BIFF - Staff

The Core Staff on stage at the Closing Night of BIFF 08.

Robin Beeck Executive Director	Robin is a critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker whose films have won awards in over a dozen major film festivals including Banff and Telluride Mountainfilm. Her films,“Grandpa’s In The Tuffshed” and “Dead Last: A Tale of Triumph” went on world tours, traveling from Athens to Antigua. Robin traveled to festivals all over the country and overseas prior to founding the Boulder International Film Festival. Robin has also been a top salesperson for a wide range of high-technology firms.
Kathy Beeck Director	Kathy was a regional marketing director at Wild Oats Markets for seven years. At Wild Oats, she handled community relations and PR in addition to her marketing responsibilities, and managed a staff of 25 people. Prior to Wild Oats, Kathy worked for four years for the World Trade Center Alaska, opening new offices in the Russian Far East, and moving to Moscow and starting her own business in 1992. As a producer for her sister Robin’s films, Kathy traveled to film festivals all over the country and overseas before partnering with Robin to found the Boulder International Film Festival.
Lisa Bell Filmmaker Liaison Coordinator	Lisa Bell is a singer/songwriter and business & marketing consultant specializing in the natural products industry. She is an avid world traveler and the consummate volunteer junkie. Lisa loves films for their emotional transformational powers and ability to transport us to a new world or new dimension. Lisa has worked with BIFF the last few years as a Filmmaker Liaison and has had the privilege of learning amazing life lessons from a variety of filmmakers and VIPs. As the Filmmaker Liaison Coordinator, Lisa matches the intricate filmmaker & guest schedules with those of the volunteer Liaisons to ensure smooth and professional transport and guidance throughout the festival.
Ron Bostwick Executive Producer of Special Events	Ron brings almost 30 years of experience to his role as Executive Producer of Special Events for the Boulder International Film Festival, including hosting on-stage filmmaker interviews during BIFF. Among his varied past roles are: Entertainment Director for Boulder’s annual BolderBoulder 10k road race; Promotions Director and Morning Show Producer at the Festival’s radio sponsor, KBCO-FM; live music booker for the nationally-syndicated radio show E-Town and Entertainment Director for the Denver Marathon. His background also includes film/commercial production/post production in Boston for seven years and handling national/regional/local accounts for an international advertising agency. And as a true fan of cinema, he has run his own Academy Awards Oscar Pool for 19 years.
Joseph Cummins Events Coordinator	Joseph was an inaugural sponsor and has been an events volunteer for BIFF since its inception. He was fortunate to form a friendship with Kathy while they worked together at Wild Oats Markets. He participated in over 50 store openings, overseeing the majority as Director of New Store Operations. He currently is busy opening new stores for another local favorite, Sunflower Farmers Market. Prior to joining the retail industry, Joseph spent many years at premiere hotel locations in the Midwest, managing and planning events as Banquet Manager, Director of Catering and Director of Food and Beverage. Joseph now has over 15 years of diversified event planning experience, and delights in returning to BIFF for another season.
Cameron Elmendorf Venue Manager	Cameron is a veteran of film festival volunteerism. Over the years, she has worked the ropes at such events as Sundance, Telluride (both Film and MountainFilm) Toronto International Film Festival, Boulder Adventure Film Festival, and this is her second year as a core staff member at BIFF. As a lover of all things film, she is thrilled to be back for another action-packed BIFF festival. In her ‘real’ life, Cameron practices Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and herbal remedies.
Eric Hoffman Stage Manager	Eric is a bioentrepreneur and the co-founder of Evolve Biosciences, a local company which specializes in the commercialization and transfer of bioscience technology. He is active promoting Science, Technology, Education, and Math (STEM) programs, volunteering with the Broomfield Public Library as a member of their Science Task Force and running their after-school tutoring program. This is Eric’s third year volunteering as a Stage Manager for BIFF and he enjoys the opportunity to celebrate the art of film.
