Board of Directors and Advisory Board
Board of Directors
CHAD ERVIN, President
(he/him)
Chad Ervin has worked in film and television for over twenty years, working as a producer, writer, cameraperson, editor, and story consultant. As lead film editor he has made over thirty documentary films which have appeared on PBS (FRONTLINE, American Experience, American Masters), film festivals (SXSW, TIFF, VIFF, Full Frame), and theatrical distribution. Films he edited have received three Emmy-awards, as well as Peabody, Polk, and duPont Columbia awards, among others. He co-owns Well Told Films in Montpelier and works on film & media project for clients in Vermont and nationwide. He also serves on the board of directors of the community media station ORCA Media and on the Steering Committee for the Vermont Creative Network.
BRIAN CARROLL, Treasurer
(he/him)
Brian Carroll is a filmmaker, designer, journalist, musician, community builder and at his core, a storyteller. He brings over 15 years experience in corporate project management and global feasibility leadership to the VPC board and his documentary and short horror film work has received multiple awards and been screened globally. He is the founder of the New England music publication Red Line Roots and also serves as board chair for the Space on Main (Bradford, VT) and as a board member with Northeast Slopes (Corinth, VT), both non-profit organizations. Brian was also a recipient of the 2021 Rising Star Award from Vermont Business Magazine for his work under his Dos Gatos Media & Filmwork umbrella.
KRISTIN CANTU, Secretary
(she/her)
Kristin Cantu is the sustainable engineering program manager for the Greenway Center for Equity and Sustainability and co-owner of Well Told Films in Montpelier. She has worked as a producer and podcaster, and is a co-founder of Vermont Production Collective. She also has extensive experience managing projects and events for individuals and companies with a focus on collaborating with and creating community among entrepreneurial and professional women. Kristin created and runs a mentorship program for professional women in Central Vermont through ElevateHer. She also facilitates groups of female entrepreneurs in The Huddle HUB, a virtual support network whose members are invested in each others’ success.
LUKAS HUFFMAN
(he/him)
Lukas Huffman is a writer and director based in Montpelier, VT. His narrative films have won dozens of awards worldwide and have been selected for the Toronto International Film Festival Circuit. His production company, Huffman Studio, has been commissioned to create documentaries for The New York Times, Vice Media, The Boston Globe, The World Bank, The National Wildlife Federation, and more. Huffman has recently returned to his hometown of Montpelier where he lives with his family. He is constantly inspired to shine a light on stories that are unique to the Green Mountain State.
BEN AYERS
(he/him)
Ben is a writer, National Geographic Explorer, and humanitarian with over two decades experience exploring and living in Nepal. In addition to founding two industry-leading non-profits, Ben is an award-winning film producer and director. His work includes The Last Honey Hunter (2017) and Mothered by Mountains (2018). When he is not chasing stories in the Himalaya, there is a good chance he’s riding his mountain bike in the root-strewn forests of Vermont.
JEANINE B. FROST
(she/her)
Jeanine B. Frost is an award winning Vermont based writer, director, producer and actor. Originally from Denmark, Jeanine explores deeply personal and psychological portraits, rooting the experience in the stark, honest simplicity of Nordic storytelling. A 2019 American Film Institute Directing Fellow, her thesis film MORS DAG was the recipient of the Sloan Foundation Production Grant and still runs the festival circuit. She produced the award winning short SLOAN HEARTS NECKFACE (CIFF, Palm Spring Shorts and Tribeca) while her film NO MORE, nominated in the Manhattan Film Festival’s Film Heals Program, is licensed for educational use by Film Media Group/Infobase. Jeanine is currently in post production as Creative Producer on the documentary Before They’re 23 about Endometriosis with collaborator Lindsay Jackson and working towards getting her first narrative feature as a writer/director off the ground. Jeanine is also the mother of a curious tween, lover of licorice, dark chocolate and long walks in the woods. She excitedly joins the VPC Board and look forward to connecting filmmakers from all of Vermont.
EMMA SCHLENOFF
(she/her)
Emma is the founder and director of Witness Oak Productions. Highlights of her experience include: producing the feature narrative The Obelisk, directing and producing a series of short promotional videos for the band Birds of Chicago, working on the producing team for National Geographic’s Origins, and with Academy-Award winners, Fisher Stevens and Mark Monroe. She was guided by Florentine Films and offered the opportunity to work on several projects with Emmy-Winning Director Ken Burns. She has been successful as an event producer, directing and coordinating productions such as the WRIF Festival, and a 66-screening tour of Freedom and Unity: The Vermont Movie.
Emma’s passion for film has risen from a deeply rooted love for storytelling and the human experience. She has traveled extensively, volunteering and studying in countries such as Uganda, Thailand and Colombia. She lives in Vermont with her husband and their two children in a treehouse they built themselves.
Advisory Board
JASON RAYMOND
(he/him)
Jason Raymond is the instructor of the Digital Media Lab at the Burlington Technical Center (BTC) and a board member of the Media Factory in Burlington, VT. Prior to working at BTC, Jason taught middle school Broadcasting and Language Arts in Little Rock, AR, while developing collaborative projects with the Little Rock Film Festival, AETN (Arkansas Educational Television Network-PBS), the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, the THEA Foundation Young Filmmaker Scholarship (scholarship judging committee), and the PBS Student Reporting Lab. Jason also worked for several years as a community media educator at Tualatin Valley Community Access (TVCA/TVTV) in Beaverton, OR, teaching field and studio production workshops and coordinating media productions with community volunteers. He was also a member of the Alliance for Community Media. He holds Master’s degrees in Education from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin, with a specialization in copywriting from the Texas Creative program. Jason is also an undergraduate of Bennington College, with a focus in creative writing and media studies. Since moving to VT, Jason has focused on collaborative projects with Vermont Folklife, Media Factory, AALV, Burlington Juneteenth Day, Big Heavy World, and the Future Fields Recording Studio. He is passionate about engaging youth and their communities in a collaborative exploration of filmmaking, music production and performance, photography, and emerging technologies.
VANDER GAC
(they/them)
Vander Gac is an award-winning journalist, software developer, and nonprofit communications specialist. They were a founding member of the Michigan Independent Venues and Promoters Association and currently serve as chair of the Bethel Energy Committee. They hold a master’s in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a BA in Journalism from Wayne State University in Detroit.
ORLY YADIN
(she/her)
Orly served as the Executive Director of VTIFF for 12 years. She stepped down from this role in June 2023 to return to filmmaking and to focus on specific programs that support local filmmakers, such as VTIFF’s Made Here Film Festival. Orly came to Vermont from London where she was a filmmaker and producer of both documentaries and animation films and series. Prior to making films, she was a film researcher on historical programs and was also founder and Managing Director of Footage Farm – an archival footage collection. Orly has taught documentary film history and theory in Universities in England and at Burlington College. In 1995 she co-founded and ran Halo Productions specializing in animation films. Many of Halo’s short films won international awards at festivals, and one, Silence, was short-listed for the Academy Awards.
Interested in Joining Us?
We are always looking for new members so let us know if you are interested in joining our board of directors or advisory board. We seek to have boards that is reflective of the diverse community that VPC serves. All are welcomed and encouraged to apply, film & media background is not required.
