NYFA Cabinet

Michael J. Young President/CEO

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Michael Young is the President and CEO of the New York Film Academy. Michael earned his Bachelor’s in Film and Visual Studies from Harvard University. His thesis film, McJew, was nominated for best documentary in the Student Academy Awards. After working as crew on films, commercials, and industrials in any role he could get, he went on to earn an MFA in Film Directing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He also studied acting for two years with the brilliant Meisner trained teacher, Suzanne Shepard. In 1992, NYFA founder Jerry Sherlock brought Michael to design its original curriculum of learning to make films by making films in an “intensive hands-on total immersion program,” and he helped start the school. In the years since, when not teaching or administrating at NYFA, Michael has worked on feature films, including as Cinematographer for the documentary Comrades and as Executive Producer on the documentary Turn Every Page, released in theatres in 2023 by Sony Pictures Classics.

David Klein Senior Executive Vice President/COO

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Klein is the Senior Executive Vice President at the New York Film Academy. Klein received his Master of Fine Arts in Film Directing at New York University’s Graduate School of Film and Television in 1995. He has worked closely with NBC News, the Guggenheim Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and New York City public schools to create innovative media arts programs. In his current position at the Academy, he oversees the operations, development, and delivery of programs in the various disciplines taught, including Acting for Film, Filmmaking, Musical Theatre, Broadcast Journalism, and Cinematography, at the Academy’s locations across the globe. As a film director and producer, Klein is a recipient of the Tisch Excellence in Producing Award for producing several short films, including Gone With the Moon and Butterfly Dance starring Vera Farmiga. He was awarded the Warner Brothers Post-Production Award for a film he wrote and directed titled To Dye For.

Dan Mackler Senior Vice President/CSO/Dean of NYFA Los Angeles

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MFA, NYU Tisch School of the Arts; BA, Dartmouth College. Russian film scholar. Consulted on Spike Lee’s 25th Hour. Director of feature film The Karaoke King.

Sonny Calderon Vice President of Academic Affairs

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MFA in Screen and Television Writing, USC. BA in Communications, University of Michigan. As co-founder, writer, and producer at Impressionista Films, created and produced award-winning branded entertainment for clients such as Hilary Duff, Miller Beer, DKNY, Ford Motor Company, Macy’s, DirecTV, and Martha Stewart.

Dr. Susan Ashe Dean of Students, NYFA Los Angeles

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Dr. Susan Ashe (she/her) is the Dean of Students for the Los Angeles Campus of the New York Film Academy. With a background in higher education and the film industry, Dr. Ashe brings a unique perspective to her role. She joined NYFA in January 2018 and oversees areas including student life, new student orientation, student clubs and events, housing, counseling services, student conduct, academic integrity, Title IX and sexual misconduct, student grievances, and CARE Team. As an instrumental member of NYFA’s team, Dr. Ashe serves on various NYFA leadership groups including the President’s Cabinet, NYFA’s Cross-Campus Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council and NYFA LA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, NYFA’s Strategic Planning Committee, and more.

Prior to joining NYFA, Dr. Ashe served as the Director of Student Conduct & Integrity at Cal Poly Pomona University. She holds an EdD in educational leadership from the University of Southern California, where she completed her dissertation research on “Whiteness: A Narrative Analysis on Student Affairs Professionals, Race, Identity, and Multicultural Competency,” an MS in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University, and a BA in international business from Rhodes College. Prior to her career in higher education, Dr. Ashe held positions in the film and entertainment industry, including at ICM talent agency and Trimark Pictures.

Dr. Ashe believes in the transformative power of art to educate and unite. She finds inspiration in the passion, enthusiasm, and creativity that NYFA students bring to campus, as well as the compelling stories they create. Committed to fostering student success, Dr. Ashe is dedicated to cultivating inclusive environments at NYFA, providing students with the support they need to develop their craft and refine their skills as aspiring storytellers.

Rosa Belerique Vice President of Institutional Research and Effectiveness

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Rosa Belerique brings over 15 years of experience in higher education to her role as Vice President of Institutional Research and Effectiveness at the New York Film Academy (NYFA), a position she has held since 2017. With a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Communications and a Master of Science in Student Development in Higher Education, Rosa possesses a comprehensive understanding of the intricate dynamics of student success and institutional efficacy. Her journey in academia has been marked by a relentless commitment to advancing research and strategic planning initiatives, as well as fostering a culture of assessment and program review.

