Mentors

MDC has recruited a talented and prestigious group of industry leaders from some of the top studios and production houses. These professionals have agreed to mentor students throughout the two-year program. In addition to receiving instruction from faculty, students will have the benefit of being guided in their studies by mentors who bring a wealth of real-world knowledge and practical information to the learning experience. Mentors will be available throughout the 2-year process to help sharpen skills, provide insight into the production process and help students connect with their own innate artistry.

Line Producer, Disney Jr’s T.O.T.S. & Founder ProducersPool.com

Animation Producer Drew Tolman has over 15 years of experience making family blockbusters in both development and production for Fox, Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. She has helped build three animation studios and has managed nearly every department at one point or another. She was the Animation Associate Producer for 20th Century Fox’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks – Road Chip!” Currently, she is VP, Creative and Production for DreamEast Pictures USA.
Drew Tolman began her career as a Development Coordinator at 20th Century Fox Animation and worked there for three years, where many family movies were developed including Titan AE (2000) and Ice Age (2002). From there, she worked in production on Pooh’s Heffalump Movie (2005) for The Walt Disney Company, Curious George (2006) for Universal Studios and Imagine Entertainment, Everyone’s Hero (2006) for Fox and Starz Media and Alvin and the Chipmunks II, the Squeakquel (2009) for Fox 2000 and Hop (2011) for Universal Studios. She was also the Production Manager at Warner Bros. for a series of CG animated shorts distributed in Kenya as part of the U.S. Pepfar initiative (2008). She supervised Post Production on several Disney shows including Phineas and Ferb, Jake and the Never Land Pirates and Star Versus the Forces of Evil for Disney Television Animation.
Drew Tolman is on the Board of Directors for Miami International Animation Conference and Festival. She is an avid writer, a poet, awarded screenwriter and aspiring children’s book author. Her screenwriting has placed in several contests and has been endorsed by the prestigious KIDS FIRST! Coalition for Quality Children’s Media. She founded the family entertainment company, Beach Plum Media, to grow and produce her own ideas.

Drew Tolman received her Master’s degree in Film Studies with a concentration in children’s films from the University of Miami, Coral Gables and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Mentor @ MAGIC: “New World Order”, and “Foxy’s Style”.

Bill Buckley, Character Director – Oversees all Cinematic, Animation, Character Art and Weapon Art Development at First Contact Entertainment

Bill Buckley is the Character Director for First Contact Entertainment and has been working as a developer in the video game industry since 2005. His roles have included Senior Animator, Story Artist, Writer, Digital Cinematographer, and Concept Artist, and he is currently the Animation Director at First Contact Entertainment. Having worked on popular titles for companies such as THQ, Disney Interactive, Limbic Entertainment, SCEA, Activision (Neversoft and Infinity Ward), and Starbreeze Studios, Bill’s resume includes major titles such as Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw, NBA Live 07, Disney’s Club Penguin, 8 Guitar Hero titles, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, John Wick: The Impossible Task in VR, ROM: Extraction, Firewall: Zero Hour , Solaris Offworld Combat and, most currently Firewall Ultra for the PSVR 2.
Bill is also a lecturer, mentor, and teacher of animation and game development both in the United States and overseas.

Cesar Sakai, Senior Art Director Univision Agency at Univision Communications Inc.

Univision Communications Inc. (UCI, stylized as univision) is an American media company headquartered in Miami. Since its founding in the early 1960s as Spanish International Network (SIN), the nation’s first Spanish language television network, the company has catered to Hispanic and Latino Americans. Today it is a multimedia company with broadcast cable, digital and audio networks, including 65 television stations, online and mobile apps and products. Mentor @ MAGIC: “What’s the Buzz?!”, “Bunny & the Hidden Treasure”, and “Camp Galaverano”

Eduardo Bragin, Lead Designer and Animator for Special Events at Univision Communications Inc.

Motion Graphics artist and designer, freelance artist. Specialties: Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, C4D, Viz Artist. Mentor @ MAGIC: “What’s the Buzz?!”, “Bunny & the Hidden Treasure”, and “Camp Galaverano”

Susan Guzman, Lead Designer and Animator for Special Events at Univision Communications Inc.

Dr. Davia Hudson-Holness, Professor at the Department of Natural Sciecnes, Health and Wellness at Miami Dade College

Dr. Davia Hudson-Holness is currently a Professor in the Department of Natural Sciences, Health, and Wellness at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Florida International University and her B.Sc. in Pure and Applied Science from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. Dr. Holness also earned a Higher Education Teaching Certificate from Harvard University’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Since joining Miami Dade College in 2010, her primary areas of teaching include Introductory Chemistry and General Chemistry I courses. Dr. