Staff
Tony Shawcross
Executive Director
Tony developed and launched the visionary model for community media that has evolved into the Open Media Foundation. Before founding Deproduction and Denver Open Media, Tony worked with Little Voice Productions, the Colorado State House of Representatives, the Pan African Arts Society and FreeSpeech TV, among others. Tony has presented over 100 media education courses with the Colorado Independent Media Center, Denver Community Television, the Alliance for Community Media and various local schools and universities. Tony graduated magna cum laude with a degree in marketing and business administration from the University of Colorado.
Fun Fact: If Tony were stuck on a deserted island, and had the choice to bring three items, he would choose: a laptop with solar-powered case, a life-size cardboard cut-out of Deb, and a helicopter.
Ann Theis
Station Director
Ann has been working with the Open Media Foundation tools since they were first created at Denver Open Media. She has been involved with organizing and presenting at numerous conferences on the subject of community media, technology and the Open Media Project. Additionally, she serves as the Vice Chair of the Western Region Alliance for Community Media and also as an appointed board member on the National Board for the Alliance for Community Media. She started her community media career at Manhattan Neighborhood Network as a Production Assistant and worked her way up to being the Director of Production and Education, managing a staff of twelve and a million-dollar budget. She graduated from Antioch College, with a degree in communications and cultural anthropology.
Fun Fact: Ann's name can be rearranged into the following anagrams: "Hates Inn" and "Neat Shin".
Deborah Lastowka
Director of Community Productions
As the Director of Community Productions, Deb currently coordinates the production and educational efforts of the Open Media Foundation. Getting her start as an intern with the organization in 2006, Deb enjoys the opportunity to be creative on the job and to share this opportunity with others. Deb helps co-produce fundraising and outreach videos for local nonprofits and coordinates the educational programs of OMF as well. In addition to the work she does onsite, Deb also directs the Colorado State House Representative meetings each weekday morning when the legislative body is in session. Born and raised in the magical town of Springfield, Pennsylvania, Deb moved to Denver in the fall of 2005 and graduated from the University of Denver with a Master's degree in International and Intercultural Communication in the summer of 2007.
Fun Fact: Deb has had the nickname "Stokes", a variation of her last name, since high school.
Maria Lewis
Development Director
Maria works to build community, funding and programming for the Open Media Foundation. In the past seven years Maria has worked with a diverse range of local, regional and international organizations and non-profits including The Mid-West Immigrant and Human Rights Center, The Hellenic Institute of European and Foreign Policy and Doctors of the World-Greece. Maria graduated magna cum laude from the Honors College of Loyola University Chicago with a degree in French, Theatre and International Studies. After graduation, she was selected as a Fulbright Scholar and moved to Greece to research access to healthcare for immigrants and refugees.
Fun Fact: Once, Maria found a pink, brown and cream knit hat with buttons in a freight elevator and four years later, she's still wearing it.
Brian Hiatt
Director of Technology
Brian works in the Web & IT department and focuses on refining the organization's systems and developing collaboration between the Open Media Foundation and other like-minded organizations. Brian’s varied background reflects an ongoing effort to situate himself at the intersection of technology, mass media and localized community development. In 2006, Brian co-founded Civic Pixel, a web development firm dedicated to working with nonprofits and small businesses dedicated to positive change. In 2008, Civic Pixel merged with the Open Media Foundation, becoming the web development arm of the nonprofit organization. Brian graduated summa cum laude in international affairs from CU Boulder. During college he spent significant time studying computer science, graphic design and foreign languages.
Fun Fact: Brian thinks fun facts are stupid and isn't much of a team-player anyway, so he has no fun facts in his bio.
Sharee Dieringer
Art Director
Sharee manages all design needs for the Open Media Foundation as the Creative Lead for the Web & IT department. Since 2006, she has designed and project managed over 65 websites for non-profits and small businesses clients. Sharee has experience from working at design firms serving local, national and international clients designing logos, print, environmental, and web materials. She graduating summa cum laude from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design with a degree in Graphic Design and Multimedia.
Fun Fact: If Sharee had the power to give any animal the ability to talk to people she would choose an elephant because they are smart and have good memories and would use many beautiful words in the English language.
