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Faculty Directory

Mark J. Mooney

Mark J. Mooney

Mark Joseph Mooney is a life-long learner who professes critical thinking, critical writing, and advanced English composition at New York Film Academy. He also teaches foreign policy and international affairs courses at Florida International University’s School of International & Public Affairs where he mentors Fellows participating in the United States Intelligence Community’s, Centers for Academic Excellence Fellowship. Mark enjoys helping students focus research efforts; compose clear, concise & convincing papers, write critically, orally present, and develop professionally. His professional background includes providing military and civil service intelligence and security to U.S. policy and decision makers at home &
abroad. A Cold Warrior, he served his nation in these capacities for 38 years, 3 behind the iron curtain in East Germany and 1 in Iraq. Physically active, Mark completed 2 marathons, more ½-marathons, and many10-kilometer races. He coached teams (on which his son played) and was inducted into the Little League Hall of Fame. A native New Yorker from Jackson Heights (Queens Borough), Mark worked many years at 17 Battery Place. He acted in HS productions of The Skin of Our Teeth, The Time of Your Life, and Curtain Going Up (male lead) then earned his Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages at Fordham University, in the Bronx, NY and a Masters in National Security Affairs from Nova Southeastern University. He and spouse Carole live in Broward County and have 5 adult children and 2 grandchildren. His hobbies include photography, tennis, movies, writing poetry and reading mysteries.

Ester Meyer Nunes

Ester Meyer Nunes

Ester Meyer Nunes is a Brazilian filmmaker with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy and a Master’s of Science in Mass Communication from Florida International University. Currently based in South Florida, Ester teaches liberal arts and science courses & Filmmaking Workshops at NYFA Miami.

With experience working on multiple feature films and award-winning short films, she has also held a range of roles, including production management and R&D at a local film production company.

Ester’s diverse career spans creative, technical, and educational aspects of the film industry, with a strong commitment to both storytelling and mentorship.

Miguel Parga

Miguel Parga

Miguel started his career while still in college as a teacher’s assistant for the NYU Acting Program at Tisch before working the overnight shift for ABC News, building graphics for them at first and moving up the ranks during his eight years at ABC. He covered such dramatic stories as the impeachment of President Clinton, the millennium, the death of Lady Diana, JFK Jr., Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, the 2000 elections, and 9/11. Miguel won an Emmy and a DuPont Award for his work on the millennium Celebration and a Peabody Award for the first 100 hours of 9/11 coverage.

In 2003, Miguel moved to LA where he started translating commercials for NBC and Telmundo, moving up to producing and directing spots for Pepsi, Canon, Hechts, Fisher-Price, Bud Lite, and the People Choice Awards, amongst others. Miguel soon hooked up with Josh Oppenheimer (Sahara and A Sound of Thunder) who gave Miguel his first job as a feature screenwriter in LA, penning a romantic comedy optioned by Julia Pierrepont and Rodney Wilson.

Miguel moved back to New York in 2007 and began teaching acting, directing, writing, and editing at NYFA. He was also the director for the Summer Programs at Harvard University from 2010-2012 and Mumbai, India in 2011. He has directed 21 films, with many having been featured in festivals across the U.S. His first novel, Blood Laws, was published in 2013 by Anaphora Literary Press.

Franco Pejoves Acting for Film Instructor

Franco Pejoves Acting for Film Instructor

Franco Pejoves was born and raised in the San Isidro district of Lima, Peru to a mixed Peruvian-Croatian Family. Following political turmoil, he migrated to the US and settled in Miami, Fl.

For the last 20 years he has moved from being an actor and stage fighter to choreographer in stage, opera, and film. In Miami he has worked in both local film as well as the Florida Grand Opera for the last 15 years. Internationally he has worked both in the UK and South America in choreography as well as documentary projects. His experience in movement stems from his fight experience as a black belt in the Buninkan as well as other martial arts, his 12 years with the SAFD (Society of American Fight Directors), and various artistic groups including Kabuki, Kyogen, and theater styles. Today he teaches movement and psychology as well as balancing workshops and local film projects.

Vivian Rubio

Vivian Rubio

Vivian Rubio is an accomplished actor, director, and educator with extensive experience in film, television, and theater. She holds an MFA in Theater, Film and Television from UCLA and a BFA in Theater from the University of Florida & New World
School of the Arts. Vivian has performed in numerous productions, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and has appeared on networks such as Amazon Prime, NBC/Telemundo and TLC. With a background in both classical and contemporary performance, she brings a dynamic approach to actor training. She has studied under renowned industry professionals and specializes in voice, movement, and audition techniques. As a dedicated instructor, she is passionate about guiding students toward professional success in the entertainment industry.

