Staff

Michael Eisenmenger, Executive Director

Michael worked for years as a community media advocate and producer with many NYC organizations including Paper Tiger TV, Deep Dish TV, Manhattan Neighborhood Network and the Independent Media Centers (IMC). He coordinated the satellite programming for the IMC in Seattle during the WTO and for later mass protests in Washington DC and Mexico. Prior to that, he taught for 8 years as an assistant professor at Rutgers University teaching media and design.

Michael also co-founded Media Jumpstart in 2000, a non-profit organization providing web, database and technical assistance to the NYC progressive non-profit community. Michael later helped launch and directed the daily news program Grit TV with Laura Flanders in 2008. Michael is currently the executive director of the Community Media Center of Marin which has been in operation since 2009.

Megan Loretz, Director of Programs

Megan grew up in San Rafael and attended San Rafael High School. She transferred to UC Santa Cruz from College of Marin with the intention of becoming a therapist until she was drawn to a more creative field in film and digital media making. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Film and Digital Media and a minor in Psychology.

As a freelance editor, Megan has been working on a feature film about female MCs in the Bay Area. She has been the Digital Media Coordinator at the Community Media Center of Marin since 2010.

Jill Lessard, Director of Operations

During her 20-year career in network television, Jill won a Publicists Guild of America award for managing ABC’s national media campaign for the groundbreaking sit-com “Ellen”; was Senior Writer/Editor for ABC.com and Oscar.com, and hosted the first live webcast of the Emmy Awards. Teaching Multimedia Communications at her old hometown high school, she was nominated for 2011 New Hampshire Teacher of the Year.

Since moving to the Bay Area, Jill has co-produced numerous video segments for Marin TV’s “Seriously Now” and won top honors in the 2013 and 2014 Hometown Media Awards. She has a B.S. in Radio/TV/Film Production and master’s degrees in Professional Writing and Spiritual Psychology.

Scott Calhoun, Government & Education Manager

It was 2007. Summer. The rain fell just lightly enough to make the archaeologists miserable but not enough to stop digging at a 16th Century Bishop’s Palace in Scotland. It occurred to the archaeologist from Berkeley that he might be better off with a film career.

After filming Viking runes in the Orkneys, being a Production Assistant for the Discovery Channel in Maryland, and getting a Masters degree in Colorado, Scott finally found his way to CMCM. Now, as the Government and Education Manager, he helps cities and schools in Marin to develop content for Channels 27 and 30.

Alejandro Palacios, Communications & Development Manager

Alejandro is an artist who works in responsive installations and interactive media design. He explores connections between the identities in our culture and technology and is eager to go beyond the parameters of contemporary disciplines while collaborating with other artists.

In 2010, Alejandro formed The Circumstances, an open collective that provides a platform for
artists of diverse media to create innovative pieces with the aim of making a positive social impact. He came to the new-media field from a traditional photography background where he was an early adopter of digital imaging technology.

Damion Prince Brown, Government Productions

Born in New York City, Damion grew up surrounded by artists and musicians. Moving to the West Coast, he attended the San Francisco Academy of Art and the Art Institute, where he studied sculpture, photography, film, and video production. He produced a number of videos featuring notable artists such as Arthur Oakamura, Ronald Garrigues, and Byron Randall. He also worked in the Art Department for the Disney film "Flubber."

Damion traveled to Russia to film the UFO documentary "Out of the Blue," which earned a rave review from TV Guide. He is a much-recognized figure in the Marin County political scene, covering Government meetings and events. "I love the thrill of live shoots," he says.

Adam McLaughlin, Instructor/Station Assistant

Adam McLaughlin has worked in comedy and writing for over 10 years. Upon moving to California after growing up in New York and a quick bout in Japan, Adam taught comedy writing and script doctoring at the San Francisco Comedy College. After writing a comedic play based on The Twilight Zone's “Talking Tina,” which sold out repeatedly at The Dark Room in San Francisco, he started writing radio advertisements for DSX Data and worked with Stan Lee on a twitter campaign for Leap Motion.

Adam writes and produces multiple online comedy channels, including aCoupleofN3rds, Wackygamer, and Animaltrash, and has been recognized for his work by Daily Mail, The Huffington Post, Glamour Online (no, really), and KTVU's Right This Minute.

Kryss Solis, Final Cut Pro Instructor

Kryss has been fascinated with video production from a young age. He and his brother would create videos, even doing their own video to Tupac’s song “Dear Mama.” In High School, Kryss participated in San Rafael High’s Weekly Newscast, the Media Academy, and its video slide show. For his involvement in many productions, he was honored as Broadcast Student of the Year.

Kryss attended San Francisco State University and graduated with a B.A. in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts. During college, he became CMCM’s very first intern, and a couple of years later, he became the Final Cut Pro instructor.

Jeanette Egenlauf, Field Camera Instructor

Jeanette attended Marymount College, but after her first year decided a hands-on program was what she wanted. At Berkley Digital Film Institute (BDFI) she studied the camera, learned how to edit, wrote scripts, directed, and produced a variety of videos. After graduating, she started her own film production company, Art Created Evolution.

Jeanette has worked with LeToya Luckett, a former member of Destiny's Child, and Jason Estrada of Estrada Fitness, among others. She is writing and developing an original TV series as well as documentaries that are currently in pre-production.

Francisco Diaz, Station Assistant

Francisco was born in Mexico and has lived in San Rafael since he was five. He learned Final Cut Pro as a teenager.

Francisco has worked on various productions including "Why We Come," a film detailing the stories of immigrants from the Canal neighborhood, and "Braceros", a story about the struggles of migrant workers from Tlaxcala to obtain back-wages owed by the Mexican Government for their work in the U.S. He obtained his A.A in Anthropology from Santa Rosa Junior College and is pursuing his B.A at SF State. Francisco hopes to use his ethnographic and media skills to continue his work in activism and community advocacy.

Jenny Thornburg, Digital Media Assistant

Jenny was born in Berkeley, and went to high school in Napa. After attending Napa Valley College for two years, she transferred to San Francisco State University, earning a B.A. in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts with an emphasis in audio production.

Since graduating from SFSU, Jenny has worked on numerous projects around the Bay Area. Her expertise and experience include recording and mixing music at various recording studios; editing dialogue for video games; live sound, location sound, and live multi-track recording; high fidelity tape transfers; studio renovations; and creating ringtones.

Brad Flaharty, Facilities

After completing The School of Expressive Arts at Sonoma State in June 1974, Brad was hired to maintain the environment of an innovative restaurant in Sausalito – The Trident. This inspired building a studio for furniture design products that branched out into gallery work including The de Young and The Palace of Legion of Honor plus commercial design projects including Jamba Juice, Chipotle, Starbucks, Power Bars, and other subcontracting.

Political awareness became necessary and manifested as mediation training certification. CMCM became the new focus of his social involvement as a resident of Art Works Downtown. The intensity of Brad's participation in the programs helped him to understand the facilities and become useful in many support positions.