NATALIE GEE DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING
Natalie is the Director of Programming at Indie Street Film Festival and the short film programmer for the Brooklyn and UnLonely Film Festival. She's previously been on the Oscar qualifying short film jury for the Bermuda International Film Festival, where she programmed a short's retrospective for BIFF's 20th anniversary. In addition, she's on the screening committee for Telluride, Hamptons, Montclair & Tribeca. She recently curated a feminist film night at the Brooklyn Museum celebrating the female gaze. Natalie is an actor and filmmaker and her short film, All Is Not Lost premiered at the Oscar qualifying festival, HollyShorts.
AMANDA LYNN VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Red Bank native and RBR graduate, Amanda Lynn joined the RiverCenter team in 2012 to strengthen its many public programs and events. Prior to that, Amanda had worked with RiverCenter as a production manager for Red Hot Publishing. Her more than 20 years experience in media relations, print production, and graphic design as well as real estate and restaurant service, coupled with her ability to keep three, four, or more balls in the air at one time and a passion for all things Red Bank, has been a winning recipe for the RiverCenter and the Indie Street Film Festival alike.
RACHEL MARY COX TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Rachel Mary Cox returned to film in 2014, after a decade working in the music industry as an Artist Manager, Label Founder, and Event Producer. Her background in film production, incl. a BA in Film Studies from Columbia University, paired with her experience in live sound and recording, led her to expand her technical knowledge on the film festival circuit. She currently serves as Print Traffic Manager for the Hamptons International, Nantucket, and Brooklyn Film Festivals. She has also been on the Theater Operations team for Tribeca Film Festival, DOC NYC, Turner Classic Movies FF, and the Architecture and Design FF. In addition to working behind the scenes, she is an actor and playwright, studying with the likes of John Strasberg, Gene Frankel, and John Gould Rubin, and a participant in Tom Noonan’s Sweatshop writers/actors group. She was Director of Events for Planet Connections Theatre Festivity and their Music Fest Director from 2012-2014, and her original play, Bruised and Confused, had its debut reading at the La MaMa ETC in New York’s East Village. She is currently based in Denver, CO.
RIC SICILIANO DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Ric Siciliano has 20+ years of marketing, advertising, sales and new business development experience working for various companies that span the media arena in the New York and New Jersey Metro areas. As a seasoned marketing and sales specialist, Ric has trained and managed sales teams of 6-15 professionals, generating tens of millions of dollars in new revenue for CBS, Univision, Screenvision, the leading US Cinema Advertising Network, QXR, QEW, QCD101.9, Z100 radio and Furious Films productions. More recently Ric has worked as a consultant and independent contractor for Omnifarious Innovative Solutions helping companies leverage the power of media advertising, including social media platforms. Ric started his career as a music video producer right out of college and garnered a gold record with the Arista recording group Whodini.
KEVIN LAIBSON FESTIVAL COORDINATOR
Kevin Laibson is a producer, artist, and coordinator for live events in person, online, and in virtual and augmented reality. Formerly the artistic director of the Peoples Improv Theater in Manhattan and co-founder of Magic Futurebox in Brooklyn. They’ve been a theater curator for The Tank as well as produced the late-night arm for the Obie-winning Ice Factory Festival and with the Public Theater’s Mobile Shakespeare Unit. Their digital work has been featured at SXSW, SIGGRAPH, nominated for an innovation award by the PGA, a finalist for the AWExr Auggie award, and won some festival awards and a Webby. Kevin teaches on faculty at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School for NYU-Tisch.
NICK MCCARTHY PROGRAMMING CONSULTANT / ADVISOR
Nick McCarthy the Programming & Operations Manager at NewFest, New York's LGBT Film and Media Arts Organization. In addition to NewFest's annual New York LGBT Film Festival in October, Nick curates and manages year-round programming at NewFest, including OutCinema with NYC Pride and two monthly screening programs--the screening and talkback series NewFest at The Center Presents and the retrospective series Coming Out Again at Quad Cinema. Prior to joining NewFest in 2016, Nick worked in the fields of academic publishing and film journalism, as well as international media from 2013 - 2016, serving as a Production Coordinator of the female-led, MENA-region talk show "NIDA’A." Nick received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing and Visual Arts & Media Studies from Emerson College, and has written about film and culture for such publications as Slant Magazine, Time Out New York, NBC News, and the Boston Phoenix. Nick was born and raised in Red Bank, NJ and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
JOHN D. LEE PROGRAMMING CONSULTANT / ADVISOR
JOHN D. LEE is a film consultant specializing in advising filmmakers with grant proposals, pitch preparation, PR/Marketing and festival strategy. He also consults with organizations such as Ghetto Film School and Film Fatales on programming and events. Lee previously served as the Manager of Scripted Programming for the Tribeca Film Institute where he managed programs including Tribeca All Access, TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund, Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize and the IWC Filmmaker Award. He is a graduate of NY Institute of Technology with a B.A. in Communication Arts.
CASSIE GALASETTI PRESS DIRECTOR
Cassie has over fifteen years of experience in the entertainment and media fields in New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles. As co-founder of Social Sidekick Media, Branding & Public Relations she has secured her clients in The New York Times, Star Ledger, SheKnows.com, TODAY Show, ABC News, Asbury Park Press, Fox News, Playbill, WBGO Radio, just to name a few. Cassie was recently named a “PR Boss to Watch” by one of the top recognized Public Relations industry sourcebooks, PRCouture.com. Glamour Magazine called her a "#GirlBoss" and included her advice in various articles. Cassie is a graduate of Monmouth University and a member of New York Women in Communications, Alliance for Women in Media, Public Relations Society of America and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.
EVAN JONES ASSOCIATE GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Evan Jones is a Concept Artist and Designer. A recent graduate of The College of New Jersey Evan finished with a B.A in Interactive Multimedia and a Communication Minor. Evan joined the Indie Street Film Festival to support local artists and meet like minded creative individuals. Since graduating, he has focused on growing his portfolio with his own designs and concepts. A Graphic Artist, Designer, and Illustrator, Evan is a jack-of-all-trades looking to work with incredible people and create incredible magic.