Crickett Rumley

Crickett Rumley

The founder and Senior Director of the New York Film Academy’s Film Festival Department, Crickett Rumley received her MFA in Film at Columbia University. She has guided filmmakers to official selections and awards at festivals ranging from Sundance to Bronzelens and to nomination and shortlisting for the Student Academy Awards, the BAFTA Student Film Awards, and the College Television Awards.

Crickett has moderated both live and virtual events for the school, including Q&A’s with NYFA alum Mohamed Diab (director of Marvel Studios/Disney+ series Moon Knight) and TV writers Boo Killebrew and Gail Lerner as well as panels with staff from festivals such as New Filmmakers LA, Hollyshorts, Austin, and Reel Sisters of the Diaspora. Most recently, she hosted the Winter Film Awards International Film Festival’s Education Day on the NYFA campus in New York, presenting workshops on “Social Media for Creatives” and “How to Craft the Low Budget Screen Story”.

A regular juror for the Forum on Life, Culture, and Society’s International Short Film Competition, Crickett also sat on the jury for the 2021 Tallgrass Film Festival, one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. She now serves as their Panels Director.

Crickett Rumley Senior Director of Film Festivals

Crickett Rumley Senior Director of Film Festivals

Crickett Rumley received her MFA in Film at Columbia University, adapted projects for Killer Films and PBS, and authored the novel Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell. The founder and senior director of the New York Film Academy’s Film Festival Department, she is based in Los Angeles. With diversity, equity, and inclusion at the foundation of her work, Crickett regularly develops educational programs and festival strategy for both NYFA’s diverse student body and international organizations. She has hosted webinars with TV writers Boo Killebrew and Gail Lerner, Jordanian filmmaker Zaid Abu Hamdan, BAFTA, Oscar, and Student Academy Award winners and nominees, as well as moderated panels with staff from festivals such as New Filmmakers LA, Hollyshorts, Austin, and Reel Sisters of the Diaspora. A regular juror for the Forum on Life, Culture, and Society’s International Short Film Competition, Crickett also sat on the jury for the 2021 Tallgrass Film Festival, one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. You can find her doling out festival tips in Backstage Magazine and on Twitter at @Crickett_NYFA.

Dr. Mary Samuelson Dean of General Education; Chair of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Dr. Mary Samuelson Dean of General Education; Chair of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Dr. Mary Samuelson received her Ph.D. and MA degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and completed her undergraduate work in Cinema-Television and English Literature at the University of Southern California (USC). For the past four years, Mary has taught courses and advised students in the Cinema and Media Studies and Writing Programs departments at UCLA, the Cinema-Television department at Los Angeles Community College (LACC), and here at the New York Film Academy (NYFA). Her essays “Radical Moment: The National Recovery Administration and Hollywood’s ‘New Deal’” and “Wartime News Flow: Government and Studio Newsreels, 1941-1945” will come out in collections focusing on film and the law (September 2016) and the U.S. newsfilm (June 2016), respectively. Mary’s dissertation “The Patriotic Play: Roosevelt, Antitrust, and the War Activities Committee of the Motion Picture Industry” is slated for book publication in Spring 2017.

Dr. Mary Samuelson Dean of General Education; Chair of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Dr. Mary Samuelson Dean of General Education; Chair of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Dr. Mary Samuelson received her Ph.D. and MA degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and completed her undergraduate work in Cinema-Television and English Literature at the University of Southern California (USC). For the past four years, Mary has taught courses and advised students in the Cinema and Media Studies and Writing Programs departments at UCLA, the Cinema-Television department at Los Angeles Community College (LACC), and here at the New York Film Academy (NYFA). Her essays “Radical Moment: The National Recovery Administration and Hollywood’s ‘New Deal’” and “Wartime News Flow: Government and Studio Newsreels, 1941-1945” will come out in collections focusing on film and the law (September 2016) and the U.S. newsfilm (June 2016), respectively. Mary’s dissertation “The Patriotic Play: Roosevelt, Antitrust, and the War Activities Committee of the Motion Picture Industry” is slated for book publication in Spring 2017.

