Finance Coordinator, Jen Ahlstrom
Online Marketing & Outreach Coordinator,
Liza Brice
IT / Facilities Coordinator, Jessica
Drammeh
Distribution
Manager, Kristen Fitzpatrick
Consultant -
Production Assistance Program, Tracie Holder
Educational
Sales & Marketing Coordinator,
Stephanie Houghton
Finance & Administrative Manager, Maya Jakubowicz
Office Manager,
Amy O'Hara
Production Assistance Program Coordinator,
Merrill
Sterritt
Sales & Marketing Manager,
Julie
Whang
Executive
Director, Debra
Zimmerman
WMM
Board Page

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Jen Ahlstrom, Finance Coordinator (x304)
financeassist@wmm.com
Jen Ahlstrom, originally from New Jersey, graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut with a degree in Music and moved to Spanish Harlem soon afterwards. A long-time video editing aficionado with internship experience at major TV networks as well as small independent production companies, she decided to take a position at a documentary film company that specialized in international films about tea (yes, tea the drink). She worked there as marketing coordinator, finance coordinator, and office manager for over two years while pursuing music on the side. After moving to Brooklyn in 2008, she
traveled to San Francisco to record her first record of original
music, a project entitled Elizabeth Rex(www.elizabethrex.com), which will be released in Fall 2009. She is also the keyboard player/singer in a 70s cover band. She joined WMM as finance coordinator in 2009 and is happy to be supporting films by and about women.
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Liza
Brice, Online Marketing & Outreach Coordinator (x317) lbrice@wmm.com
Liza has been thinking about how
to creatively approach the feminist struggle all her life,
starting way back when she was a queer at-risk kid growing up in
the well-to-do suburbs of Long Island. As a Gender Studies major
and Scholar at the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers
University, Liza decided the best way for her to develop
feminist leadership was through the production and promotion of
feminist art and media. Author of “Moving through Message:
Feminist Counter Narratives for Social Change,” to be published in Leading The Way: Young Women's Leadership for Social Change, Liza is now obsessed with promoting the films and videos of Women Make Movies through the
World Wide Web, among other interesting places. Newly planted in
Brooklyn, Liza looks forward to
earning a PhD in Feminist & Queer Studies, rocking out in a feminist punk band, unraveling patriarchy
and transmitting transformative feminism wherever she goes.
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Jessica
Drammeh, IT / Facilities Coordinator
(x316) jdrammeh@wmm.com
Jessica has been involved in the independent
film community in New York for 10 years, and has experience in
production, distribution, exhibition and non-profit administration.
After earning her B.F.A. in Film and Television Production from
New York University with a minor in Africana Studies, she worked
at distributor Kino International, the IFP/NY, Film Forum and
was Post-Production Associate on Thomas Allen Harris' E Minha
Cara/That's My Face. As an independent filmmaker, she has concentrated
on social issue documentaries, and has been the recipient of mentorships
from the Center for Asian American Media, IFP’s Project:Involve,
and Film/Video Arts. Jessica has also been active in progressive
mixed race community work. She is delighted to be a part of the
Women Make Movies team.
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Kristen
Fitzpatrick, Distribution Manager
(x305) kfitzpatrick@wmm.com
Kristen Fitzpatrick came to WMM in May of 2000 as an
intern. Originally a Criminal Justice student, once graduated
from the academy, she realized she could never truly be a cop
and decided instead to go into Cinema Studies, as being a film
geek was truly who she was. She then studied Film at Florida
Atlantic University, and received a B.A. in Communications in
2004. Before moving to NYC, Kristen worked as an assistant
programmer and projectionist at the Florida International Film
Series for 2 years and was very active in the LGBT community in
South Florida, acting as a youth counselor and Guardian ad Litem.
As the Distribution Manager at WMM, Kristen is responsible for
supervising the day-to-day operations in the Distribution
department, handles any inventory related issues, is primary
liaison for all filmmakers and works directly with all
constituency festivals to get them the films they need. She is
also currently a screener for the New Directors Film Festival, a
judge for the Student Academy Awards, the New York Asian
American International Film Festival, and a documentary judge
for New York Festivals. Kristen is also on the CANN curriculum
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Tracie Holder, Consultant
- Production Assistance Program
(x307) tholder@wmm.com
As the Program Consultant for the Production Assistance Program,
Tracie organizes skill building workshops, a Meet the Funder series, and works with fiscally sponsored filmmakers to fine tune their funding proposals, screen rough cuts and provide fundraising advice. When she is not consulting for WMM, Tracie is making films. She is the co-producer/director/
writer of JOE PAPP IN FIVE ACTS, a feature-length documentary and a co-production with PBS/American Masters which is in the final stages of completion. For this project, she has been awarded funding from numerous public and private foundations including: NEA, NEH, NYSCA, NYCH, the Foundation for Jewish Culture, the Sulzberger Foundation, CPB, PBS/American Masters, ITVS, the J.M. Kaplan Fund, among others. An active member of NYC’s local film community, Tracie
has served on the boards of New York Women in Film & Television and Manhattan Neighborhood Network, and she has been a guest lecturer at many film organizations and universities. Just recently, she received a Masters in Non-Profit Management from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service.