Mary Jarrett Co-Registration Coordinator	Mary moved to Boulder in 1992 to study at CU and has edited Boulder Magazine since 2003. She previously worked as an editor at National Geographic, Viking Press, Redbook, and High Country News. An almost-lifelong choral singer, she started volunteering for BIFF in 2007 and has been involved with several other Boulder County arts organizations as a participant or friend, among them The Renaissance Project, Boulder Bach Festival, Colorado Music Festival chorus, Ars Nova Singers, 24-Hour Shoot Out Boulder, and 3rd Law Dance/Theater. In a past life she performed on Broadway (on tape) as a dog, cat and pig.
Bodie Johnson Stage Manager	Bodie works at a local radio consulting firm specializing in music/programming consulting, research, licensing, and internet music streaming. He recently started a music supervision business, catering to independent and action/adventure films and documentaries.
Lois LaFond Events Coordinator	Singer/Songwriter, photographer, and producer Lois LaFond has had over 30 years experience in creating musical, theater, art, and special events in the Boulder-Denver area, including the multi-ethnic ArtSurround, several Children's Festivals, Art exhibits, and the production of six nationally award-winning recordings for Children and their Families. Lois has helped make BIFF an exceptional festival for the past five years by bringing in world class musicians, exceptional events, and community forums.
Arlene LaMar Co-Registration Coordinator	Arlene is an Emergency Trauma Registrar with seven years of experience. She has been volunteering for film festivals for the last four years and has several years of outdoor leadership volunteer experiences. Her twelve years of customer service experience are the key to her success as BIFF’s Registration Coordinator.
Catherine Lee Programme Assistant & Educational Outreach Director	As the Festival’s Programme Assistant, Catherine supports Robin in program planning and pre festival details. Catherine comes to BIFF with many years as an executive assistant and most recently as the Director of Admissions at an independent school in California . In addition to her work as Programme Assistant, Catherine oversees and coordinates BIFF’s Youth Advisory Council.
Patrick McGriff Venue Manager	Patrick has worked in the Boulder High Theater all four years he attended High School. While there he studied acting, set design, lighting design, and sound design. He has been volunteering with BIFF since 2005 and has worked his way from Stage Manager Assistant to Projectionist to Selection Committee Coordinator to Venue Manager. Patrick currently lives in New York pursuing a career in acting.
Keri Mullin Venue Manager	Keri has over 25 years managing C-Level executives in business, marketing and community relations. The past 10 years she has pursued her true calling in film and video production. In her spare time, Keri freelances as a film and video media consultant and social media business consultant. Keri has produced and directed a live sports show, many corporate videos and worked on a number of films throughout the Colorado area.
Heather Boyle-Noland Venue Manager	Heather is a seasoned creative professional and a film festival veteran, having previously been on staff at the Boulder International Film Festival, Starz Denver Film Festival, Vail Film Festival, 24 Hour Shootout in Boulder and Cheyenne , and the Boulder Outdoor Cinema. (But privately, BIFF is the hands down favorite!)
Christine Northrup Sponsor Liaison & Marketing Associate	A Boulder native and BHS grad, Chris was thrilled to return to her hometown last year to find a vibrant and thriving local film festival. As film geek of long standing, Chris brings many years of advertising, promotions, marketing and sponsorship experience to her role at BIFF. In her past life, she was Manager of Youth and Family Marketing for Burger King Corporation, making millions of Star Wars, Spiderman, Shrek, Simpsons, Powerpuff Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants toys. Other highlights included catering The Kids Choice Awards afterparty, creating a futuristic BK for the film Men in Black 2, and managing Burger King's title sponsorship of the 2001 Backstreet Boys Tour. Her ears have just recently stopped ringing from all the high-pitched screaming.
Michael Puldy Volunteer Coordinator	As the volunteer coordinator, Michael managed the solicitation, the review and the coordination of the 200+ volunteers who applied and worked as part of the 2008 festival. During his tenure, Michael has focused on improving database and automation systems associated with managing our volunteers, plus communication and training events associated with coordinating all volunteers. Currently, Michael works for International Business Machines (IBM) in Boulder, Colorado, and holds a BS in Computer Science from Clemson University and a MBA from the University of North Florida.
