Faculty Directory

Saoirse Sempowski

Saoirse Sempowski is a stop motion animator and fabricator, with a background in computer animation. Saoirse first came to NYFA as a camper when she was a teen just wanting to try her hand at filmmaking. She then attended Emerson College, focusing on Virtual Reality and experimental animation. Since then, Saoirse has worked on various independent stop motion short films and live action features, as well as several web-series for Warner Brothers and DC comics. Saoirse has taught at NYFA since 2020, first with the youth camps that started it all, before going on to teach in the BFA and MFA programs. She looks forward to teaching the wonders of animation to you!

Philip Shane

Philip Shane is an award-winning documentary producer, director and editor with over 25 years of experience. His film “Being Elmo” won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance. In a decade at ABC News, Shane edited programs including Ted Kopple’s “Tip of the Spear” (DuPont Award) and “Martin Luther King” (Emmy, Outstanding Historical Program). His short film collaboration with Peter Jennings, “Witness to History,” has become a part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum. Philip edited “Dancing in Jaffa” (Tribeca; Best Editing at DocAviv); produced, directed and edited “Einstein” (History Channel); and edited many films about performing artists, including “Wingspan” (with Paul & McCartney and director Alistair Donald), “The Beatles Revolution” (ABC), “Carly Simon” (Lifetime), “Bruce Springsteen” (Disney) and “The Boston Symphony” (NHK).

Jennifer Sharp

Jennifer Sharp is an award-winning director, editor, writer and graduate of NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. Her first feature film, I’M THROUGH WITH WHITE GIRLS, received numerous awards, and after a theatrical release, it was distributed on Showtime and Netflix, among many other cable networks. Her most recent feature, UNA GREAT MOVIE, was a life-long dream of hers until she decided to stop dreaming and make it a reality. So she made it a reality by not taking “no” for an answer, producing it herself, and getting a small Mexican town to support her in shooting the movie there.  UNA GREAT MOVIE can be seen on Amazon, Tubi, GooglePlay, and YouTube Movies.

She is a believer that Art has the power to change the world, and that artists have a responsibility to facilitate that change through sharing their truths. An all around filmmaker, she has numerous other credits as producer and art director. She was the art director on Marlon Wayan’s, A HAUNTED HOUSE 2 and Netflix’s, WITHIN. She is in post production for her 4 part docuseries, DARE TO DREAM WHAT YOU CANNOT IMAGINE, and is editor on the docuseries, FEET OFF THE GROUND, which is slated to release in 2025.

She is currently an instructor at Sundance Collab and NYFA teaching classes in Directing, Producing, and Production Design.

Jean Sherlock (Principal)

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.

Jan Epstein Schwaid

BFA in Writing for Screen and Television, USC/Cinema-Television
Jan has written for 15 years across games, podcasts, marketing, and short films. She wrote games for Aeria Games & Entertainment, PlayNext Inc, and Kayat Games/Singta Games. She was the head writer on Nosh: Bite Size Adventures, an animated children’s cooking show. Wrote the short film The Noodle Man, which is streaming on Amazon Prime. Has written for Glamour.com and Fox Digital. For the Screenwriting Department in LA, she teaches Podcasting, and Story Generation.

Tony Schwartz

Tony began working in the film industry in 1986. He spent most of his career in production working as an assistant director and line producer in both feature films and network television. He has been a part of many critically acclaimed films and series, including One False Move, Freaks and Geeks, Firefly, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, and The Unit. Along the way, he has worked with luminaries such as Carl Reiner, David Mamet, Dan Petrie, Sr., Judd Apatow, Joss Whedon, Carl Franklin, and many others. Since leaving production in 2011, he has continued to develop original content with Kohler Schwartz Productions. He is currently working on a bio-pic about AIDS activist Marty Delaney.

Gilbert Shilton

GILBERT SHILTON

I have been working in the film and television industry for over forty years. In the course of my career I’ve worked on just about every discipline from crew technician to assistant director to cameraman to a three year stint as a television, film and theatre actor ultimately culminating in a multi decade writing and directing career in film and television.

In 1980, I began my freelance directing career shooting prime time network episodic television programs, pilots and mini series. In 1985 I sold my first network writing assignment. Since then I’ve has logged close to three hundred hours directing film and television, my directing assignments taking me all over the English speaking world.

In the process, I’ve garnered numerous award nominations sold both film and episodic screenplays to the major networks, production companies and studios.

In the last twelve years I’ve worked as a College lecturer/instructor with MFA film and television graduates. I’ve also worked international workshops and full semesters in Canada, France, Russia, Turkey, Qatar as well as throughout the United States.

