New York Film Academy Board of Directors |
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Oscar Bleetstein
Oscar Bleetstein brings over 20 years of experience in the financial services sector, where he has held a number of senior positions at some of the most prestigious global financial institutions, including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, AIG and Chase. While Oscar has developed expertise in a wide range of financial areas, his core focus has been on alternative asset classes, commodity derivatives, and trading strategies. His client base consists of hedge funds, mutual funds, sovereign wealth entities, family offices and ultra-high net worth individuals. A native New Yorker, Oscar previously lived in Asia and in Europe, and has traveled extensively...
Thinking globally and acting locally is a motto he puts into practice every day. Oscar is on the advisory board of a.i.r. NYC, a Harlem-based, non-profit organization dedicated to keeping asthmatic children and adults healthy, active, and out of the hospital.
Oscar holds a degree in international relations from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, and holds a Certificat d'Etudes Politiques from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po).
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Cheng Davis
Cheng Davis serves as special advisor on International Advancement to the President of Teachers College, Columbia University. Cheng also served as the vice dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and currently serves as special advisor on Internationalization Efforts to the President of the University of Pennsylvania. Before her time at Penn, Cheng served as vice president of Drexel University.
During her 17 years at Penn, Cheng founded GSE International, the first international programs office among graduate schools of education of Ivy League universities.
Cheng pioneered cross-national education research through the groundbreaking Six-Nation Education Research... Program and its successor, the Eight Nation Education Research Project, which brings together national-level researchers and policymakers from key nations in Asia, Europe and North America to conduct cooperative research on education policy.
Similarly, in cooperation with the United States Department of Education, the United States National Science Foundation, and a consortium of four schools of education including Harvard, Penn, Columbia and Michigan State, Cheng initiated an international collaborative research among nine APEC economies focused on teacher education in mathematics and science and developing models for effective instruction in those areas.
In addition to sending dozens of scholars and students abroad every year, Cheng has developed scores of specialized training programs for groups ranging from government officials and university presidents to finance executives and corporate CEOs. Among the most successful of these programs are the first training programs for CEOS and leading executives in the Chinese securities and mutual fund industries, created in conjunction with the Wharton School. Over the past six years, the Penn Securities Association of China Program and the Penn-China Mutual Fund CEO Leadership Program have trained about two hundred Chinese executives in the latest theories and practices of the U.S. finance sector.
The US-China Future Leaders Program, launched in 2010 under Cheng’s leadership, is another project that embraces her philosophy in education and culture exchanges. It boasts many high-profile officials and scholars from both the U.S. and China sitting on its advisory committee, chaired by Mr. Tung Chee Hwa, former chief executive of Hong Kong. Also working with the U.S. State Department, the program strives to promote U.S.-China relations by developing close relationships and improving mutual understanding among the rising young leaders of both nations.
Cheng enjoys a very close relationship with high-ranking officials and researchers in many Asian countries, with especially extensive and strong connections in China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), Thailand, Singapore and Japan. Among these are Presidents of China, the Princess of Thailand, ministers of education and finance, governors, and mayors of major cities.
Cheng has served as the senior observer for the Shanghai International Business Leaders Advisory Council for the past 18 years and senior advisor to Shanghai Pudong government. She worked with U.S. West Gate Group and successfully set up an all-Ivy League business school executive training center in Shanghai Pudong, including Wharton, Columbia and Harvard. She also helped Pudong establish relations with royal families and financial gurus from UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Cheng’s extraordinary achievement in international affairs has earned her numerous recognitions, among which are the President’s Award for Excellent Leadership from Drexel University, the first–ever Penn GSE Alumni Pioneers Award, and Thailand’s Outstanding Contribution Award, after she had worked closely with Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Ghakri Sirindhorn for eight years on Thailand’s education reform.
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Avy Eschenasy
Avy Eschenasy has over 20 years’ experience in motion picture business affairs. He is the principal of Eschenasy Consulting, which provides advisory services in connection with all business aspects of motion picture production, financing and distribution. Eschenasy Consulting serves independent producers and financiers in assembling finance plans and project financing, budgeting, negotiating above and below the line deals, and negotiating sales and distribution arrangements. Eschenasy Consulting also represents select U.S. distribution companies in acquiring motion pictures and negotiating distribution arrangements in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
Previously, Avy was a senior executive at Focus Features from its inception in May 2002... until December 2013, most recently serving as executive vice president, strategic planning, business affairs and acquisitions.
Prior to Focus Features, Avy was executive vice president, business affairs, at USA Films from 1999 to 2002, and senior vice president, business affairs, at October Films from 1997 to 1999. Avy began his motion picture career at New Line Cinema, where he served as vice president, business and legal affairs, from 1992 to 1997.
