ABOUT

  • Mission

    The Alliance mission is to facilitate collaboration, innovation, strategic growth and cultural impact for the media arts field. We are a network of networks; we embolden creative media organizations + artists, and connect them with the world.

  • Vision Statement

    The Alliance envisions and believes in a world where artists, storytellers and community media organizations are valued as leaders and catalysts of economic and cultural revitalization. Through a suite of forward-thinking and inclusive programs, we serve a dynamic network of artists and organizations committed to powerful creative storytelling as an engine for transformation and the collective imagination. We work to preserve and celebrate diverse cultures and champion free expression as the common language of a democratic society.

Core Values

We hold strong to these values through the work we do, the stories we tell, and the relationships we nurture:

 

  • Community: fostering deep connections and meaningful collaboration
  • Creativity: celebrating beauty and imagination in artistry and civic action
  • Equality: prioritizing parity, social justice and human rights
  • Integrity: making a commitment to principled engagement and rigorous analysis
  • Inclusion: promoting democratic ideals and participatory access
  • Openness: encouraging free expression, access and innovation
  • Story: inspiring empathy, dialogue and the exchange of knowledge

History

The Alliance was founded in 1980 by an eclectic group of media arts organization leaders who realized they could strengthen their social and cultural impact by working as a united force. Their idea was as bold as it was simple: to create a national organization that would provide support services to its institutional members, and advocate for the field as a whole. Since its founding, The Alliance has worked to raise the profile and influence of the media arts on behalf of its growing and changing membership. Today, The Alliance welcomes individuals across disciplines, local, regional and national media nonprofits, international NGOs and strategic partners from all sectors as we move into a collaborative, creative future.

Staff and Board

Wendy Levy

Wendy Levy

Executive Director
Wendy is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Media Arts And Culture. She is also the founder and director of New Arts Axis and a Senior Consultant with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.
Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson

President, Board of Directors
Chris Johnson studied photography with Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham and Wynn Bullock and has been the recipient of grants from the Rockefeller Foundation (w/Hank Willis Thomas); AICA Mellon Foundation Grant for Photography and Polaroid Foundation Artist Grants, among many others.
Eric Doversberger

Eric Doversberger

Vice President, Board of Directors
Eric Doversberger is a manager and technology strategist on Google’s People Analytics team, with deep specialization in interactive data visualization.
Anula Shetty

Anula Shetty

Secretary, Board of Directors
Anula Shetty is an award-winning filmmaker and co-director of Termite TV Collective, a group of video artists who produce experimental and activist media.
Andy Beach

Andy Beach

Board of Directors
Andy Beach works at Microsoft as a Principal SDE with the Communications and Media Team. With more than 20 years of experience, Andy Beach is a respected industry voice in online video and streaming media. Founder and Principal at Techgeist, Inc., Andy consults with companies that touch every part of the Over The Top distribution...
Kasandra VerBrugghen

Kasandra VerBrugghen

Board of Directors
Kasandra VerBrugghen is the Executive Director of Spy Hop Productions, a youth media organization in Salt Lake City dedicated to empowering young people through the digital media arts.
Mary Tahui An

Mary Tahui An

Board of Directors
Mary Tahui An is the Senior Director of Africa Programs at Sesame Workshop.
Brian Frye

Brian Frye

Board of Directors
Professor Frye joined the faculty of University of Kentucky in 2012. He teaches Civil Procedure, Copyright, Intellectual Property, and Nonprofit Organizations. Previously, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Hofstra University School of Law.

Advisory Group

Andre Torres

Andre Torres

Andre Torres is an entrepreneurial creative thinker specializing in business development, product development, and content strategy. Before serving as Senior Vice President, Global Catalog Development & Marketing for Warner Music Group, Andre Torres was Head of Catalog, Artist and Label Partnerships at Spotify. Andre spent three years-plus as VP of Urban Catalog at UMe, and during the...
Beth Miyares

Beth Miyares

Beth Miyares is Senior Vice President of Comedy Development at Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. In this role, she manages day-to-day development of the studio’s comedy slate across a variety of platforms. Miyares joined Universal Television in 2020 and has since been involved in the development of several hit comedy series, including...
Chihiro Wimbush

Chihiro Wimbush

Chihiro Wimbush is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker. He is a former Bay Area Video Coalition MediaMaker Fellow, Sundance Creative Producing Institute Fellow, Big Tell storyteller, and an alumni of the Alliance for Media Arts + Culture’s HatchLab program. Chihiro is currently a member of the Alliance Unlocking Creativity Community of Practice which is focused...
Gillian Rose

Gillian Rose

Gillian Rose is a Senior Vice President at NBC Universal, based in New York City. She works in TV and film distribution negotiating with all the major platforms (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu etc.) in the US. Prior to this she held a similar position for Sky, the leading media and entertainment company in Europe. Gillian also...
JJ Harris

JJ Harris

JJ Harris is a Founder and CEO of two Oakland-based creative businesses — Techboogie and Bay Brilliance. He is a media producer and entrepreneur who has traveled the globe in pursuit of authentic storytelling. With an unwavering passion for inclusivity, he has collaborated with global brands, local companies, and national nonprofits to craft and deliver...
Martha Diaz

Martha Diaz

Martha Diaz (MD) is an award-winning community organizer, media producer, archivist, curator, educator, and social entrepreneur. MD has traversed the Hip-Hop entertainment industry, the public arts and education sector, and the academy over the past 30 years. Through her exhibitions, and publications of research reports, books, and curricula, she has chronicled Hip-Hop history to preserve...
Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

Veronica Corzo-Duchardt is an award-winning queer Cuban-American visual artist, creative director, and designer living and working in Los Angeles, CA. Currently the Director of Design at the Lucas Museum, for over 20 years, they’ve focused on creating expressive, story-driven design work in the arts, culture, and media industry. They are an empathetic leader deeply invested...
Christina Orticke

Christina Orticke

Producer for Arts2Work
Christina Orticke is the Senior Consulting Producer for Arts2Work, a creative workforce development initiative of The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture. Christina has over 25 years of experience working with large international public and private corporations, start-ups, minority-owned/women-owned enterprises, and nonprofit organizations.