Dr. Shlomo Sher

Shlomo is a Philosophy professor and professional ethics workshop facilitator committed to encouraging critical and ethical self-reflection in his students. He as a passion for practical ethical issues, which he seeks to extend to others both in and out of the classroom. He began his development as an educator as a trainer at the USC Marshall School of Business’s groundbreaking Experiential Learning Center. From 2003-2009. There he facilitated workshops on topics such as organizational communication, group decision-making, power dynamics, and cultural sensitivity. In 2007 he was asked by the center to apply my ethics expertise to such workshops, and in the next two years developed several multimedia-driven business ethics training workshops that have since been used by MBAs, undergraduates, and even high school students. From 2009 to 2011, he was a Fellow at the USC Levan Institute of Humanities and Ethics, where he became involved in the Institute’s events and projects aimed at engaging USC’s students, faculty, and staff with a wide range of ethical issues. Central to his pedagogical approach is the recognition that every single person cares about ethical questions, though they may not realize this or may lack the education necessary to clearly articulate and critically evaluate their beliefs. I has appeared as speaker in a variety of venues including ABC’s Lost and Fox’s Fringe. Education: USC, PhD, University of Warwick, MA, UCLA, BA.

Lisa Shreve

Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lisa Shreve has edited and produced over one hundred television documentaries, narrative films, and shorts of various genres. She has worked with such figures as Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Mike Wallace, Peter Jennings, and Michael Bay among others. Lisa earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film from NYU Tisch School of the Arts where Martin Scorsese was her professor. Prior to her filmmaking career, she acted in Off-Off Broadway theatre, worked as a still photographer, and sang backup in “The Stilettos”, a seventies New York rock group. Recent projects include producer/editor on the independent documentary Miracle on 42nd Street, winner of the 2020 New York Regional Emmy Award for Best Documentary. She was Associate Producer and Consulting Editor on Created Equal: Clarence Thomas In His Own Words, a feature-length documentary that premiered in theatres nationwide and aired on PBS in 2020. Lisa also teaches documentary editing at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and the History and Theory of Film Editing at New York Film Academy.

Nicholas Sienkiewicz

Nick Sienkiewicz is a New York City based conductor and scholar. Nick received his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Indiana University, and received his undergraduate degrees in voice and biochemistry from Western Michigan University. He studied conducting with Chris Albanese, Betsy Burleigh, Dominick DiOrio, Kimberly Dunn Adams, Walter Huff, Austin McWilliams, and Ted Sperling.

With significant experience in music direction, Nick’s proficiency behind the keyboard and at the podium has led him to working at several regional theatres including Farmers Alley Theatre, The Barn Theatre, and Timberlake Playhouse. Nick works actively as a keyboard programmer, with memorable projects including SpongeBob SquarePants, and the amateur premiere of The Other Josh Cohen. Nick made his NYC Music Directing debut in 2023 with “Live, Laugh, Lie” at the NYFA and has served as the music assistant for several NYC workshops including Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical.

Nick’s research has led to presentations at national and international conferences including the College Music Society, the European Association for Music in Schools, and the American Choral Director’s Association. As an author, Nick has three published articles, currently within Choral Journal and Choral Scholar.

Alex Simmons

Alex Simmons is an award-winning freelance writer, writing coach/teacher, and creative arts consultant.  He’s written for Disney Books, Penguin-Random House, and Marvel/DC/Archie Comics. Simmons is the creator of the acclaimed adventure book series Blackjack. He’s also developed scripts for plays, teleplays, documentaries, interactive live shows, and animation projects.  Simmons has taught creative arts masterclasses for students and educators in the US, West Indies, Africa, and Europe. He’s taught screenwriting at the New York Film Academy.  Simmons has been a guest speaker, served on numerous arts and education panels, delivered lectures on children’s entertainment mediums, and on empowering young people through the arts. He founded the annual family event, Kids Comic Con, and three comic arts exhibits, which have traveled abroad.

Nan Siribunlue Coordinator of the Film Arts Department

Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Nan has decades of experience in the industry starting early in Hollywood as a PA and continuing on to various roles as a Producer’s Assistant in development, production coordination for commercials, and writer, director and producer on various Music Videos and content for the web.

She earned her BA in Cinema, Television, Arts at the California State University of Northridge, emphasizing in Screenwriting and Television Production. Following that she studied Improv and Comedy Sketch Writing at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade in Los Angeles. She was then accepted as a fellow at the American Film Institute Conservatory where she earned her MFA in Screenwriting.

Nan joined the NYFA team in the summer of 2019 as the Filmmaking Department Coordinator and started teaching Screenwriting that fall. She teaches BFA, MA, AFA and One Year classes for the Los Angeles Campus.

