pennsylvania, and was a reporter and sports editor at the Journal Messenger in Manassas. At the Post, he has written about the Redskins, Capitals and Wizards; covered the Orioles, Navy football and University of Maryland football and basketball as well as NASCAR racing. He currently writes about high school sports and college recruiting.

Kyle "Kylos" Brannon is an Assistant Professor at American University as well as a filmmaker, motion graphic designer, photographer and VJ. His work with exhibit media has appeared in the Brown v. Board National Historic Site, the U.S. Botanical Gardens, Historic Jamestowne, the National Constitution Center and other venues. Many of these programs have won Tellys, Golden Eagle and Aurora awards. He co-produced and directed with SOC faculty member Leena Jayaswal An Impression: Dischord Records, a short documentary screened at festivals nationally. Currently, Kylos mixes video projections at a monthly D.C. event, BLISS, and has VJ'd for such international DJs as Moby, MSTRKRFT and DJ Tittsworth. STILL, Kylos first feature length film, is currently in post production. Kylos and Prof Middents (LIT), organized The American Visions DIY 48 - a 48 hr film contest that took place in September 2009.Kylos directed the music video for Will Eastman's remix of Ruby Isle's "So Damn High" (Kindercore Records). Video premiered on Magnet Magazine's website in January.  

Steve Erdman grew up in Philadelphia before moving to Washington, D.C. to study Communications and Literature at American University.  Steve enjoyed his experience so much he stayed at AU to get a master’s degree in Film and Video Production.  Steve has worked in many roles on film sets, ranging from production assistant to assistant director, as well as directing his own work.  He also has experience working at media production houses on the business side of the industry. This will be his fourth summer with DWC.  Steve hopes to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in writing/producing/directing.

Kathy Fish, a four-time Pushcart Prize nominee, has published over one hundred stories in both online and print magazines. Recent stories may be found in Quick Fiction, Denver Quarterly, New South and Indiana Review. She has presented on the topic of flash fiction at conferences of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs in Atlanta, Georgia and New York City. A collection of her flash fiction is featured in a book entitled, A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness published by Rose Metal Press.

Colin Foster is an aspiring writer, director and cinematographer currently working on his M.F.A. in Film and Media Arts at American University in Washington, DC. His writing/directing work includes Dash and On the Wrong Side of a Loaded Gun.  He came in second place in the D.C. Shorts Screenplay competition for his short comedy script, Man With A Bolex Movie Camera. He currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Joe Grimme, from Sharpsville, Indiana graduated from American University in 2008 with an MFA in Film and Electronic Media after completing undergrad at Indiana University in Telecommunications and Vocal Performance.  He won awards at the Visions Film Festival (Best Documentary Award for Still Singing) and a Student Emmy for contributions to Ecoviews: The Chesapeake Bay. He works freelance as a filmmaker and editor, has films on the National Geographic website on Science and Nature, and is working on media projects to augment the education of students in music performance and theory.

Larry Levin spent his career in the publishing industry as a photographer, photo agent and photo editor. He earned an MFA in Film and Electronic Media at American University. While working on his degree he was a production intern on NBC’s hit show The West Wing and as a set photographer for The Apprentice. His thesis project, based on the photographic documentation of the Great Depression, is distributed by Films.com. Currently he continues freelancing as a photographer and photo editor and is an adjunct professor at American University in Washington, D.C. Levin is member of the National Press Photographers Association and is a past national president of the American Society of Picture Professionals.

Ned MacFadden was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland.  He graduated in 1993 with a degree in Visual Arts from University of Maryland–Baltimore County. He teaches Media Productions at Eastern Middle School's Humanities and Communication Arts Magnet in Silver Spring, Maryland. He has freelanced as a cinematographer, worked as a portrait photographer, and taught animation workshops at the Capitol Children's Museum. This will be Ned’s sixth summer teaching Screenwriting and Video Production for DWC. Ned’s work has been shown at Maryland Art Place, Theater Project, Homebody, Good Love, The Great Frame Up, Left Bank, Coldwell Banker, Dumbarton, Touchstone Gallery and the Oregon Ballet Theater. He lives in Olney, Maryland with his wife, Melanie, and daughter, Lauren.