John Montgomery
Project Manager
John works at the Open Media Foundation in the Web & IT department managing the Open Media Project, as well as coordinating with the Studio Director of Denver Open Media. He has web experience from working as the IT manager for a law firm, and as a project manager for a software company. John has been involved in supporting community media and LGBT organizations and has a very strong passion for community media and civic engagement. John relocated from Long Beach, California and is currently serving as an Americorps’ CTC VISTA volunteer.
Fun Fact: If John could pick a soundtrack for his life, it would be Christopher R'riley playing Radiohead in True Love Waits plus the latest Kylie Minogue track for the dance breaks.
Erin Yepis
Project Manager
Erin works with the Web & IT department managing web development projects and is involved in creating documentation and support for the Open Media Project. She has experience in marketing and communications from working with the Marketing Department of Gainesville Regional Utilities for almost two years; in support of their growing Conservation Services team, she coordinated several energy efficiency programs which included the Low-Income Energy Efficiency Program (LEEP), a 100K CFL push and the nation's first Solar Feed-in-Tarriff for Solar PV customers. She grew up in Gainesville, FL where she completed her BA at the University of Florida in 2007 as an English major.
Fun Fact: Erin's favorite children's book is "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster.
Rad Anzulovic
Drupal Themer/Developer
Rad Anzulovic designed and hand coded his first website in 1997 and hasn't stopped learning since. Theming in Drupal makes him almost as happy as riding his bike, but gets frustrated when his non-tech friends don't even understand what Drupal theming is. In addition to his strong skills in Drupal and standards based front end development, he has an extensive background in image editing spanning over two decades. He occasionally gets off his mountain bike to teach Photoshop, Illustrator, and broadcast video design with the Final Cut Studio.
Dean Tebbe
Systems Administrator
Dean is originally from Colton, South Dakota, and has training from all over! He has been in Denver 20 years now, with two beautiful & active daughters. Besides playing the role of soccer or softball coach every weekend, Dean is instrumental here at DOM because every wire or cable that exists in the studio, he ran. We rely on him to help us troubleshoot any technical problems that may arise, from the telephones to the servers. We rarely get to see him around here, as he is busy developing his writing skills for film/video projects outside of the office. He is a key player here, as he has been with the team from the very beginning.
Fun Fact: Like the rest of the Tech Team, Dean does not believe in fun. For the most part, he also doesn't believe in facts.
Laura Graves
Contract Community Producer/Intern Manager
Laura produces the live cablecast of the Colorado State Legislature at the State Capitol, as well as manages the interns at the Open Media Foundation. Laura has worked in non-profit administration, program directing and volunteer/intern management for a variety of non-profits and has over a decade of experience teaching across the US & internationally. Laura holds degrees in Experiential Education and Wilderness Studies/Forestry from the Universities of Missouri and Montana, a Video Editing degree from the Colorado Film School, as well as Volunteer Coordination Certification with Americorps.
Fun Fact: Laura's favorite three smells are the residue of campfire in her clothes, the ocean and coffee.
Jeff Villano
Business & Finance Director
Jeff works with the Open Media Foundation to provide daily operations and administrative support to both staff and members. His business background ranges from traditional corporate accounting & finance, to explosive-growth startups. He has helped develop and implement business plans up to $14M. Jeff has experience with business operations encompassing a broad range of industries, including legal, medical, automotive, and non-profits. Jeff graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Finance.
Fun Fact: Jeff has hung out with Boy George ("your typical reserved English bloke, when not in makeup") and Dennis Rodman ("as crazy as you would expect, times ten!").
Lynne Sprague
Contract Video/Production Coordinator
Lynne Sprague, a long-time community organizer, fell in love with media work when she realized that a part of strengthening communities is the ability to tell stories of resistance and liberation. She's wrapping up a course of study in Production/Post Production at the Colorado Film School with an emphasis in documentary work and is excited to be a part of the Open Media Foundation.
Leo Kacenjar
Web Developer
Leo is a web developer who was introduced to the Open Media Foundation through running DU's Digital Media Outreach Center. He spent a year learning all about Drupal and OMF, then was excited to stay on. He is currently finishing his Masters in Digital Media Studies at DU. Leo's interests lie in bridging digital media, art, and environment. His current project is the Digital Garden on Leetsdale.