Sue Raab Community Forums	Before moving to Boulder nearly four years ago, Sue and her husband, Paul, lived in the Chicago area for 18 years. An Ohio native, Sue has worked in social services and real estate, and volunteers with a number of local not-for-profits in addition to BIFF, including The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County and Colorado Horse Rescue. Her favorite film memory is seeing Dirty Dingus McGee with her dad, before MPAA ratings were understood or enforced.
Dave Riepe Technical Director	Dave is the owner of Space Farmer Productions, a Denver based audio/video, staging and events company that specializes in film presentation. He’s also the founder of the Outdoor Cinema Network, which includes the Boulder Outdoor Cinema and two dozen other outdoor movie programs around Colorado. His company provides professional technical support and screening equipment for a variety of film festivals including the Boulder International Film Festival, Boulder Adventure Film Festival, Vail Film Festival and MountainFilm in Telluride. Adding to this a long history in the computer technology industry, he is the ultimate super geek who loves jammin’ on his drums!
Kevin Smith Stage Manager	Eighteen years producing sales meetings around the country and you begin to see the place as a sterile landscape of early morning marketspeak delivered in an endless array of mostly beige ballrooms. Once you stop, if you decide to stop, and the endless supply of little hotel soaps and shampoos begins to deplete itself, it seems you’re rewarded with an opportunity to work on something more meaningful. I highly recommend it.
Geoff Thompson Web and Technical Consulting	Geoff has been with the festival since its second year. He was the orginal web developer for the new website that debuted in January 2009. Currently Geoff provides technical consulting to the BIFF staff. Previously he provided hardware and software support, and assisting with the printed program. He was the filmmaker liaison coordinator for two years and designed the schedule grid for the program. Geoff is president of Bear Peak Software LLC and has a Masters degree in Computer Science. He has been standing in queues at the Telluride Film Festival since 1982.
Doug Turley Web Developer	Doug spent BIFF 2007 opening the Boulder Theater front doors for frozen event attendees. After recovering from minor frostbite he took the oath to continue to support this great festival. Currently he is applying his 20+ years of experience in the IT industry to the BIFF website and having a blast. He is approaching 600 titles in his NetFlix queue.
Peter Wayne Web Developer	Peter has been working in information technology for the past 20 years for a number of local companies. He has done everything from programming to system design to technical management. Peter is also a professional photographer specializing in business editorial, architecture and sport photography. Peter first volunteered at BIFF 08 working hospitality at the events and was hooked ever since.
Brad Weismann Social Marketing Coordinator & Workshops and Panels Coordinator	Brad is an editor, journalist, freelance writer and playwright. He spent many years as a standup and improvisational comedian, working in television and radio as well. After covering the Boulder International Film Festival as a reporter in its first year, he was inspired to volunteer -- and has ever since. In addition to his work at BIFF with visiting screenwriters, directors and producers, he has served on the festival’s Selection Committee, hosted programs, conducted interviews, torn tickets and just about everything else. He loves BIFF and would like to marry it.
Mary Ann Williamson Community Marketing Coordinator	Mary Ann has been the Manager of Community Marketing for BIFF since the 2006 festival. In this role, she has been responsible for marketing specific films to appropriate groups throughout the Colorado Front Range, as well as supervising the Community Marketing Team. Mary Ann has worked in the communications industry for over 25 years. She has worked as a scriptwriter, video producer, and college professor, in addition to owning and marketing her own successful small business. She holds a BS in Mass Communication from Illinois State University and an MS in Applied Communications from the University of Denver.
Scott Chavkin Information Booth Coordinator
Carolyn Donadio Venue Manager Coordinator
Becca Heaton Program Editor
Ashley Peterson Merchandising Coordinator
Sue Ann Todhunter Venue Manager
Ryan Van Duzer Stage Manager
Aimee Waddingham Stage Manager