Tuesday, March 28 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM University Project Workshop Workshop Developing the Next Generation of Entertainment, Media & Technology Thinkers and Visionaries – Science vs. Commerce vs. Theory Joaquín Alvarado, Director, Institute for Next Generation Internet San Francisco State University Tracy Fullerton, Interactive Media Division, USC Cinema-TV Carol Wilder, Associate Dean & Chair, Media Studies & Film, The New School Anna Marie Piersimoni, Director, Internet Communications, Director, Media & Technology, American Film Institute Stuart Volkow, Contributing Editor, CMS Newsline Bernard J. Luskin, Director, EVP Media Studies, Fielding Graduate University, Moderator Joaquín Alvarado is the Founding Director of the Institute for Next Generation Internet at San Francisco State University. In addition to his leadership role in education, Joaquín Alvarado is also an award winning documentary filmmaker, writer, producer and director. His films have been featured in numerous film festivals, including the AFI Los Angeles International Film, the San Francisco Independent Film Festival, and the San Francisco Frameline Film Festival. As a media educator his work with students began in the 1980's when he developed the first television program in the nation to be produced by Hispanic Youth. Currently, he is a founding member of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's Digital Media Advisory Council (DMAC). DMAC is a model consortium of education, industry and government dedicated to promoting economic development through research, innovation, and community engagement. Mr. Alvarado holds a B.A. in Chicano Studies from U.C. Berkeley and an M.F.A. from the UCLA School of Film, Television, and Digital Media. Dr. Bernard J. Luskin, Director, Media Studies, Executive Vice President, Fielding Graduate University, Moderator: Presently, Dr. Luskin is Chairman and CEO of Luskin International. He is also Executive Vice President for Institutional Partnerships, and Director of the Media Studies, Media Psychology, and Community College Leadership programs at The Fielding Graduate Institute. Luskin has served as president and CEO of three colleges and universities, CEO of Fortune 10 and 50 companies, has written eight books and 200 articles. Additionally, he has produced motion pictures, television series, and CD and Video products of all types. Dr. Luskin has received lifetime achievement awards in media and education from the UCLA Doctoral Alumni Association, California State University Los Angeles, The University of Florida Institute for the Future, The European Commission, and Irish Government. Tracy Fullerton, M.F.A., is a game designer, educator and writer with fifteen years of professional experience. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Interactive Media Division of the USC School of Cinema-Television where she serves as Co-Director of the Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab. Tracy is the author of Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping and Playtesting Games, a design textbook in use at game programs worldwide. Prior to joining the USC faculty, she was President and founder of the interactive television game developer, Spiderdance, Inc. Spiderdance’s games included NBC’s Weakest Link, MTV’s webRIOT, The WB’s No Boundaries, History Channel’s History IQ, Sony Game Show Network’s Inquizition and TBS’s Cyber Bond. Before starting Spiderdance, Tracy was a founding member of the New York design firm R/GA Interactive. As a producer and creative director she created games and interactive products for clients including Sony, Intel, Microsoft, AdAge, Ticketmaster, Compaq, and Warner Bros. among many others. Notable projects include Sony’s Multiplayer Jeopardy! and Multiplayer Wheel of Fortune and MSN’s NetWits, the first multiplayer casual game. Additionally, Tracy was Creative Director at the interactive film studio Interfilm, where she wrote and co-directed the "cinematic game" Ride for Your Life, starring Adam West and Matthew Lillard. She began her career as a designer at Bob Abel’s company Synapse, where she worked on the interactive documentary Columbus: Encounter, Discovery and Beyond and other early interactive projects. Tracy’s work has received numerous industry honors including best Family/Board Game from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, ID Magazine’s Interactive Design Review, Communication Arts Interactive Design Annual, several New Media Invision awards, iMix Best of Show, the Digital Coast Innovation Award, IBC’s Nombre D’Or, and Time Magazine’s Best of the Web. In December 2001, she was featured in the Hollywood Reporter’s "Women in Entertainment Power 100" issue. Carol Wilder, Chair of the Department of Media Studies and Film and Associate Dean of The New School: (Ph.D., Rhetoric and Communication, Kent State University) is a former Communication Studies Professor and Chair, San Francisco State University; author of numerous articles and book chapters on communication theory, political communication and the media, and the rhetoric of the Vietnam/American war; and recipient of National Communication Association Book Award for Rigor & Imagination: Essays from the Legacy of Gregory Bateson. Anna Marie Piersimoni, Associate Director, New Media Ventures, American Film Institute: Anna Marie Piersimoni holds a dual role as Director, Internet Communications and Director, Media & Technology for the American Film Institute. She is responsible for all web production and internet-based electronic publishing of the AFI and contributes to development and management of key digital media programs and business, such as the k-12 Screen Education program and Digital Content Lab. Previously, as associate director, New Media Ventures and Director of Enhanced TV for the AFI, she developed the acclaimed AFI Enhanced TV Workshop, a unique hands-on R&D training environment for television professionals in the production of new convergent media, now known as the AFI Digital Content Lab. Formally a producer of broadcast on-air promotions for network, cable, and public television, she worked for ABC Entertainment, KCET Los Angeles, and E! Entertainment Television, among others. Prior to that, she worked in the cable industry as a manager of local programming and affiliate marketing, as an executive administrator for several arts, film and video organizations, and has taught video art history and criticism. Ms.Piersimoni holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The Hartford Art School, University of Hartford. Stuart Wayne Volkow has been producing TV, Video and digital media projects for over13 years. After discovering the wonders of computer graphics Stuart was drawn into both video and interactive media producing and project managing. He developed interactive educational products with Intellimation in Santa Barbara CA. and Frankfurt Balkind Interactive, where he Co-Produced the 50th Anniversary United Nations multi-media encyclopedia. He worked in feature film development and production at Phoenix Pictures Inc. under Mike Medavoy from 1994-1999. In 1999 Stuart became an Executive Producer and VP of Internet Operations for the 5th Avenue Channel (5AC) out of Miami, FL. The NASDAQ company broadcast lifestyle programming and personal financial news on Comcast and the Dish Network to 14 million homes. He produced programs such as STOCK TALK CENTRAL, BUSINESS TODAY and INSIDE HEALTH. At 5AC he was responsible for programming development and set-up one of the first online television departments to stream live TV over a content distribution network and offer an online, searchable, on-demand video archive. During this period he was also a founder of Ionic Worldwide Studios, one of the first interactive television production companies. Mr. Volkow has also worked as a freelance writer, producer and production manager on numerous television and corporate video projects. Under his Xtropia banner, Mr. Volkow’s consulting engagements have included the design and development of a digital delivery platform for the world’s largest production music library, Associated Production Music, a knowledge management technology transfer system for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an online interactive environment for chat and classified advertising for Next Encounter Inc, business development for Stealth Media Labs on the world’s leading in-motion satellite antenna system and an online E-commerce systems for major national retailers. Since 1993 Mr. Volkow has been teaching in the University of California’s extension system. He has taught over 30 courses on website production, interactive media, film and TV production, and E-Commerce for business. He has been a contributing Editor for Videography Magazine, and is a Contributing Editor to CMS Newsline, covering technology trends for media executives. Mr. Volkow has a degree in Physiology from Southern Illinois University, and is a graduate of the American Film Institute’s Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies Producing Program. He studies and teaches Yoga and Martial Arts and is a communications specialist for CA-9 Disaster Medical Assistance Team.