Our Board of Directors & Officers

Arlene Dallalfar

Ms. Dallalfar, Lesley University Faculty in both the Intercultural Relations Program and in Lesley College, has been teaching courses in women's studies and family studies at Lesley since 1995. Her areas of specialization are gender, immigration and diaspora, women and work, and feminist theory from a cross-cultural perspective. Dallalfar earned her Ph.D. in sociology at the University of California in Los Angeles. The paradigms in sociology discourse surrounding gender roles and the family, inequality in the capitalist world economy, and immigration studies have been Dallalfar's areas of specialization. She is also a documentary filmmaker, addressing issues of ethnography.

Jeremy Gauld, Legal Counsel

Jeremy Gauld is an attorney in the Boston office of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP. He concentrates his practice on the representation of open and closed-end investment companies, private investment pools and investment advisers. He is involved in the drafting of registration and proxy statements; reorganization and acquisition transactions involving investment companies; tender offer documents; developing codes of ethics for investment advisors; and reviewing fund governance policies and procedures. He has also conducted research, drafted memoranda and completed comprehensive document review for numerous securities litigation and enforcement matters regarding market timing of mutual funds, selective disclosure of portfolio holdings, allocation of IPO investments, discriminating disclosure of asset allocation agreements and potential liability of third-party service providers to mutual funds.

He has also acted as lead counsel on a civil rights case in the Federal District Court and has worked on other corporate and litigation pro bono matters.

Prior to attending law school, Mr. Gauld worked as a litigation legal assistant and interned in The White House and in the Office of United States Senator John F. Kerry.

Doug Gordon

Doug Gordon is a Boston-based filmmaker whose credits include narrative films, documentaries and music videos. These projects have allowed him to work throughout the US and overseas, including South China, where he acted as Director of Photography for a NASA funded documentary.

In addition, Doug splits his time between Rule Broadcast Systems and Boston University, where he teaches film production. As a director, he is currently in post production of his first feature documentary “Up Down Left Right”, which follows the lives of six dedicated Dance Dance Revolution players, and “The Fens”, a short narrative shot in HD in the Boston area.

Shantel Hansen, Director of Community Relations

Ms. Hansen oversees all Reel Vision partnerships, programming, and develops Reel Vision curriculum/assessment models to meet National AfterSchool Association Accreditation Standards & Regulations. Shantel plans, organizes, and executes a comprehensive community relations program with individuals, public school systems, corporations, and foundations to create and promote partnerships consistent with the goals and objectives of the Newbury Film Series. She also conducts research for grant proposals, and participates in the planning for major capital campaign including board development, determinations of funding priorities, development of communication strategies, and cultivation of activities to support the fundraising campaign. Shantel enjoys playing tennis, cooking, and traveling. She can be reached at shansen@newburyfilmseries.org.

Maria Lopez-Bresnahan

Maria is a neurologist responsible for leading drug development projects as a Program Director with Serono, a Swiss biotechnology firm. She is affiliated with the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School as Assistant Clinical Professor.

Dave Rizzotto, Executive Director & President of the Board of Directors

Dave Rizzotto co-founded the Newbury Film Series. When not developing and producing NFS’ programming, he works as a Media Specialist at Harvard Medical School, encoding and transcoding lectures for distance learning, setting up videoconferencing, and directing three camera shoots. In addition, Mr. Rizzotto directs and edits educational and corporate videos for many of Boston’s top companies and organizations. Versed in digital media and post-production from working at Discovery Channel and VPG Integrated Media, he brings together technical and creative skills with corporate communications. Creatively, he writes and directs films and recently edited Cathedral, a short film based on the story by Raymond Carver.

Mr. Rizzotto serves as NFS’ Executive Director and President of the Board of Directors. In this capacity, he oversees all aspects of the organization, including operations, marketing, fundraising, while creating and implementing a strategic vision for the organization’s future. In addition, he conducts the organization’s day-to-day operations, including 1) developing Reel Vision, the organization’s youth filmmaking program, 2) planning and executing all aspects of the NFS’s special events, and 3) planning for implementation of the Vision Grant program.

Rick Tagliaferri

Serving as Executive Director of the Boston Arts Academy Foundation, Rick came to Boston's only public high school for the visual and performing arts from the United Way of Massachusetts Bay. There he led the staff effort in building the Alexis de Tocqueville Society (comprised of individuals contributing $10,000 or more annually) from 280 to 900 members over a four year period. He has served as director for Florida's Coast to Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross and as director of youth services for CAMBA, a large community based organization in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, NY. Of all the youth programs he has helped to design and implement, those with the greatest impact were grounded in the arts. Prior to obtaining a Masters of Public Health from Hunter College, Rick made his living as an actor performing on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in regional theatres across the country.

Brian Tinger, CPA, Treasurer

Brian is currently the Corporate Controller at New England Biolabs, Inc. located in Ipswich, MA. New England Biolabs is a world leader in the production and supply of reagents for the life science industry with a particular emphasis on recombinant and native enzymes for genomic research.

Prior to joining NEB, Brian was an audit manager in the New England office of BDO Seidman, LLP and was with BDO for over 6 years. Brian has been working with the NFS as its treasurer since its inception and he is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Massachusetts Society of CPAs.

Honorary Board Members

Marian L. Heard

Called the most honored United Way Chief Executive in America, and a champion for youth, Marian Heard was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Chief Executive Officer of the United Way's of New England in February of 1992. Over a span of 17 years, she served in various leadership capacities at the United Way of Eastern Fairfield County in Bridgeport, Connecticut, spending the last three years there as President and Chief Executive Officer.

She is on the boards of FleetBoston Financial, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Liberty Mutual Group and CVS. She is a Trustee at Berea College and the New England Aquarium. She is also a past member and secretary of entertainer Michael Jackson's Heal the World Foundation and a Trustee of Dana Farber Cancer Institute. As a Director of the National Mentoring Partnership, Mrs. Heard served as a mentor for over six years and currently serves as the organization's National Spokesperson.

In addition, Mrs. Heard is the Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of the Points of Light Foundation, organized to perpetuate President George Bush's call for volunteers to address serious social problems in our nation. She continues as a board member and served two terms as National Board Chairman. President Bush serves as the Honorary Chairperson.

She earned an associate's degree from the University of Bridgeport, a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a master's degree from Springfield College and has completed the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Michigan.

She is married to Winlow M. Heard and is the mother of two grown sons.

Drew Myler

In 2002, Drew Myler co-founded the Newbury Film Series to provide a unique opportunity for filmmakers to screen their work and network with others in the local film scene. He has co-written, directed and produced three original short films and served on the planning committee for Harvard University's Dudley Film and Video Festival. He received an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College in May 2001. Drew and his wife live in Chicago, where he works as an Interactive Designer for Duo Consulting.

Kate Wilson

As Senior Director of Corporate Relations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA), Kate Wilson manages the company's charitable giving, assists the Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations in an array of communication and strategic matters, and works on special assignments for the Chair and CEO largely related to corporate community objectives. Prior to joining BCBSMA, Kate served in several positions at Harvard Business School, most recently as the Assistant Director of Communications, where she managed the school's internal communications program.