The many notable projects that Avy has been integral in supervising and finalizing the dealmaking process on include such Academy Award-winning films as “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Milk,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “The Constant Gardener,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Motorcycle Diaries,” “Lost in Translation,” “The Pianist,” “Gosford Park,” and “Traffic”; and such hits as “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Coraline,” “Seven,” “The Mask,” “Austin Powers,” and “Boogie Nights.”
Avy graduated from Columbia Law School in 1991 and from Harvard College in 1988.
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Jeffrey Haber (Board Chair)
Jeffrey A. Haber has specialized throughout his career in fine art, jewelry and entertainment insurance. During his decades-long insurance career, Jeffrey has brought his specialty to three major New York brokerage firms. He is presently responsible for producing and servicing some of the most high-value clientele, including world-renowned art galleries, dealers, museums, collectors, jewelers, and the entertainment community. He has been involved in writing policy language with extremely broad policy terms and conditions.
In addition, Jeffrey produces business in several other areas of insurance such as real estate, owners and developers, various retail and wholesale businesses, kidnap and ransom, life... and health, and others. He currently is an executive vice president in the fine art and jewelry division of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., one of the top brokerage firms in the world.
Jeffrey earned a BBA from the College of Insurance five-year work-study program. His college thesis compared the American and London markets for fine arts insurance.
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Paul Kelly
Paul K. Kelly is president and chief executive officer of Knox & Co., an investment banking firm specializing in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, and international financial advisory services, and president and chief executive officer of PH II, Inc., a privately held investment company engaged in making principal investments on a global basis. Knox & Co. is active in China and has had a longstanding relationship with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, jointly pursuing investment banking transactions and other matters of mutual interest.
Paul is executive director of Westgate Group, Inc., a strategic consulting firm... with an emphasis on cross-border activities between countries, particularly by China and Western nations. In this capacity, Westgate Group advises various governmental, educational, and corporate entities. Paul is also senior advisor to the Government of Pudong, the core area of the international financial center of China, in Shanghai.
Paul was a co-founder of Peers & Co., an international investment banking firm, and served as president and chief executive officer until shortly after the sale of his equity interest in the firm to Kemper Corporation during 1990. Previously, he was executive vice president and director of Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., responsible for all investment banking activities for financial institutions. Paul also served as managing director and member of the management committee of Merrill Lynch White Weld Capital Markets Group, responsible for all investment banking activities for financial institutions on a worldwide basis, and was also senior banker to Merrill Lynch & Co., the holding company for all Merrill Lynch interests. Prior to this, Paul was executive vice president, director and member of the executive committee of Blyth Eastman Dillon, where he was co-head of the Corporate Finance Department. He was responsible for all new business activities for the firm and headed the Financial Institutions Group.
Paul is a member of the board of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania; former chairman of the Huntsman Program in International Studies & Business at Penn; chairman of the advisory board of Kelly Writers House, at Penn; and a member of the board of governors of the Penn Club of New York. In addition, he is a member of the director’s advisory board of the Yale Cancer Center, a member of the visionary council of MIT Collaborative Initiatives, and co-chairman of the US-China Future Leaders Program. He is the former chairman and director of China Ceramics Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq) and a past director of American Life and Health Insurance Company of New York, The Chicago Sun-Times Corporation, Hydrox Corporation, Ltd. (New Zealand), MCR Corporation, Porta Systems Corporation (ASE), and past member of the North American Management Committee (NAMCO) of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. (MUFG).
Paul graduated with an A.B. in English from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962, received an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School in 1964, and holds an LLD (Hon.), 2006, from the University of Auckland. He has lectured on financial topics before various groups internationally and has contributed articles to a number of professional periodicals. Paul is a contributing author of The Treasurer’s Handbook (Dow Jones-Irwin) and has also appeared on a number of television shows in the United States, New Zealand, Japan and China. Paul is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, and Who’s Who in Finance and Industry.
In New Zealand, Paul was the Founder and former owner and chairman of Carrington Resort, an international golf resort located on the 3,000-acre Carrington Farms property on the Karikari Peninsula, and Edgewater Developers Ltd., a real estate development firm specializing in coastal properties. He was also the founder and owner of Karikari Estate, a vineyard and winery complex that began production in 2003. Paul is an active supporter of the University of Auckland and a former member of the advisory committee of its Business School. He was also a member of the New Zealand Business Roundtable.
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Matthew Modine
Actor Matthew Modine became a star for his performances in “Full Metal Jacket” and other successful films. Matthew moved to New York City as a teenager to pursue an acting career and studied at the Stella Adler School. He hit his stride in the 1980s with starring turns in such films as “Birdy” (1984), “Vision Quest” (1985) and “Full Metal Jacket” (1987). Matthew remains busy with a variety of film, television and theater roles, and is an avid environmentalist.