Consulting Producers, Mentors & Facilitators

Jocelyn Arem

Jocelyn Arem

Jocelyn Arem is a GRAMMY, ASCAP, and Library of Congress Award-nominated archival storytelling producer and consultant. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, NPR, PBS and during GRAMMY Week in Los Angeles.
Macky Alson

Macky Alson

Creative Leadership Lab
Macky Alston is Vice President for Strategy, Engagement and Media at Auburn Theological Seminary, where he works to equip faith leaders to stand for justice in the media. Alston founded Auburn Media in 2002 and since then has served as its director, innovating a range of programs related to media and religion.
Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong

Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong

HatchLabs
Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong creates structure through story, most recently designing a storytelling program at IDEO's open innovation community platform, OpenIDEO. She has designed and implemented projects on four continents in conjunction with USAID, the Rockefeller Foundation, Stanford's d.school, DfID, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MIT, and Harvard.
Niema Jordan

Niema Jordan

Social Media
Niema Jordan is a writer, director, and producer from Oakland, CA. She is an associate producer at Trilogy Films, has worked on social media strategy for entrepreneurs, and serves on the board of directors for Camp Reel Stories.
Leah Mahan

Leah Mahan

Story Revivals
Leah Mahan is an independent documentary filmmaker whose work has been nominated by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement. Her most recent film, Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek, is about a group of determined Mississippians struggling to save their endangered Gulf Coast community in the face of rampant development, industrial pollution and disaster.
Myah Overstreet

Myah Overstreet

Youth Engagement
Myah Overstreet is 19 years old and is currently studying English and Art at San Francisco State University. She fell in love with production, design, and writing in high school and has since worked on multiple projects designed to empower communities.
Gibrán Rivera

Gibrán Rivera

Creative Leadership Lab
Gibrán Rivera is an internationally renowned master facilitator who has devoted his life to work with those who are committed to social transformation. A former Senior Associate at the Interaction Institute for Social Change, Gibran is the originator of The Thrive Workshop.
Melinda Weekes-Laidlow

Melinda Weekes-Laidlow

Video Roundtables + Creative Leadership Lab
Melinda Weekes-Laidlow is the President of Weekes In Advance Enterprises, an organizational development firm offering consulting, facilitation, coaching and professional development services in arts and culture, social innovation, racial equity and collaborative leadership spaces.

Rockefeller Foundation Panel for Data, Ethics and Community

Anna Lauren Hoffman

Anna Lauren Hoffman

I am a trans woman and scholar working at the intersections of information, technology, culture, and ethics. My research considers the ways in which the design and use of information technology can promote or hinder the pursuit of social justice.
AnneMarie Cordeiro

AnneMarie Cordeiro

I am a UX designer with a passion for creating experiences that meet user needs in context—geographical, physical, emotional, intellectual—UX that satisfies, informs, and empowers without becoming a distraction.
Anselm Hook

Anselm Hook

Anselm Hook is a Canadian serial entrepreneur currently pioneering the field of Augmented Reality at groundbreaking startups like Dekko and Liminal. He previously worked at Palo Alto Research Center and regularly involves himself with community projects that bring social value through surprising perspectives.
Ken Ikeda

Ken Ikeda

I’m a serial entrepreneur and strategist obsessed with building capacity, assets and relevance with those whom are mission driven. My passion and experience are reflective of the work I’ve done with youth, homeless, educators, activists, storytellers, artists, technologists and broadcasters.
Michael Orange

Michael Orange

Michael is the Director of the Matatu Festival of Stories in Oakland, CA. He has been a purveyor of good culture and public/private space in developing communities for nearly 20 years.
Scott Shigeoka

Scott Shigeoka

I grew up in Hawaii. My first job was as a mango picker. Since then, life and purpose-driven work has taken me across the world. Now, I live in San Francisco. I like to freestyle rap, snowboard, rock climb, travel and dance. I’m the storyteller and community designer at OpenIDEO.
Zakiya Harris

Zakiya Harris

Zakiya Harris is a Changemaker, working at the intersections of entrepreneurship, education & creative transformation. Zakiya is a co-founder of nationally recognized projects Impact Hub Oakland, Grind for the Green, Hack The Hood, Earthseed Consulting, and a Fellow of Green For All and Bold Food.

Funders and Partners

The MacArthur Foundation
Philadelphia Foundation
Fledgling Fund
National Endowment for the Arts
Media Democracy Fund
Nathan Cummings Foundation
Warhol Foundation
Adobe Foundation
Epic Megagrants
Alameda County Department of Education
Centinela Valley Unified School District
Community Cultural Collective
Warhol Museum Pop District
Snap Foundation
Smithsonian Institution

The Name Change

Beginning January 1, 2017, the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, known as NAMAC, becomes The Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, known as The Alliance. We are thrilled to have a name that honors our history, is easier to pronounce correctly, not an acronym, and transcends geographical boundaries!

We are gearing up for an incredible year—providing support to the media arts field, deepening the cultural impact of artists and arts organizations, facilitating collaborative and multigenerational work across sectors, enabling access to innovation, and advocating for freedom of expression and sustainability. Our commitment to creative leadership, equity and inclusion is unflagging, and we believe that this work matters now more than ever.

Contact Us

Your Name (required)

Your Email (required)

Subject

Your Message