Meet the Team
Carol L. Fleisher - Executive Director
Carol – an award-winning documentary filmmaker – came to the Durango Independent Film Festival just a few months before our 2024 event. She brings over 40 years in film production experience (PBS, National Geographic, NOVA, etc.) as well as a couple of decades working with the prestigious Jackson Wild Film Festival (known as the Oscars of Natural History Filmmaking). Her films have won Emmys, The Humanitas Prize, Writers' Guild of America Award, Chicago Film Festival and many more. She also taught documentary filmmaking at Fort Lewis College.
The Board
Dean Fagner, Chair; Jackie Culp, Vice Chair; Lindsay Mark, Treasurer; Stephani Burditt, Secretary; Shannon Kunkel, Member; Chris Lile, Member
Durango Independent Film Festival
Year-Round Volunteer Staff Members:
Lynn Armato, Jim Cunningham, James Flint, Claudia Murphy Foley, Leba Glazner, Gyana Bandy Gomar, Barb Gysel, Cornelius Hurley, Kristina John, George Johnson, Michele Malach, Natalie Mattice-Jamison, Tom McCullough, Marwa Mohamed, Wade Moore, Gabrielle Schumaker, Lainey Severson, Carla Marie Toth, Jacob Trujillo, Meghan Walsh, Greg Weiss, and Karen Zenger.
Programming:
Cornelius Hurley / Programming Director
Leba Glazner / Adventure
George Johnson / Narrative Features
Michele Malach / Shorts
Barb Gysel / Documentaries
Greg Weiss / LGBTQ
Cornelius Hurley / Family
Kristina John / Native Cinema
Claudia Murphy Foley, M.Ed. / Reel Learning School Program
Operations & Venues:
Michele Malach / Head of Operations
Theater Managers:
Marwa Mohamed / Gaslight Twin Cinema
James Simmons / Durango Arts Center
Assistant Theater Managers:
Barb Brown / Gaslight Twin Cinema
Richard Coleman / Durango Arts Center
Box Office:
Lynn Armato
Pass Management:
Carla Marie Toth / Head of Pass Management
Tech:
Francisco “Paco” Aschwanden / Tech Director
Festival Parties & Events:
Lainey Severson & Jake Trujillo / Co-Chairs of Events Team
Hospitality Management:
Greg Weiss / Team Leader
Jury:
Gyana Bandy Gomar / Jury Coordinator
Volunteers:
Karen Zenger / Volunteer Coordinator
Print Projects:
Tom McCullough / Print Projects Designer
Website & Communications:
James Flint, Mountain Time Productions / Creative Director
Jim Batchelder, Rest Easy Hosting / Hosting Manager
Special Projects
Rich Henrich
Programming Teams:
Features:
George Johnson / Head of Features
with Robb Brantley, Catherine Adams, Karen Overington and Amber Lark
Shorts:
Michele Malach / Head of Shorts
with John Condie, Ken Coleman, Pam Smith & Robert Snead
Feature & Short Documentaries:
Barb Gysel / Head of Feature & Short Documentaries
with Pattie Adler, Scott Rahilly, Barry Spear, Carla Marie Toth & Doug Wakeman
Native Cinema:
Kristina John / Head of Native Cinema
with Julie Cooley, Danielle Joe, Todd Macon and Stephen Sellers
Adventure Program:
Leba Glazner / Head of Adventure Programming
with Jenna Arnold, Andrea Rike and Marcia Sabeti
Family:
Cornelius Hurley and Aiden Hurley / Co-Heads of Family Programming
REEL Learning:
Claudia Murphy Foley, M.Ed. / Head of REEL Learning Programming
with Caleb Bates, Corinna Bayless, Annabelle and Arya Benally, Deb Nielsen, Amelia Player, Susan Ridley-Myers, Scout Roehlik and Karen Zenger.