Rosa’s leadership extends far beyond the confines of her institution. As the 2021 President of the California Association for Institutional Research (CAIR), she played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of higher education research and planning in the state. Additionally, her involvement as a WASC Fellow, an Accreditation Leadership Academy (ALA) graduate and mentor, and her service on peer evaluation teams underscore her dedication to enhancing institutional quality and effectiveness on a broader scale. With her wealth of experience and dedication to the advancement of higher education, Rosa Belerique continues to leave an indelible mark on the field of institutional research and effectiveness.

Randall Dottin Chair of Screenwriting

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Randall Dottin is a writer/director who works both in documentary and narrative fiction. His Columbia University MFA thesis film, A-ALIKE, was licensed for a two-year broadcast run by HBO and has won numerous awards, including the DGA Award for Best African American Student Filmmaker and the 2004 Student Academy Award for Best Narrative Film. In 2009, Randall was named by IndieWire Magazine as one of the Top Ten New Voices in Black Cinema. From 2012 to 2015, Randall wrote and directed branded content for AOL.COM, Toyota, and Essence Magazine. Randall’s short film Lifted, was sponsored by Fox Searchlight’s program for emerging directors, the Fox Searchlab. Lifted premiered on CBS in 2015. His documentary series The House I Never Knew is currently in production and explores how six families in Chicago, Houston, and Boston fight against becoming casualties of a housing segregation policy. The House I Never Knew (nee The Chicago Franchise) was chosen to participate in IFP’s Spotlight on Documentaries Program in 2018. Last year, the series received a grant from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund.

Denise Hamilton DEI Los Angeles Education Chair

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Denise Hamilton has over 30 years experience as a writer and producer for NBC, ABC and PBS network specials and syndicated programs. In the area of documentary film she most recently was co-producer of BEING MICHELLE, a feature which won the 2022 Audience Award as Best Documentary at the Florida Film Festival, and presented at fourteen other festivals. Ms. Hamilton was writer and field producer for four internationally-shot documentaries, including “NGONE’S STORY: A Tale of Africa’s Orphans”, which aired on NBC affiliate stations; as well as the feature “Hollywood Musicals: Singing and Dancing” which screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival and as a 4-part series for PBS. She served as series producer of “Where Cultures Collide”, a 5-part web series for KCETLink, and was coordinating producer on “For Peace Sake”, the Emmy award-winning 2-hour NBC-TV special, as well as the “Motown 40: The Music is Forever” documentary special for ABC-TV. She has served on the awards selection committee of the International Documentary Association, and has taught documentary film production for Spelman College. For eighteen years Ms. Hamilton also served as co-chairperson of the Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers-West.

Kirk Lenga CFO

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Kirk Lenga has served as NYFA’s Chief Financial Officer since 2017. He has brought significant leadership experience to NYFA and has spearheaded several initiatives to improve the institution’s financial picture. Previously, he served at other universities and educational organizations in senior financial positions, including Associate Vice President for Finance at Long Island University and Director of Finance and Budget at the Institute of International Education. He has a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Policy & Management and a Master of Science in Public Management, both from Carnegie Mellon University.

James S. Miller III Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Interim Executive Director, 10 ARTS Foundation

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Jim Miller was a fashion industry entrepreneur before beginning his career in higher education at the Institute of International Education (IIE), where he served in various leadership capacities. Miller was the executive director of the Scholar Rescue Fund© (IIE-SRF), which has saved the lives and careers of over 900 threatened and persecuted scholars from 65 countries. Miller directed the Iraq Scholar Rescue Project, a public/private partnership, and was the architect of numerous innovative higher education and refugee programs including Camps to Campuses, the Artists Protection Fund (APF), and the Women’s International Network (WIN).

Miller leads NYFA training programs in cooperation with U.S. Embassies around the globe, in recent years with Embassies and Consulates in Russia, Kazakhstan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Cuba, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Yemen, Nigeria, and South Africa. He has managed distinctive programs and proposals with partners, including NETFLIX, Freedom House, MultiChoice Foundation, International American Development Bank (IADP), United Nations, UNESCO, European Commission, USAID, NCIG, OSF, and more. In his various careers, Miller has overseen more than USD $125M in international-funded projects and programs in the fields of Higher Education, Human Rights, and Humanitarian Aid and Relief. For a decade, Miller was the senior executive of Studio Art College International (SACI), an art and archeology college in Florence, Italy. Jim serves on numerous boards and is the founder of the Medhen Orphan Relief Effort (M.O.R.E.) and Artistic Freedom Initiative (AFI) and served as a founding member of the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA). Jim has presented at higher education conferences around the world and has authored numerous articles, including in peer-reviewed journals. He is an Executive Producer of documentary films. At NYFA, he serves as the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and is the Interim Executive Director of the 10 ARTS Foundation.

