Faculty Directory

Ester Meyer Nunes

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Ester Meyer Nunes is a Brazilian filmmaker with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy and a Master’s of Science in Mass Communication from Florida International University. Currently based in South Florida, Ester teaches liberal arts and science courses & Filmmaking Workshops at NYFA Miami.

With experience working on multiple feature films and award-winning short films, she has also held a range of roles, including production management and R&D at a local film production company.

Ester’s diverse career spans creative, technical, and educational aspects of the film industry, with a strong commitment to both storytelling and mentorship.

Miguel Parga

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Miguel started his career while still in college as a teacher’s assistant for the NYU Acting Program at Tisch before working the overnight shift for ABC News, building graphics for them at first and moving up the ranks during his eight years at ABC. He covered such dramatic stories as the impeachment of President Clinton, the millennium, the death of Lady Diana, JFK Jr., Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, the 2000 elections, and 9/11. Miguel won an Emmy and a DuPont Award for his work on the millennium Celebration and a Peabody Award for the first 100 hours of 9/11 coverage.

In 2003, Miguel moved to LA where he started translating commercials for NBC and Telmundo, moving up to producing and directing spots for Pepsi, Canon, Hechts, Fisher-Price, Bud Lite, and the People Choice Awards, amongst others. Miguel soon hooked up with Josh Oppenheimer (Sahara and A Sound of Thunder) who gave Miguel his first job as a feature screenwriter in LA, penning a romantic comedy optioned by Julia Pierrepont and Rodney Wilson.

Miguel moved back to New York in 2007 and began teaching acting, directing, writing, and editing at NYFA. He was also the director for the Summer Programs at Harvard University from 2010-2012 and Mumbai, India in 2011. He has directed 21 films, with many having been featured in festivals across the U.S. His first novel, Blood Laws, was published in 2013 by Anaphora Literary Press.

Franco Pejoves Acting for Film Instructor

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Franco Pejoves was born and raised in the San Isidro district of Lima, Peru to a mixed Peruvian-Croatian Family. Following political turmoil, he migrated to the US and settled in Miami, Fl.

For the last 20 years he has moved from being an actor and stage fighter to choreographer in stage, opera, and film. In Miami he has worked in both local film as well as the Florida Grand Opera for the last 15 years. Internationally he has worked both in the UK and South America in choreography as well as documentary projects. His experience in movement stems from his fight experience as a black belt in the Buninkan as well as other martial arts, his 12 years with the SAFD (Society of American Fight Directors), and various artistic groups including Kabuki, Kyogen, and theater styles. Today he teaches movement and psychology as well as balancing workshops and local film projects.

Vivian Rubio

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Vivian Rubio is an accomplished actor, director, and educator with extensive experience in film, television, and theater. She holds an MFA in Theater, Film and Television from UCLA and a BFA in Theater from the University of Florida & New World
School of the Arts. Vivian has performed in numerous productions, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and has appeared on networks such as Amazon Prime, NBC/Telemundo and TLC. With a background in both classical and contemporary performance, she brings a dynamic approach to actor training. She has studied under renowned industry professionals and specializes in voice, movement, and audition techniques. As a dedicated instructor, she is passionate about guiding students toward professional success in the entertainment industry.

Crickett Rumley

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The founder and Senior Director of the New York Film Academy’s Film Festival Department, Crickett Rumley received her MFA in Film at Columbia University. She has guided filmmakers to official selections and awards at festivals ranging from Sundance to Bronzelens and to nomination and shortlisting for the Student Academy Awards, the BAFTA Student Film Awards, and the College Television Awards.

Crickett has moderated both live and virtual events for the school, including Q&A’s with NYFA alum Mohamed Diab (director of Marvel Studios/Disney+ series Moon Knight) and TV writers Boo Killebrew and Gail Lerner as well as panels with staff from festivals such as New Filmmakers LA, Hollyshorts, Austin, and Reel Sisters of the Diaspora. Most recently, she hosted the Winter Film Awards International Film Festival’s Education Day on the NYFA campus in New York, presenting workshops on “Social Media for Creatives” and “How to Craft the Low Budget Screen Story”.