Matthew made his feature film debut in John Sayles' “Baby it's You” (1983), soon becoming one of Hollywood's hottest young actors... with his contributions to three Vietnam War-era films. The first was Robert Altman's “Streamers” (1983), in which he played a soldier preparing for decampment to battle, followed by a starring turn as the mentally unstable titular character of Alan Parker's “Birdy” (1984). In perhaps the most recognizable role of his career, he narrated the horrors of war as the independent-minded Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's “Full Metal Jacket” (1987). During this period, Modine also starred as a high school wrestler in “Vision Quest” (1985), and as an FBI agent in “Married to the Mob” (1988).
Re-teaming with Altman, Modine played Dr. Ralph Wyman opposite Julianne Moore in “Short Cuts” (1993), which won a Golden Globe for best ensemble performance. He earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his portrayal of Dr. Don Francis in the HBO movie “And the Band Played On” (1993), and received another Golden Globe nomination for his role as Sammy Ayers in the Hallmark movie “What the Deaf Man Heard” (1997).
Matthew made his feature directorial debut with the crime drama “If ... Dog ... Rabbit” (1999), and earned recurring parts in the television series “The Bedford Diaries” and “Weeds” in subsequent years. He also became more active on the stage, portraying legendary playwright Arthur Miller in “Finishing the Picture” during the Goodman Theater's 2004-05 season, and tackling the iconic role of Atticus Finch in a Hartford Stage production of “To Kill a Mockingbird” in 2009. He made his Broadway debut in the revival of “The Miracle Worker” in 2010, and contributed supporting roles in “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012) and the Sundance darling “Jobs” (2013).
Most recently, Matthew won the SAG Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series award for the role of Dr. Martin Brenner in the Netflix original series “Stranger Things,” and appears in the “Sicario” sequel “Soldado,” the thriller “47 Meters Down,” and the British comedy of manners “The Hippopotamus.”
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Kristi Nelson
Kristi Nelson retired in 2015 from the University of Cincinnati, where she served as the senior vice provost for academic affairs. She was awarded professor emeritus status by the UC board of trustees. As senior vice provost, Kristi was the provost’s chief advisor and representative for academic affairs, strategic planning and partnerships with academic units and other internal and external partners. She was a key member of the provost’s leadership team and represented the office across campus and to the Ohio Board of Regents. Kristi had major responsibility for ensuring that academic planning was an integrated process taking into consideration... faculty support, academic objectives, fiscal resources, and physical space. From November 2013 to December 2014, she served as the interim dean of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, where she had responsibility for 8000+ students, 45+ degree programs, over 450 faculty, and a $100M budget. In 2012 she served as the on-site administrator for the College of Nursing. She helped lead the creation of the UC’s Academic Master Plan, and chaired the academic committee for many years. She also served on the fiscal coordinating committee and the president’s budget advisory committee. She has provided oversight for both institutional and specialized accreditation and served as the University’s point person to the Ohio Board of Regents for new programs and transfer and articulation.
Kristi was instrumental in establishing a women’s leadership program at UC along with other women leaders on campus and was active for many years with the Ohio Women’s Network where she served as state co-coordinator. Over the years she has mentored many women at UC interested in advancing their professional careers in a variety of ways.
Kristi taught honors study abroad classes for a number of years and enjoys taking students to Italy. She holds a Ph.D. in art history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an undergraduate degree from Florida State University. Prior to joining the provost office, she served as associate dean in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. She has served as the president for the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and on several committees with the College Art Association. Her specialty in art history is in the area of Dutch and Flemish art; she has published “Jacob Jordaens: Design for Tapestry” and curated and wrote the catalogue for Dutch Drawings and Watercolors from the Kharkiv Museum of Art, which was exhibited at the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati. She received the University of Cincinnati President’s Award for Excellence in August 2015, the Excellence in Teaching and Distinguished Service Award from the University Honors Program in April 2015, and the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design in October 2015.
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Jean Sherlock (CEO, New York Film Academy)
Jean Sherlock joined the New York Film Academy in 1996, serving in various capacities until taking on the position of deputy CEO/Treasurer in 1999, and CEO in 2005. Prior to this, Jean worked at Salomon Brothers from 1986 to 1996 in New York, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Jean earned his degree in economics at Skidmore College in New York.
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Michael Young (President and Provost, New York Film Academy)
Michael J. Young graduated from Harvard University, BA magna cum laude. He then went on to earn his MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He directed the award-winning film “McJew” which screened at festivals internationally, including Oberhausen, Cinema Du Reel, Clermont-Ferrand, Tel-Aviv, and Ann Arbor. An NEA grant and Scorsese post-production award recipient, he is a producer of feature documentaries “Today’s Man” and “Romeo, Romeo,” and was cinematographer on “Comrades.” Young is a founding faculty member of the New York Film Academy.
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