Faculty Directory

Brendan Hay

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BRENDAN HAY is a writer and producer for TV, film, comic books, and more. Most recently, he was an Executive Producer and writer on Gremlins: The Wild Batch and Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai for WB Animation/Max. Previously, he was the showrunner of Dawn of the Croods and Harvey Girls Forever!, both for DreamWorks Animation/Netflix. Brendan has also written for several other series, including Robot Chicken (2x Emmy nominated), The Simpsons, and Star Wars Detours. Also, Hay was a (Peabody Award winning) headline producer at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for most of the Bush administration, and a contributing writer to “America: The Book.” He has written pilots for Lucasfilm, WB Animation, Disney, ABC Family, DreamWorks Animation, Fox, and Nickelodeon. Brendan was once even called the “Best Svengali of Animation” by SF Weekly. He’s still not sure what that means, but chooses to take it as a compliment. On the print side, Hay has written comic books for DC Comics, Oni Press, and BOOM! Studios, and had his writing appear in magazines ranging from SPIN to Reader’s Digest. Brendan lives in Burbank, CA with his author/journalist wife, twins, a pair of pugs, and a cat named Gremlin.

Richard Van Heertum

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Rich Van Heertum has been at NYFA since 2014 and has also taught at UCLA, CUNY, the Art Institute and Drexel. He earned a PhD in cultural studies and education from UCLA and an MA in Economics from SDSU. He has published four books – The Fate of Democracy in a Cynical Age, Educating the Global Citizen, Hollywood Exploited and The Selling of Bohemia – over 35 academic essays and chapters and hundreds of articles in the popular press on movies, music, politics and sports. His newest book, Challenges to Democracy in and Beyond Education, will be released by Routledge later this year.

Arthur Helterbran, Jr.

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Arthur has been with NYFA since 2011, holding many leadership positions within the Academy. Currently he is a full time senior faculty member focusing on film directing, while creating and producing his own projects within the greater Los Angeles area.

Diana Henry

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Diana Henry is an award winning professional actor with over 25 years experience in television, theatre, film, voice overs and commercials. Since 2009, Diana has been a series lead regular on ABC’s “What Would You Do?”, appearing in over 70 episodes. Other credits include: co-star roles in “The Equalizer”, “The Sinner”, “Law & Order”, “The Blacklist”; and female lead in the feature film “Fortunes”. Diana captured three NY Emmy Awards as the presenting host in “The Lineup: Best Sports Movies”, featuring Fran Healy, Spike Lee, and Chazz Palminteri. She is also a private coach for children and teens, focusing on the audition process for performing arts high schools and colleges. In 2010, she co-founded The Drawing Board NYC, a collective of screenwriters, playwrights, and actors dedicated to developing new works through table readings. Diana has an MFA in Acting at Rutgers University – Mason Gross School of the Arts, studying under William Esper and Maggie Flanigan; and a BFA in Acting at Miami University in Ohio.

Jon Henry

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Jon Henry is a visual artist working with photography and text. His work reflects on family, sociopolitical issues, grief, trauma, and healing within the African American community. Henry’s work has been published nationally and internationally and exhibited in numerous galleries, including Aperture Foundation, Smack Mellon, and BRIC, among others. Known foremost for the cultural activism in his work, his projects include studies of athletes from different sports and their representations.

He was recently named one of “The 30 New and Emerging Photographers in 2022” and TIME Magazine’s “NEXT 100” in 2021.  He was included in the Inaugural 2021 Silver List and was recently awarded the Arnold Newman Grant for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture.

Henry was named one of LensCulture’s “Emerging Artists” and won the Film Photo Prize for the Continuing Film Project sponsored by Kodak. His book, “Stranger Fruit,” published by Monolith Editions/Kris Graves Projects, is currently in its second edition.

Baz Here

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Baz Here is a queer fine art photographer and musician living in downtown Los Angeles. A multidisciplinary artist. Here is interested in the sound current and its effect on visual aesthetics. Through the use of self-portraiture, his work questions perceptions about race (white privilege specifically – White on White) and queer identity politics. His work has been exhibited at The Hive, Featured Resident Artist (DTLA) / The Getty Center, Pop-up Gallery/ Out There, Gallery 825 / Gallerie Sparta / LACDA / Gay Downtown LA Artwalk Pop-up Gallery / Beyond Baroque / Art Share LA Fall / Los Angeles LGBT Center Advocate and Gochis Galleries. His work is featured in The Advocate and The Cultural Weekly.

Jim Hillin

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Jim came to Los Angeles in 1979 as an artist, animator and musician. He began is career in computer graphics at a start-up in 1985 in Pasadena, CA. while also attending The Art Center College of Design. As an artist, he pushed to learn the engineering side of CGI, eating and breathing the new discipline.

In his fifth year in the business, Jim was chosen to be the Artistic Supervisor of CGI for “Beauty and the Beast” at Disney.

In 1993, he was hired as the Director of Digital Production for a new VFX shop, Digital Domain. He hired the first crew, created specs for the original software, including “Nuke” and worked on many motion pictures.