Kathy Orton is an experienced journalist who has spent more than 15 years covering a wide range of sports. For the past 14 years, she has written for The Washington Post, leading coverage of the Baltimore Ravens’ Super-Bowl winning season and the Maryland women’s basketball team’s run to an NCAA championship. ?Her book Outside the Limelight: Basketball in the Ivy League is the first to take a comprehensive look at this under-appreciated conference.  Orton has written extensively about college sports, particularly basketball. In addition, she has covered Super Bowls, Final Fours, NBA all-star games and golf’s national championship, the U.S. Open.  Before coming to the Post, Kathy worked at the Cincinnati Post covering Xavier University men’s basketball. She began her career at the Los Angeles Daily News, where she wrote a weekly column on women’s sports. Her articles have been published in the International Herald Tribune, The Times of London and many other national and international publications.  Before embarking on a writing career, Kathy was a producer at sports talk radio station KMPC-AM in Los Angeles, the publications coordinator at Washington Researchers, and a legislative and press assistant for Congressman J. Dennis Hastert. A graduate of George Washington University, Kathy grew up in Illinois and now resides in Washington, D.C.

Elia Powers is a professional journalist and a breaking news and features reporter. He worked at the Los Angeles Times, Inside Higher Ed and the St. Louis Beacon, covering beats including, higher education, sports and the arts. Powers earned his master’s degree in American Culture Studies from Washington University in St. Louis and is currently a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. His area of research is media/news literacy, and he teaches two discussion sections of the college’s undergraduate media literacy course. When not studying, writing articles and teaching, Powers enjoys playing basketball and tennis, and reading nonfiction books.

Gemma Puglisi is an award-winning media strategist and producer with more than 25 years of experience. During her career she has worked in broadcast news, public relations, entertainment and the financial sector, where she was a market reporter/media relations specialist for NASDAQ. Her SOC classes have won recognition from The Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Washington Mystics of the WNBA and other organizations. Puglisi is often sought as an expert on crisis public relations, media issues, and women in communications. In 2006, she received the Order of the Star and was knighted by the Republic of Italy for her contributions to education and promoting Italian language and culture.

Alison Raffaldt is an MFA Candidate in the School of Communication’s Film & Media Arts Program at American University.  She worked from 2001-2004 as producer, writer, and editor for the weekly television program, “The Environmental Journal,” in Saint Paul, MN.  From 2004-2008 she owned a production company in Kannapolis, NC that produced documentaries on subjects such as “Community Theatre,” “Buddhism,” and numerous short “vanity” documentaries.

Reginald W. Ragland a former newspaper reporter, photographer, city hall publicity writer, Army Public Affairs Officer and college behavioral counselor, is a certified journalism educator and director of the District of Columbia Chapter of the Journalism Education Association, the national organization for scholastic media teachers and advisers. He is also JEA's new Professional Media Liaison, charged with developing partnerships between professional media organizations and scholastic journalism. Reggie is a member of the Newseum Education Advisory Team, the Maryland-D.C. Scholastic Press Association, and on the board of the student-run newspaper, Young D.C., and the Washington Association of Black Journalists. He earned a BS in education degree in journalism from the University of Central Missouri, an MS degree in developmental education from Grambling State University in Louisiana and is nearing an education specialists degree in counseling psychology from Louisiana Tech University. He is also an Army Master Fitness Trainer who enjoys racquetball, cycling and Bikram yoga. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and is a resident of Washington, D.C.

Scott Silverstein became the assistant sports editor at The Washington Examiner in March after spending 13 months as a copy editor. Before that, he worked at The Washington Times for 13 years, including four as the deputy sports editor, before the paper got rid of its sports section. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland in 1996. In his spare time, he has spent most of the last decade as the track coach at Churchill High School in Potomac, Md. He dabbles in photography and loves cupcakes.