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Stephanie
Houghton, Educational Sales &
Marketing Coordinator (x312)
shoughton@wmm.com
Born and raised in the Midwest, Stephanie developed a love of film at an early age.
While working her way towards a B.A. in Communication-Media Studies, she surrounded herself in her favorite medium in a variety of ways such as working at an independent video store,
joining the local independent filmmaker's coalition and interning in film marketing and promotions. Deciding to give big city living a try, Stephanie moved to New York in 2005 and lucked into a position in film distribution. After briefly exploring another career option, she missed film too much and was excited for the opportunity to join WMM in July 2008.
As the Educational Sales and Marketing coordinator, Stephanie's happy to get the chance to share her passion for great films, learning, and social action with others.
When not working she can be found wandering about NYC in search of her other interests; food, socializing, and new life experiences.
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Maya Jakubowicz, Finance & Administrative Manager
(x309) mjakubowicz@wmm.com
Maya Jakubowicz joined WMM in June of 2007 as the Finance &
Administrative Manager. Born and raised in Los Angeles, film was
an integral part of her childhood and unsurprisingly blossomed
into a career. After graduating with a Film Studies degree from
the University of California, Santa Barbara, she returned to L.A.
to work in film production. Her early career included the obligatory
production assistant jobs on independent films; internships at
both Samuel Goldwyn Films and Trimark Pictures; and finally, an
assistant position at Montana Artists Agency, a below-the-line
talent agency. Maya moved her way up the ranks and by the end
of her seventh year she oversaw all day-to-day operations as the
Vice President of Finance & Operations. Deciding that her
run at Montana was a long and fulfilling one, she chose to accompish
another long term goal --- living in New York City. In May 2007,
she moved to Brooklyn in order to experience some East Coast living.
Responsible for the Finance, Operations, and Human Resources functions
at WMM, Maya is excited to have become part of the WMM team.
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Amy O'Hara, Office Manager (x300)
ao@wmm.com
After graduating from Bard College, Amy O’Hara taught English at Europa Universität Viadrina in Frankfurt and der Oder, Germany, worked at Kitchen Sink Press in Northampton, MA and finally landed in Provincetown, MA where she spent 9 years first working as a chef and then as the office manager at the Fine Arts Work Center. Throughout her teenage years and adulthood Amy has been flirting with film, from creating movies with her brother and cousins as a teenager to working at small, independently owned cinemas and video stores to doing craft service for friends’ movie productions. Recently relocated to New York City, Amy is thrilled to be a part of Women Make Movies.
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Merrill Sterritt, Production
Assistance Program Coordinator (x302) msterritt@wmm.com
Merrill Sterritt, a child of transatlanticism, moved to New York City in 2002. While receiving a BFA in Film and Television Production from NYU, she interned for the Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival and for Women Make Movies. After graduation, she focused on post-production before returning to WMM as the Executive Assistant. She has since been promoted to Program Coordinator where she is in charge of day-to-day operations for the Fiscal Sponsorship Program. Merrill also works as an editor on independent films and documentaries.
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Julie
Whang, Sales & Marketing Manager
(x320) jwhang@wmm.com
A west coast native, Julie has been living and
working in NYC since 1995. She received her BA in Visual Arts
Media from the University of California, San Diego where her passion
for film and video began. Her first job in NYC was with WMM, starting
as an intern, moving up to shipper and then Distribution Manager.
After four years at WMM she left to pursue an MS in Nonprofit
Management at New School University. She worked in various nonprofits
until one day, she was led to a job in financial services marketing.
After seven years, Julie returns to WMM as the Sales and Marketing
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Debra Zimmerman, Executive Director
(x301) dzimmerman@wmm.com
Debra Zimmerman has been the Executive Director of Women Make Movies,
a non-profit NY based film organization which supports women filmmakers,
since 1983. During her tenure it has grown into the largest distributor of films
by and about women in the world. Films from WMM have won prizes at the last three
Sundance Film Festivals including this year’s Best Documentary World Cinema prize
for ROUGH AUNTIES and last year’s THE GREATEST SILENCE: RAPE IN THE CONGO.
She is in great demand around the world as a speaker on independent film distribution,
marketing and financing as well as on women's film. She has moderated panels and given
master classes at the Sundance Film Festival, MIPDOC and Reel Screen as well as film
festivals in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. Zimmerman has been closely affiliated
with the International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA) as the co-host of the
Talk of the Day and as a tutor for their Summer Film Academy.
In addition, she has mentored filmmakers at the Ex-Oriente Film Workshop in
Vienna and for many years at the National Alliance of Latino Independent Producers’
(NALIP) Academy. She has consulted with foundations and non-profit arts
organizations, most recently as a member of the Gender Montage Advisory Board project
for the Open Society Institute. She is also a member of numerous Advisory Boards for
media and film organizations, including the Australian International Documentary
Conference (AIDC); the True/False Film Festival; Cinema Tropical, NY; Arts Afrika,
Kenya and the International Female Film Festival Malmo, Sweden.
She has also been a jury member for many international film festivals,
and regularly sits on foundation and government funding panels.
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