A regular juror for the Forum on Life, Culture, and Society’s International Short Film Competition, Crickett also sat on the jury for the 2021 Tallgrass Film Festival, one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. She now serves as their Panels Director.

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.

Luisa Ibanez Suarez

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Luisa Ibañez is a P.G.A Senior Content Film and TV Producer and member of The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. She has more than twenty-five years of experience in the US and LATAM media industry, including an overall of 1000 hours of content produced in different formats for diverse audiences and three International Emmy nominations for projects premiered on the US primetime. From this journey, she understands the expectations of diverse audiences in Latin America, Spain and Latinos in the US. Credits as Development Producer, Line Producer, and Supervising Producer on the successful Hispanic TV Series and telenovelas from NBC Telemundo, Univision, Televisa, and Movistar prove her high-quality deliveries in projects distributed in more than 100 countries and over 35 languages.

Steven Wieclaw

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Steve is an award-winning writer and director who also freelances in editing and sound recording/design for international film and television productions. Born and raised in Ohio, he received his undergraduate degree with honors in Applied Sociology at Ohio State University. He spent a number of years as a professional musician (trumpet and vocals) traveling the world with touring bands and cruise ships. After a long corporate career as a business analyst, Steve decided to pursue his passion for storytelling and moved to Miami, where he graduated from New York Film Academy with a Master’s degree in Filmmaking.

Steve is based in Miami, Florida while actively writing, directing, and editing narrative films of all genres. He is the Equipment Supervisor for NYFA Miami in addition to teaching screenwriting, directing, producing, and audio for College level classes and the short term workshops.

Lori S. Wyman

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Lori S. Wyman, CSA, one of the most prominent Casting Directors in the southeast, has been casting films, television shows, and commercials in South Florida since 1979. Lori attended the University of Miami and she graduated with her Bachelors Degree in Speech and Communications and her minor in Education. She received her Master’s Degree from Nova Southeastern University (NSU) with a concentration in Drama Therapy. She pursued this degree in order to help actors with Audition Anxiety.

Upon graduating with her undergraduate degree, she aggressively pursued a casting career and immediately started working for ACT I Talent Agency. At the time, ACT I was the biggest talent agency in the State of Florida. Quickly building a reputation as one of the most outstanding talent agents in the business, she was asked by the company that was handling the Miami Vice casting if she would be one of their staff casting directors. While there, she worked on the Principal casting for “Miami Vice” during the 2nd and 3rd seasons. At the end of the 3rd season, she was approached by one of the producers of “Miami Vice” and asked to come work for them directly and head up their entire casting division. She did that for the duration of the series.

When “Miami Vice” wrapped, she was immediately asked to head up the casting offices of the Burt Reynolds series, “BL Stryker” and to cast the Florida episodes of Stephen J. Cannell’s “21 Jumpstreet” and “Wiseguy.” After these 3 series, Lori decided to make the lucrative move to commercials and feature film casting. In 1989 Lori was invited to become a member of the Casting Society of America, the professional organization of casting directors in the U.S.

She opened her own offices in North Miami Beach in the spring of 1990. With her own studio space, offices and equipment,
she was able to expand her business opportunities and provide a wider variety of services. Lori has also served on the Miami-Dade County Film, Print and Broadcast Advisory Board, helping to make decisions regarding the Film industry in Miami-Dade County. Lori is also a past vice-president of WOMPI, Women of the Motion Picture Industry, to whom she has contributed her casting services for many of their not-for-profit films that the organization produces for the good of the community.

Some of Lori’s more recent casting credits are MARCEL by Warner Bros on Apple TV, The Right Stuff on Disney Plus, HBO’s Ballers, Bloodline for Netflix, USA’s Burn Notice, The Glades and Graceland, and Starz’s Magic City. Lori is an EMMY nominee for HBO’S Recount and she has been nominated for 8 Artios and has won the prestigious Artios casting award 2 times for HBO’s Recount and Bloodline on Netflix.