Eva Jefferson Paterson (Executive Producer): Eva is the President and Founder of the Equal Justice Society (EJS), a national advocacy organization, strategically advancing social and racial justice through law and public policy, communications, the arts, and alliance building. Prior to creating EJS, Eva worked at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights for 26 years, serving as its Executive Director from 1990 through 2003. She also co-founded and chaired the California Coalition for Civil Rights for 18 years. Eva is the Founder and CEO of a film production company, Joy and Magic, which has produced two films — one for the 25th anniversary of the Lawyers’ Committee and one with the late Marlon Riggs on race and racial stereotypes, entitled Changing Images Through Action.
Rick Butler (Director): Rick has won four Emmy® Awards for his work as a cameraman and director. He has over 25 years experience in broadcast, corporate and narrative film and video production, including extensive documentary work that has aired nationally on PBS and on commercial networks. He spent more than five years as a staff cameraman for ABC, and has directed several documentaries for KQED. His film about the Fillmore district, historically San Francisco’s most diverse neighborhood, documents the tragic mistakes made during the city’s “urban renewal” era, and serves as an object lesson on how government policy can destroy a community. He also directed two documentaries about the making of computer animated feature films for Disney/Pixar. Rick describes himself as an advocate for social change.
Erin Essenmacher (Senior Producer) is writer, director and producer with over 10 years of experience in corporate, non-profit and broadcast production with a strong focus on documentary. Erin began her production career at Hedrick Smith Productions, where she was responsible for research, character development, field production, web development and outreach efforts on several prime-time specials for PBS, including “Critical Condition”, “Juggling Work and Family” and “Rediscovering Dave Brubeck.” She has since worked as writer, producer and director on documentary films for PBS, The Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, the History Channel and Court TV and non-broadcast projects for clients including Acura, The Gap, SEIU and the The Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights of the SF Bay Area. Most recently, Erin produced and co-wrote the independent film “MINE” which won the Audience Award for best doc at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin. Before being bit by the documentary bug, Erin worked in the political arena for the DCCC, the National Organization for Women and EMILY’s List. She splits her time between the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City.
Marcus Shelby (Composer): Marcus has been playing the acoustic bass for 23 years, building a diverse and accomplished biography. He was the bandleader of Black/Note and is currently the Artistic Director and leader of The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, The Marcus Shelby Septet and The Marcus Shelby Trio. Marcus has won innumerable awards, grants and private commissions, including the 1991 Charles Mingus Scholarship, which allowed him to study with composer James Newton and legendary jazz bassist Charlie Haden. His groups have recorded ten albums, and he has composed original scores for more than 30 cinematic, theatrical and dance pieces, including the Port Chicago Jazz Ballet, commissioned by the Equal Justice Society. Marcus currently teaches at Berkeley, Stanford and San Francisco State.
PRODUCTION & POST
Karyne Holmes (Editor): Karyne has worked as a video journalist and editor for thirty years, including stints at Lucasfilms and KRON-TV. She edited “About Race,” which won the George Foster Peabody Award for best documentary. Four of her projects have won Northern California Emmy Awards, including How We Played The Game, a film about heroes of the Negro Baseball League, and Port Chicago Mutiny: A National Tragedy, a documentary hosted by Danny Glover, about the 1944 mass court martial of black sailors, and the efforts of three California congressmen — more than four decades later — to overturn their convictions. Her works have also won a Thomas M. Storke International Journalism Award, a Northern California Society of Professional Journalists Award, a Northern California Radio/Television News Directors Award, a National Pew Center Batten Prize, and a James Beard Foundation Award.
MARKETING
Keith Kamisugi (Marketing): Keith is director of communications at the Equal Justice Society. He was previously a regional spokesman for Verizon Communications, an account manager for a tech PR agency and an independent consultant for a diverse portfolio of companies. Keith was born in Hawai’i, attended the University of Hawai’i, and served on the executive staffs of two Hawai’i governors. He has managed communications for the UNITY: Journalist of Color convention in 2004 and several Asian American Journalists Association conventions. Keith is a producer for the documentary “Vincent Who?” and also managed the website for Lane Nishikawa’s “Only The Brave”.
