Staff
Max Becker (he/him)
Director of Technical & Facilities Operations
Max has been with the organization since 2008. He studied Filmmaking at The Minneapolis College of Art & Design and co-founded Northern Outpost Media, a production company that started as an online web series focusing on the Twin Cities music scene and expanded to produce numerous music videos for local and national artists. Outside of his work in film, Max is an avid cyclist, musician, and home remodeler.
Bethany Gladhill (she/her)
Business Director
Bethany joined FilmNorth as the Interim Business Director in 2012…and at some point noticed that the word “Interim” had fallen off of her title. She joined FilmNorth after almost 20 years in theater management (including at Theatre de la Jeune Lune, the Jungles and Nautilus Music Theater) and several years of consulting. She has her BA in Drama and English from Tufts University, and her MA in Historic Preservation from Goucher College. Bethany handles FilmNorth’s finance and HR needs, as well as the Fiscal Sponsorship program, which currently has over fifty active projects. A part-time employee, she also consults with a number of other organizations (ranging from circuses to labor unions, think tanks to theaters) in nonprofit management, as well as in evaluation, strategic planning, and access — all skillsets that come to play in her work with the FilmNorth team. That said, she has especially enjoyed learning about the unique complexities of the film world, and hopes to never stop learning!
Mackenzie Lofgren (she/her)
AmeriCorps CTEP Member, Youth Instructor
Mackenzie received her Bachelor of Arts in Screenwriting from DePaul University in 2018. Mackenzie has worked at Safehouse Pictures and Parkes/MacDonald Image Nation in Los Angeles, writing coverage and evaluating script submissions, and she has also worked as a script reader and story analyst for the Atlanta Film Festival, Script2Screen, The Writer’s Lab, and the PAGE Awards. Mackenzie also has a background in sports broadcasting, working as a Production Assistant and Associate Producer for NBC Sports Chicago from 2018-2020. Mackenzie joined FilmNorth in September, as the Youth Programs Instructor for their free after school program, JuiceMedia. When not reading scripts, seeing movies, or talking about movies, Mackenzie enjoys exploring new neighborhoods of the city and playing with her dog, Imelda.
Eric Mueller (he/him)
McKnight Program Administrator
Eric oversees the McKnight Fellowships for Media Artists program at FilmNorth. He has worked in the Twin Cities as a filmmaker, producer, and photographer for 30 years. As a filmmaker he has received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Film Institute, the Bush Foundation, the Jerome Foundation, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. His 1993 feature film, World and Time Enough, won Best Picture at Frameline’s San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and is distributed by Strand Releasing. As a producer, he worked at Motion504, Splice, Gasket Studios, and HDMG; he was also director of production for the Minnesota Film Board from 1999-2001. As a photographer, his work has shown in multiple group shows, including the Plains Art Museum, The Midwest Center for Photography, Head On Photo Festival, and the Columbus Museum of Art. His first photography book, Family Resemblance, was published by Daylight Books in May of 2020.
Nancy Paul (she/her)
Development Director
Nancy has served as FilmNorth’s Development Director since 2014. Working with the Board of Directors and staff, Nancy oversees fundraising and grant management for the organization, including researching new funding prospects, identifying sustainable programming, and grant writing and reporting. She has 20 years of experience in nonprofit development and administration. Former positions include the Volunteer Coordinator for the Minnesota AIDS Project (now Justus Health) and the Program and Development Associate for the Mental Health Association of Minnesota (now Mental Health Minnesota). Nancy has a background in theatre as an actress, director, playwright, and former Board Member of Four Humors Theater in Minneapolis. She holds a BA in Theatre (Acting and Directing) from the College of Fine Arts at Illinois State University in Normal, IL.
Andrew Peterson (he/him)
Executive Director
In addition to being the Executive Director of FilmNorth, the leading filmmaker support organization in the Upper Midwest, Andrew serves as Director of Programming for the Provincetown International Film Festival, a position he’s held since 2006. From 2008-2012 Andrew served as Vice President of Production for Werc Werk Works, an independent film production and finance company, where he co-produced the feature films Howl (Sundance Opening Night 2010), Life During Wartime (Venice, Toronto, New York 2009), Thin Ice (Sundance 2011), and Darling Companion (Sony Pictures Classics, 2011). His other producing credits include World and Time Enough, Older Than America and the segment “This Car Up” for Boys Life 4: Four Play. Andrew holds an MFA from New York University Graduate Film School, where he was named Best Director and Best Screenwriter, and has taught filmmaking at Macalester and Middlebury Colleges. He regularly consults independent films and film festivals.