In 1995, Jim returned to Disney to head up a new live-action animated project, called ‘Dinosaur.’ After completing his work on the film, he worked as a Writer-Director at Disney Animation, pitching five animated features and two shorts in six months.

In 2000, Jim was elected by his peers into the Visual Effects Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In addition, Jim belongs to the Visual Effects Society, The Animation Guild and he has recently joined The Television Academy.

Drew Hirshfield Acting for Film Instructor

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As an actor Drew Hirshfield has appeared in new and old plays around the country (at places such as Magic Theatre in San Francisco, Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York, and many others). Other credits include a first Broadway National Tour, network TV, and independent film. He’s been nominated for a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award and he once played a lemur, professionally. Drew has trained with, and completed a pedagogical teacher-training program under, clown and physical acting master teacher Christopher Bayes and has studied with the renowned clown Aitor Basauri of Spymonkey. He is a trained practitioner of the Michael Chekhov Technique. Drew is a an alum of the National Alliance of Acting Teacher’s Teacher Development Program.

 

Amanda Hood

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Amanda Hood is an Australian comedy writer and director based in New York City. She began her career making documentaries for the BBC. After a stint at Working Title Films in London, Amanda moved into script development and freelanced on everything from commercials to TV shows to feature films. She has written and directed ten short films which have screened at major film festivals and aired around the world.  In 2023, Amanda completed a director’s attachment with director Erin White on Paramount Plus’ TV show, Paper Dolls. Prior to that, she completed a director’s attachment with Oscar-nominated director Bruce Beresford on the Sony Pictures feature film, Ladies in Black. Amanda has received the Australian Directors Guild Metroscreen Fellowship and her feature script Baby Boomers was a finalist in the Page International Screenwriting Awards, placing in the top ten out of more than 6000 scripts from around the world. Amanda is a graduate of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television and loves mentoring the world’s next generation of storytellers.

Isabella Hoffman

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A native Chicagoan, Isabella Hofmann began her acting career as a main stage member of Chicago’s Second City (alongside fellow company members Richard Kind and Dan Castellaneta.) She was also in several Chicago theatrical productions such as Painting Churches at Wisdom Bridge, Teibele and Her Demon at Northlight (for which she was nominated for a Jefferson Award), and Uncle Vanya at the Goodman Theatre (opposite John Mahoney).

After being cast as an Irish immigrant in the television movie Independence (for which she received The Western Heritage Award), Isabella moved to Los Angeles where she went on to become a series regular on such shows as Dear John (with Judd Hirsch), The Boys (with Chris Meloni), Homicide: Life on the Street (Melissa Leo, Andre Braugher, Daniel Baldwin), and Beggars and Choosers (Christina Hendricks). She’s also recurred on The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Providence, JAG, The Practice, and Criminal Minds.

Her feature credits include Dreamer, West End (in post production), Burlesque, Princess Diaries II, Little Chenier, Touched By A Killer, Tripwire, and Renaissance Man.

Hofmann still lives in Los Angeles with her son Atticus, and continues to work in film, television, and theater.

Melissa Horvath, Ph.D. Senior Director of Marketing

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Melissa Horvath, Ph.D., is the Senior Director of Marketing at NYFA. Throughout her career, she has created award-winning work at advertising and marketing agencies in NYC and NJ for a varied client roster, as well as for many colleges and universities. She has a wealth of knowledge in Higher Education having held prior roles as the Assistant Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Ramapo College of NJ for 9.5 years, Assistant Professor at Boston University’s College of Communication, adjunct instructor at NYC & NJ area colleges, and senior graphic designer at New York University.

Melissa holds a BFA in graphic design from Suffolk University, an MA in Media, Culture and Communication (Media Ecology), and a Ph.D. in Educational Communication and Technology – both from New York University. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on how social media use affects college choice, access, and transition for diverse students and first-generation students, and has also published articles on this topic and other marketing topics.

Heather Huntington

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MAPH in Literature, University of Chicago
Danielle Evenson & Heather Huntington are two halves of one set of headphones. The podcast writers have been featured in Deadline, WhoHaHa, Podcast Delivery, PodFluence, Audio Drama Debut, Fiction Podcast Weekly, Pajiba and Broadway World. When they’re not knee deep in sound cues, they also write for TV and film, including The New Adventures of Old Christine, Noggin’s Tales From The Playground, PBS’s Frankenstein MD, MGM’s Craft, Cafe of Love, for Reel One and a Christmas series for Disney. Their audio series, Up a River for Aural Stories launched this summer, and their series A Midsemester Night’s Dream starring Bridgerton’s Charithra Chanran will be released this fall. They teach together (as they write together) for Screenwriting LA in classes like Podcasting and Storytelling with Purpose.

