Board members

Board of Directors

Nina Barlow Glover

President

Nina is an independent accountant for small business and non-profit organizations.  She loves helping DAFT support the next generation of Michigan's film and video artists.

Stephany Harbison

Vice President

Stephany is Romeo High School's Video Production teacher and joined the DAFT board in the Fall of 2016. She loves films and love encouraging her students to follow their passion of filmmaking. Her program began as a club and quickly grew into a highly sought after elective. She became interested in DAFT because it had been so helpful to her students and for its programs, training and overall hard work!

Jennifer Williamson

Secretary

Jennifer began her media career in the television industry working at several stations across Michigan. She spent the majority of her time at WXYZ in Southfield. After completing her study of Communications at the University of Michigan and Television Production at Specs Howard School of Media Arts, she decided to pursue a teaching career and obtain her teaching degree from Wayne State University and later on, her Masters in Media Arts from Wayne State. She began teaching digital media arts in 2008 at GASC Technology Center in Genesee County. Currently, she teaches media at West Bloomfield High School and is the co-producer of the Orchard Lake Film Festival.

Kevin Walsh

Treasurer / Festival Co-Director

Kevin Walsh is a freelance video producer/videographer/editor and photographer, teaches video streaming and production at Lawrence Tech University and author of Video Direct, a nationally-selling text for secondary video production.  He founded the blog MyMediaDiary.com featured regularly in Huffington Post and co-produces Digging Detroit., the historical documentary video series and podcast. His freelance production company, MMD Productions, LLC, specializes in professional, corporate and event video and photography.  Previously, Kevin taught for 28 years language arts and video productions in Royal Oak, West Bloomfield and Southfield and has served as Campus Humanities Chair for University of Phoenix's Detroit Campus and 2 years as Marketing & Enrollment Director for Motion Picture Institute in Troy.

Adam Burns

Board Member

Adam has been teaching since 2007 and started the Troy Athens TV class in 2010. He also coaches soccer at Athens and work as a creative content producer for the Troy School District.

Michael Conrad

Board Member

Mike Conrad is a teacher of Video and Television Production at Royal Oak High School, Royal Oak, Michigan. Prior to the classroom, Conrad served 20 years in the Broadcast industry, earning the ABC Radio Circle of Excellence Award in 2002.  He holds a BFA in Broadcast Communications and a MAT in Career Technical Education, both from Wayne State University, and a 1991 graduate of Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts.  In 2012, Conrad guided his students to the grand prize of Ford Motor Company's Drive One 4UR Schools national video competition. He was also recognized as the 2014 Specs Howard School Media Educator of the year, the 2017 Courageous Persuaders recipient of the Courageous Leader Award, and the 2021 DAFT Michigan Film Teacher of the Year.

Annette Frank

Board Member

Annette Frank is an arts educator and advocate who has worked in the classroom and beyond for over 35 years. She earned her Masters in Art Education from Wayne State University and taught in Dearborn Public schools and Henry Ford Community College. Annette has been part of DAFT since 1980, serving as board president for 14 years. She also worked on the production committee of the Michigan Youth Arts Festival since 1994 and coordinated their teacher grants until retiring in 2018.

Jody Gaber

Board Member

Jody Gaber is the Director of the Media Communication program in the Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Communication at Lawrence Tech.  She brings more than 20 years of experience in Los Angeles at feature film and animation studios including Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, and Walt Disney Animation.  She has also worked in a variety of management and creative positions in advertising, digital visual effects, web communication, live television, video and film production. Her film projects include working as the Art Department Coordinator on George Clooney’s “Ides of March”, Rob Reiner's "Misery", and working as Visual Effects Coordinator on Barry Sonnenfeld's "Addams Family Values".

She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Communication and Art Direction from the College for Creative Studies. Gaber also attended Otis-Parsons College of Art and Design for postgraduate studies in Production Design and she attended UCLA for postgraduate studies in Set Design.