Nick Sivakumaran Senior Directing Instructor

MFA in Film Production, USC School of Cinema/TV; BA in Biology and Psychology, University of Rochester. Writer/Director of award-winning short film, “Diwali.” Screened at over 30 international film festivals, a recipient of a Director’s Guild of America Student Film Award and invited to the 2002 Cannes Film Festival as part of the Kodak Emerging Filmmaker Showcase. Also won commercial contests for clients, Chevrolet and Lifestyles Condoms and recently wrote a stage musical that had a six-week run in Hollywood.

Gerald Slota

GERALD SLOTA is a fine artist and photographer who has been widely exhibited across the US and abroad. He has had solo shows at the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY, and Langhans Galerie in Prague, Czech Republic, as well as been shown at Recontres D’ Arles in Arles, France. Slota has had multiple solo exhibits at Ricco/Maresca Gallery in NYC and is represented by the Robert Berman Gallery in Los Angeles. His images have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times Magazine, Vice, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Harper’s, and Scientific America, as well as in BOMB, Artforum, ARTNEWS, Art in America, and Aperture. He has lectured at many institutions such as the International Center for Photography (ICP). Gerald Slota has garnered many awards including a Polaroid 20”x24” Grant, a MacDowell Artist Residency, and a Mid-Atlantic Fellowship Grant in 2001, 2009 and 2021.

Alison Solomon

ALISON SOLOMON is an American Choreographer for theatre, television, and film. Recent credits include: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Global Tour, 2nd National Tour), When Elvis Met the Beatles (World Premiere), Strike Up the Band (Carnegie Hall), A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Riverside Theatre), Natasha, Pierre… (NYFA), Grease (Bucks County Playhouse), Sweeney Todd (Signature Theatre), Sunday in the Park with George (Pasadena Playhouse), Into the Woods (Guthrie Theatre), Fiddler on the Roof (Philadelphia Orchestra), Straight White Men (Westport Country Playhouse), and Swing! (ONU). Alison has choreographed ad
spots featuring some of the USA’s top dancers such as Lauren Froderman (“SYTYCD”), Gillian Murphy (American Ballet Theatre), and Ashley Bouder (New York City Ballet) and was part of the team that choreographed the NFL Super Bowl LII Dirty Dancing
commercial that went viral, featuring Odell Beckham Jr. and Eli Manning with the NY Giants. In addition to her career as a choreographer, Alison spent over a decade both performing on Broadway as well as working as one of the most sought-after associate
choreographers and currently runs a training program for up and coming associate directors and choreographers. Some associate credits include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Broadway, Australia, and National Touring companies), Gigi, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, I Married an Angel, Sweet Charity with Sutton Foster, Bandstand, The Honeymooners, and In the Heights. As a performer, she was part of the closing company of Finding Neverland, where she was a swing and Assistant Dance Captain. She has graced the stages of Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and the Kennedy Center and she made her
television debut on the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire”, directed by Martin Scorsese.

Dave Solomon

DAVE SOLOMON is an award-winning New York-based writer and director working in both theatre and film. Recent stage credits include directing the first national tour of TOOTSIE THE MUSICAL and PUMP UP THE VOLUME (MTFest London). He also directed a unique cinematic-theatrical hybrid production of Adam Gwon’s ORDINARY DAYS for Pittsburgh Playhouse, that he co-conceived with Emmy-winning designer Jason Ardizzone-West (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live”). He wrote and directed the award-winning short film PHOTO OP (starring Randy Harrison) and his upcoming film BRENDA & BILLY AND THE POTHOS PLANT (starring Santino Fontana and Sarah Stiles) will have its world premiere in Summer 2023. Solomon also assisted Bill Condon on the films MR. HOLMES and DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and served as Condon’s Associate Director on the revised production of SIDE SHOW on Broadway, at La Jolla Playhouse and the Kennedy Center. Solomon has also been an Associate Director to Joe Mantello and Scott Ellis, and has worked on fourteen Broadway productions including TOOTSIE, MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, 9 TO 5, PAL JOEY SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (2008), THE RITZ, CURTAINS, MARIO CANTONE’S LAUGH WHORE and ASSASSINS. He was an Associate Producer and Assistant Director on “A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE” and his play, MARGARET AND CRAIG, premiered at NY Stage and Film and was also seen as part of The New Group New Works starring Mario Cantone and Marin Ireland. Additional stage credits include THE DODGERS (Hudson Theatre, LA), THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (Le Petit, NOLA), MARRYING MEG (NYMF) and SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR (with John Bolton and Eve Plumb). He has been a resident artist at SPACE on Ryder Farm and is a graduate of Vassar College.