Colonel Jack Jacobs Chair of Veterans Advancement Program

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Colonel Jack Jacobs, the Chair of the New York Film Academy’s Veterans Advancement Program served in the U.S. military for more than 20 years and is considered a true American hero. Colonel Jacob is among the most highly decorated soldiers from that era, having earned the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest combat honor, two Silver Stars, and three Bronze Stars. After leaving the military in 1987, Colonel Jacobs had a successful career in the financial industry; he currently is the on-air military strategist for NBC and MSNBC. Jacobs was nominated for Emmys in 2010 and 2011 and was the recipient of the distinguished Edward R. Murrow Award for his NBC segment “Iraq: The Long Way Out.”

Jackie Jenkins-Scott

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Jackie Jenkins-Scott, President and Founder of JJS Advising, is a dynamic and accomplished executive widely recognized as an innovative and transformational leader. Jenkins-Scott brings a proven track record of over three decades in leading mission driven institutions to high performing levels. As a strategic thinker with special skills in bringing together the diverse talents in a Board, professional staff, the business and civic community, Jenkins-Scott has used her skills and leadership experiences to contribute to many corporate and civic organizations where she is valued as a visionary and strategic leader.

Prior to founding JJS Advising, a consulting firm focusing on executive coaching, leadership development and organizational strategy, Jackie Jenkins-Scott served for twelve years as President of Wheelock College, Boston, MA. Under Jenkins-Scott’s strategic leadership, the college significantly increased its endowment and nearly doubled enrollment. Jenkins-Scott added new areas of study including cross-disciplinary and online programs, increased undergraduate enrollment by over 50 percent and representation of ethnically diverse and differently abled students by 40 percent.

In 1983, Jenkins-Scott became the President and CEO of the Dimock Center in Roxbury, MA., now one of the largest community-based health and human service organization’s serving diverse, vulnerable populations. Under her leadership, Dimock emerged from the verge of bankruptcy to a highly successful and sustainable benchmark institution that successfully integrated comprehensive health and human services including new programming in workforce development, primary and behavioral healthcare, child and family centered services, transitional housing, and a community-based research program to develop innovative strategies for meeting the priority needs of inner-city residents.

Jenkins-Scott has served on the Board of Directors of numerous corporate, civic and community-based organizations, including The Boston Foundation, The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, The Tufts Health Plan Board and was a founding member of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation. She has been tapped to co-chair important public policy initiatives including the Massachusetts Readiness Project which developed a 10-year strategic plan for improving educational outcomes in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the School Readiness Action Planning Project which produced a plan for early education in the City of Boston.

Jenkins-Scott recently completed terms as Board Chair of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, and President of the President of the Massachusetts Women’s Forum. She is a member of the National Board of Jumpstart Inc., the Center for Community Change, Washington D.C., and the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy. Jenkins-Scott serves on the Board of Century Bank where she is a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Asset Liability Committee.

Jenkins-Scott has received over 120 awards and citations including the 2005 Associated Industries of Massachusetts legacy of Leadership Award, 2004 Pinnacle Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University, and the Boston Visiting Nurses Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jenkins-Scott received her B.S. degree from Eastern Michigan University, a Master of Social Work from Boston University School of Social Work, and completed a post-graduate Research Fellowship at Radcliffe College. She has received six Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Northeastern University, Suffolk University, University of Massachusetts Boston, Bentley University, Mt. Ida College, and Wheelock College. From 2016-2018, Jenkins-Scott was a Fellow in the distinguished Public Service Leaders Program at the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, University of Massachusetts. Jenkins-Scott is a sought-after speaker and presenter, and the author of the book, The 7 Secrets of Responsive Leadership.

Corey Johnson

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Corey is an actor, writer, and educator with over 15 years of experience in the entertainment industry. He will be featured in the upcoming 3rd season of Shrinking on Apple TV+, and was recently seen in a national commercial campaign for Wayfair alongside Titus Burgess. Other credits include Mr. Mayor (NBC), Adam Ruins Everything (TruTV), and the film Greener Grass (HULU). He’s performed and created comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NYC and LA, and was a contributing writer for The Onion. As a teacher, he’s led classes at New York Film Academy, Chapman University, University of Southern California, Central Connecticut State University.

Greg Johnson

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MFA in Film & Television, USC
Greg is the screenwriter of THE LAST SON (2021), a western-action feature film starring Sam Worthington, Machine Gun Kelly, Heather Graham, Thomas Jane, and directed by Tim Sutton. His newest film, OLD GUY (2024) finished production in 2023 and stars Christoph Waltz, Cooper Hoffman, Lucy Liu and is directed by Simon West. Previously, Greg worked with 20th Century Fox Studios to develop four original features including an alternative version of the Fantastic Four franchise called DOCTOR DOOM. He has also done assignments for Universal, Davis Entertainment, and TIK Films. Greg is a two-time finalist in the Warner Brothers Television Writers’ Workshop. Currently, he is developing NESTED GAMES, an international action-adventure spy show with Bound Television. In the Screenwriting Department in LA, he teaches Elements of Screenwriting, Rewriting, Adaptation, Story Generation, Genre Studies, TV Pilot, and Feature Workshops.