Alex Kimbrough

Board Member

• Proud Cass Tech Alum
• Director, WJBK Fox 2 since 1986
• Freelance Director
• DAFT Board Member

Patrick Morrow

Board Member

Alisha Newsom

Board Member

Tara Plizga

Board Member

Jason Roche

Board Member

Jason Roche is an associate professor of communication studies at the University of Detroit Mercy. A documentary film director, writer, and producer, his most recent documentary Stealing Home has won multiple awards and was selected as an official entry at the 2014 Baseball Film Festival at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY.   Before moving to Michigan in 2009, Prof. Roche taught at several colleges in NY and PA, and worked as a reporter and news anchor at WSYR in Syracuse.

Jody G. Sherwin

Board Member

Jody Sherwin possesses over 30 years of experience in film, video, and corporate production, specializing in commercials, music videos, documentaries, and feature films. Prior to founding DIGI, she worked with General Motors Communications Support Group, where she contributed to significant events and received numerous national and international awards for her creative and innovative work.

In addition to her professional expertise, Jody is deeply committed to philanthropy. She founded PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) and the Barbara D. Mathews Ladybug Fund while actively supporting various community charities. Jody has also served on the Board of Detroit County Day School, further demonstrating her dedication to education and community involvement.

Kathy Vander

Board Member/Festival Co-Director

Kathy Vander is an award-winning independent filmmaker with numerous documentary directorial credits produced by Vander Films. She has also been active with DAFT for over 20 years as a participant and instructor in workshops, a past president, current DAFT board member and Michigan Student Film & Video Festival Director. She also works at LearnCom on Broadway (in Detroit!) as a Project Manager and Video Producer for web-based training and video projects.

Bill Wolbrink

Board Member

Bill has been teaching creative arts since 2003, and is currently the Media Communications instructor at the Careerline Tech Center in Holland, MI. Bill received two B.S. Degrees from Ferris State University, one in Printing Management and one in Technical Education; and also has is Masters in Career and Technical Education from Ferris State University. Bill was the 2014 recipient of the Courageous Leader Award, as a part of the Courageous Persuaders video competition the award was sponsored by Wall Street Journal, and advocates to his students the importance of creativity and competition.

DAFT Auxiliary Board

Joe Elliott

Advisory Board Member

Joe has taught student Film Making for over 20 years and recently retired from his role as Digital Media Production teacher at Henry Ford II High School in Sterling Heights. He has guided his students to national awards in Film Making at Scholastic Arts, SkillsUSA , and the “Grand Prize” Award for Volkswagen of America’s Buckle Up and Go Far” Campaign. His students have won numerous awards over the last fifteen years and have gone on to directing, producing, and editing in both the film and television industries. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Western Michigan University in Art Education, and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Saginaw Valley State University.

Ted Houser

Auxiliary Board Member

Ted Houser is a Detroit-based filmmaker and video editor. After graduating the University of Michigan in 2005, he moved to Los Angeles, working as an editor. He returned to Michigan in 2013 to focus on making films in Detroit.  Ted serves as an organizer and promoter for the Cinetopia Film Festival. He also is part of DAFT’s outreach to schools, making visits to both promote DAFT events and provide career path advice

Dave Serio

Auxiliary Board Member

David Serio is an Education and Public Programming Specialist at the Arab American National Museum (AANM).  He holds a M.A. in Near Eastern Studies and Arabic from Wayne State University.  Mr. Serio joined the AANM in January of 2011, initially as an AmeriCorps, later being hired as a full-time Educator and Public Programmer.  As an Educator and Public Programmer, Mr. Serio has conducted educational presentations and workshops throughout the Mid-West.  Mr. Serio also helps in the planning and implementation of youth programs and cultural events, such as the SURA Arts Academy, a youth photography program.  Mr. Serio is also the Curator of the Arab Film Festival and manages all of AANM’s film programming, both at AANM and at offsite locations around the world.  Mr. Serio is also the Volunteer Coordinator and responsible with growing and managing the volunteer program.  Mr. Serio continues to implement educational and cultural programming to audiences far and wide.

Jamila Taylor

Auxiliary Board Member