Greg Smith has worked as a producer, director, sound designer and post-production editor on more than 60 live action and animated feature films, documentaries and music videos for companies including IMAX, Lucasfilm, Paramount, Warner Bros. and National Geographic.  He currently owns and operates Pros from Dover Productions, a film and music production company based in Rockville, Maryland.  As a journalist, Greg has held senior staff positions at National Public Radio and CBS News and is a staff recipient of two of journalism’s highest honors: the George Foster Peabody and Alfred I. duPont awards. On the music side, Greg has written and recorded six solo albums of original music, theme music for a number of programs on NPR and CBS, as well as several film soundtracks.  Greg is an adjunct professor of film at the American University and a seminar instructor for the Montgomery County School System in Maryland.  In May 2010, he earned a Master’s Degree in Film Production and in May 2011 he earned his MFA, both from American University.

Abel Tilahun is an international artist working primarily in 2D and 3D animation for installations that also frequently include sculpture, composed music, and drawn imagery.  He grew up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and earned his BFA in Sculpture at the School of Fine Art & Design of Addis Ababa University in 2006.  He was the first student at his school to exhibit an animation installation as his thesis project, and he continued this trend by exhibiting a site-specific solo installation at the prestigious Alliance Ethio-Francaise gallery a year later; the exhibition received national press attention as the first full-gallery video installation shown in Ethiopia.  In 2007 Abel moved to the United States, where he began work on his MA in Fine Art at Adams State College, which he completed in 2010.  He continues to exhibit his animations in numerous shows and film festivals, including his most recent solo exhibition at the Cloyde Snook Gallery, A Generation Projected.  You can view some of Abel’s artwork at abeltilahun.com and his demo reel on Vimeo.com.

Ann Timmons (http://www.anntimmons.com/) has more than 30 years' experience as a professional stage and screen actor, voice-over talent, and corporate spokesperson. Ann has been an assistant professor in the Theatre and Speech Communications Departments of the City University of New York, the University of the District of Columbia, and American University. Currently she leads acting workshops for adults in Arlington, Virginia. Ann consults as a valued speech coach to several private clients, non-profits, and businesses. She won a number of grants and commissions for her original plays, and has directed many of the Washington’s finest professional actors as well as students in public and private schools.  A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wellesley College, Ann received her Master of Fine Arts in Theatre from the University of Illinois.

Vance Wallace is a passionate student, practitioner and teacher of Game Design who has had the luck and pleasure to work with some of the most well known intellectual properties and platforms of the interactive medium. His credits include both the Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto franchises.  Recently, Vance worked as a lead designer of iPhone and Facebook games. Prior to entering the game industry he received a Masters of Entertainment Technology from Carnegie Mellon University and a BA in Acting and Directing from the University of Maryland. His favorite game is "Portal".

Brandon Wicks is an editor for SmokeLong Quarterly, a journal specializing in flash fiction.  He graduated from George Mason University in 2005 with an MFA in Creative Writing and has since then published in a variety of genres—both long and short form fiction and poetry—while freelancing in non-fiction.  He lives in Atlanta where he teaches within the Georgia University System.

Teaching Assistants 

Leah Boatright is a junior at American University from Westerville, Ohio. This is her second summer working with DWC. She is a Film and Media Arts major with a minor in Studio Art. Leah is interested in art direction, cinematography, and directing.

Molly Carkeet is a rising junior majoring in Film and Visual Media.  Hailing from Montpelier, Vermont, Molly enjoys mountains, hippies, and anything with maple syrup.  This is her second summer as a Teaching Assistant for DWC.  Molly has always loved film and photography, with other interests including playing guitar, writing, acting, watching quality (and not-so quality) shows and movies, doing anything outside, and being spontaneous.  In the future Molly plans on declaring a minor in creative writing, with a possible double minor in marketing, going abroad at least once, and learning all she can about communications while in D.C.