Merit Thursday (they/them)
Youth Programs Director | Cinema Lounge Host
Merit is a filmmaker, educator, and curator. They are passionate about offering accessible media literacy, about building community through artistic collaboration, and about celebrating beginners at every stage! When they’re not making movies or talking about movies, Merit is biking or hanging out with their little dog.
Reilly Tillman (he/him)
Deputy Director | Education Director
Reilly has served as FilmNorth’s Education Director since 2002, coordinating up to 100 classes and workshops annually in screenwriting, film production, editing, animation, and photography. He also administers a variety of innovative educational programs for FilmNorth including Stories 55 (a filmmaking program for older adults), film production classes for persons with disabilities (in collaboration with the Courage Kenny Institute), and a film arts learning series for underrepresented communities, funded by the Minnesota State Arts Board. He also helps coordinate FilmNorth’s annual Forum, the region’s premier filmmaking conference. In 2012 Reilly began serving as FilmNorth’s Deputy Director, continuing to serve as Education Director. He holds a BA in Communications (Radio-TV-Film) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a documentary filmmaker. A lifelong musician, Reilly has performed for many years as a member of the Minnesota Chorale and Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps.
Deacon Warner (he/him)
FilmNorth Academy
Deacon joined FilmNorth in 2007 as Youth Programs Director. He expanded youth programming to include after school programming, summer camps, in-school residencies, and professional opportunities. Deacon also oversees the Twin Cities Young Filmmaker Coalition, a student-led network of college-age filmmakers, and is lead instructor for FilmNorth Academy, a summer institute for students pursuing a career in film. As an independent filmmaker, he has produced and directed a number of short documentaries including the award winning Bee-Sharp Honeybee and Peaceful Warriors: on the road with Vets for Peace. Deacon recently completed his first feature documentary, The Co-op Wars, which played in film festivals and aired on Twin Cities PBS (tpt). Before working at FilmNorth, Deacon was a social studies teacher at North High in Minneapolis and founder of the Polar Producers after-school documentary team.
Board of Directors
Bianca Rhodes, Production & Sponsorship Coordinator, Saint Paul Neighborhood Network; Associate Producer, WCCO’s Urban Perspectives; Owner, BLovely Productions and LeMae Photography, President
Kellan Anderson Lee, Business Affairs for Target Creative, Target, Co-Vice President
Jeremy Wilker, Owner, Filmmaker, Cinematographer, TWEAK Digital, Co-Vice President
Sam Burnham, Audit Associate for Not-For-Profit Group, Abdo, Eick & Meyers, LLP, Treasurer
Warren Harmon, Owner, City Lights Media, Secretary
Chris Barry, Senior Director/Creative Director, Yellow Tag Productions, Best Buy
Valérie Déus, Writer, Film Curator, Professor
Alison Guessou, Narrative Filmmaker, Producer
Naomi Ko, Filmmaker, Writer, Actor, Comedian, Cultural Producer
Rebecca McDonald, CEO and Founder, BFRESH Productions
Sherry Meek, Managing Director of Programming, Twin Cities PBS (tpt)
Jamie Schumacher, Program Officer, Creative Placemaking, Lending, LISC Twin Cities
David Weiser, Business Attorney
Missy Whiteman, Writer, Director, Producer, Multimedia Artist
Quinn Villagomez AKA Shimmer, Broadcast Journalist, LGBTQ Media Personality, Host, MC
Aaron Young, Entertainment Attorney, Young Entertainment Law
FilmNorth Advisory Board
Herman Milligan, Jr., The Fulton Group, LLC, Co-Chair
Dan Satorius, Satorius Law Firm, Co-Chair
Effie T. Brown, Gamechanger
Tom DeBiaso, Minneapolis College of Art & Design
Laura Gabbert, Laura Gabbert Films
Tim Grady, Adopt Films
Deirdre Haj, Film Streams
Ra’eesa Motala, Rokos Advisors
Sheryl Mousley, Walker Art Center
Elizabeth Redleaf, Werc Werk Works
Craig Rice, Cartouche Entertainment
Mary Jane Skalski, Echo Lake Entertainment
Christine Walker, New Globe Films
Hugh Wronski, Landmark Theaters