Luisa Ibanez Suarez

Luisa Ibanez Suarez

Luisa Ibañez is a P.G.A Senior Content Film and TV Producer and member of The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. She has more than twenty-five years of experience in the US and LATAM media industry, including an overall of 1000 hours of content produced in different formats for diverse audiences and three International Emmy nominations for projects premiered on the US primetime. From this journey, she understands the expectations of diverse audiences in Latin America, Spain and Latinos in the US. Credits as Development Producer, Line Producer, and Supervising Producer on the successful Hispanic TV Series and telenovelas from NBC Telemundo, Univision, Televisa, and Movistar prove her high-quality deliveries in projects distributed in more than 100 countries and over 35 languages.

Barbara Weintraub Senior Director of Career Development and Industry Outreach

Barbara Weintraub Senior Director of Career Development and Industry Outreach

Barbara Weintraub has been a producer, a network executive and an entertainment career advisor. Her first job in the business was as an actor in a Martin Scorsese film, which convinced her she wanted to work on the other side of the camera.

Weintraub sharpened her production skills working with producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson on Beverly Hills Cop and Top Gun. She moved on to the senior management team and helped launch Movietime, which became E! Entertainment Television, the first cable channel exclusively programming entertainment content. During her tenure, she produced The Hollywood Reporter Executive Report with top Hollywood filmmakers including Brian De Palma and Ivan Reitman.

Launching her own production company, Weintraub produced a variety of television shows that included an NBC comedy special with Kelsey Grammer, Jason Bateman and Tony Shaloub, Diva Detective, a reality series for Women’s Entertainment Television (WE TV), 195 episodes of a game show for the USA network, and The New Adventures of Robin Hood, an action adventure series for TNT.

Weintraub is also a Founding and Board member of GreenLight Women.

Steven Wieclaw

Steven Wieclaw

Steve is an award-winning writer and director who also freelances in editing and sound recording/design for international film and television productions. Born and raised in Ohio, he received his undergraduate degree with honors in Applied Sociology at Ohio State University. He spent a number of years as a professional musician (trumpet and vocals) traveling the world with touring bands and cruise ships. After a long corporate career as a business analyst, Steve decided to pursue his passion for storytelling and moved to Miami, where he graduated from New York Film Academy with a Master’s degree in Filmmaking.

Steve is based in Miami, Florida while actively writing, directing, and editing narrative films of all genres. He is the Equipment Supervisor for NYFA Miami in addition to teaching screenwriting, directing, producing, and audio for College level classes and the short term workshops.

Lori S. Wyman

Lori S. Wyman

Lori S. Wyman, CSA, one of the most prominent Casting Directors in the southeast, has been casting films, television shows, and commercials in South Florida since 1979. Lori attended the University of Miami and she graduated with her Bachelors Degree in Speech and Communications and her minor in Education. She received her Master’s Degree from Nova Southeastern University (NSU) with a concentration in Drama Therapy. She pursued this degree in order to help actors with Audition Anxiety.

Upon graduating with her undergraduate degree, she aggressively pursued a casting career and immediately started working for ACT I Talent Agency. At the time, ACT I was the biggest talent agency in the State of Florida. Quickly building a reputation as one of the most outstanding talent agents in the business, she was asked by the company that was handling the Miami Vice casting if she would be one of their staff casting directors. While there, she worked on the Principal casting for “Miami Vice” during the 2nd and 3rd seasons. At the end of the 3rd season, she was approached by one of the producers of “Miami Vice” and asked to come work for them directly and head up their entire casting division. She did that for the duration of the series.

When “Miami Vice” wrapped, she was immediately asked to head up the casting offices of the Burt Reynolds series, “BL Stryker” and to cast the Florida episodes of Stephen J. Cannell’s “21 Jumpstreet” and “Wiseguy.” After these 3 series, Lori decided to make the lucrative move to commercials and feature film casting. In 1989 Lori was invited to become a member of the Casting Society of America, the professional organization of casting directors in the U.S.

She opened her own offices in North Miami Beach in the spring of 1990. With her own studio space, offices and equipment,
she was able to expand her business opportunities and provide a wider variety of services. Lori has also served on the Miami-Dade County Film, Print and Broadcast Advisory Board, helping to make decisions regarding the Film industry in Miami-Dade County. Lori is also a past vice-president of WOMPI, Women of the Motion Picture Industry, to whom she has contributed her casting services for many of their not-for-profit films that the organization produces for the good of the community.

Some of Lori’s more recent casting credits are MARCEL by Warner Bros on Apple TV, The Right Stuff on Disney Plus, HBO’s Ballers, Bloodline for Netflix, USA’s Burn Notice, The Glades and Graceland, and Starz’s Magic City. Lori is an EMMY nominee for HBO’S Recount and she has been nominated for 8 Artios and has won the prestigious Artios casting award 2 times for HBO’s Recount and Bloodline on Netflix.