Jonathan Davies is a rising sophomore currently studying Communication Management and Design, with a minor in Television-Radio and a minor in Education. This is his first year working as a Teaching Assistant for DWC. During the year he works for Information Technology Services as a Training Specialist, he is a Co-President of Idealistic Truths, an undergraduate journal about education, and he is also a Co-Producer of IC-IU, a TV show airing on ICTV. In his spare time Jonathan loves to be outdoors, camping, hiking, and enjoying nature. Jonathan is looking forward to spending an epic summer working at DWC!

Nicole Davies is a graduate of American University with a B.A. in Public Communication and Spanish. This is her third summer working as a Teaching Assistant for DWC.  During her time at American she studied abroad in Madrid, interned at the Career Center and in the Athletics Communication office, and played club field hockey.  Nicole is originally from outside of Boston, making her a huge Boston sports fan.

Jeff Della Serra is a rising sophomore majoring in Film and Media Arts at American University.  This is his first year with DWC and he is thrilled to be part of the team.  Though originally from rural Alexandria Township, New Jersey, Jeff has thoroughly enjoyed his time spent out in the city of D.C.  He has a passion for both film and photography, but also loves listening to his favorite songs on repeat, playing soccer, and acting.  Jeff aspires to write and direct narrative and/or experimental films in the future.

Steve Hudock is a recent graduate of American University majoring in Audio Production and Film with a focus in postproduction.  Steve has worked in film writing, producing, directing, editing, and sound editing for various projects and films.  His most recent work includs doing sound for D.C.'s 48 hour film festival film 'Multiple Choice' and the movie "For Now, Forget," produced for the FAMU International film program in Prague, Czech Republic.  Besides film work, Steve also wrote, produced, and mixed his own songs and albums, and has years of experience recording and mixing music.  This is Steve's second year with DWC and his first year as the head of Post-Production.  He hopes to use his experiences in DWC to start his career path in the entertainment industry doing sound.

Carmen Mason is a rising sophomore majoring in anthropology and journalism. Originally from San Diego, California, Carmen loves exploring and meeting new people. This is her first time working as a teaching assistant for DWC and she is very excited for the opportunity to learn more about film and media arts this summer!

Lauren Montanaro is a rising senior in the School of Public Affairs majoring in Law and Society.  This is her first year with DWC, and she will be serving as the Resident Assistant for the program.  Lauren is originally from Rhode Island, loves country music, dance, and the Boston Red Sox.

Alisa Morse is from Topeka, Kansas. She graduated from American University in May 2011 from the School of Communication with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Arts and a minor in Literature: Cinema Studies from the College of Arts and Sciences. Alisa serves as the Assistant Director of Costa Rica Programming for DWC. During her time at American Alisa worked at a teaching assistant in SOC and CAS. She is a floor manager and camera operator for The Greatest Scene Ever, an SOC television production and is a freelance photojournalist and cinematographer in the D.C. metro area.  In the fall Alisa will return to American University to begin her Master of Fine Arts in Film and Electronic Media.  

David Mullins is a rising senior in the School of Communication at American University. He is majoring in Film and Visual Media with a minor in Marketing.  This is his third year with DWC. David has been interested in film for most of his life, and has been writing and directing movies for as long as he can remember. David is originally from Bethesda, Maryland (only two metro stops away from AU!). Other than film, David enjoys listening to music, playing tennis, and acting.

Leslie Roberts is a rising junior majoring in marketing with a minor in film studies.  Leslie just completed a semester studying film in Los Angeles.  Aside from film, Leslie loves soccer, photography, and reading. This is her first summer working for DWC.

Katherine VanLent is a rising senior in the School of Communication at American University.  She is a Public Communications major with intended minors in Marketing and Graphic Design.  Katherine just returned from studying abroad in Florence, Italy.  She hopes to become involved with the visual production of advertisements after college, but is open to all sorts of new opportunities.  This will be her third summer with DWC and she is ready for a whole new summer of fun.