Dr. Mary Samuelson Dean of General Education; Chair of Liberal Arts & Sciences

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Dr. Mary Samuelson received her Ph.D. and MA degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and completed her undergraduate work in Cinema-Television and English Literature at the University of Southern California (USC). For the past four years, Mary has taught courses and advised students in the Cinema and Media Studies and Writing Programs departments at UCLA, the Cinema-Television department at Los Angeles Community College (LACC), and here at the New York Film Academy (NYFA). Her essays “Radical Moment: The National Recovery Administration and Hollywood’s ‘New Deal’” and “Wartime News Flow: Government and Studio Newsreels, 1941-1945” will come out in collections focusing on film and the law (September 2016) and the U.S. newsfilm (June 2016), respectively. Mary’s dissertation “The Patriotic Play: Roosevelt, Antitrust, and the War Activities Committee of the Motion Picture Industry” is slated for book publication in Spring 2017.

Sandra A. Schein, Ph.D. Associate Vice President of Student Health and Wellness, Dean of Students, New York Campus

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BA University of Pennsylvania, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa; Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara. Licensed Psychologist in the State of New York. Previously held positions include Director, Counseling and Career Services, Oxford College of Emory University (recipient of the Emory University Award of Distinction) and Director, Eating Disorders Program, Kaiser Permanente, Atlanta, GA. Academic interests include positive psychology, strengths-based education, and leadership development.

Nick Sivakumaran Senior Directing Instructor

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MFA in Film Production, USC School of Cinema/TV; BA in Biology and Psychology, University of Rochester. Writer/Director of award-winning short film, “Diwali.” Screened at over 30 international film festivals, a recipient of a Director’s Guild of America Student Film Award and invited to the 2002 Cannes Film Festival as part of the Kodak Emerging Filmmaker Showcase. Also won commercial contests for clients, Chevrolet and Lifestyles Condoms and recently wrote a stage musical that had a six-week run in Hollywood.

Andrea Swift Chair of Filmmaking

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A cinematic storyteller with more than 20 years experience, Swift has served as executive producer and director of PBS’ Emmy-nominated documentary series, In the Life. Her films have screened at the United Nations Earth Summit and festivals worldwide, including Berlin International Film Festival (Best Short Film), Raindance Film Festival (Best of Festival Selection), CIFF, and Chicago International Film Festival (Silver). She has created content for AMC, History, WE, the NY Knicks and Madison Square Garden; and has directed and written for top talent including Oscar winner Susan Saradon, nominees Laura Linney, Patricia Clarkson, and Lesley Gore, and Tony Award and Emmy Award winners including Alan Cumming, Ossie Davis, Harvey Fierstein, Cherry Jones, Denis O’Hare, and RuPaul. Currently, Swift focuses on writing, story producing, and creative consulting. MFA, Columbia University.

Elli Ventouras Dean of NYFA New York

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MFA, Parsons School of Design. M.A., New York Institute of Technology – summa cum laude. Currently Ms. Ventouras oversees the day to day Academic operations in the New York location. Previously, she was the Founding Dean for the New York Film Academy in South Beach where she contributed to the development of the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree programs in Filmmaking and Acting as well as the Conservatory and short term programs.

As a director, producer and editor, her Award winning film Voices screened internationally at: Golden Gate Documentary Film Festival in San Francisco (Distinguished for Special Artistic Value), Festival Du Cinema de Bruxelles (winner for the La Realisation Integrale Award), Festival Du Court Metrage De Lyon (winner of Le Senario). Voices was also Semifinalist at Boston Motion Picture Awards and was requested and screened as part of the activities planned in Athens, Greece for the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Other screenings include The Queens Theater in the Park in Flushing NY, Panorama Film Festival in Thessaloniki, Greece; Drama Short Film Festival in Greece, Miami International Short Film Festival, Barcelona Short Film Festival, and the Hollywood International Student Film Festival. Her film Modern Greek Tragedy was nominated for best international film at the Drama Film Festival and screened at the Molodost Film Festival in Russia.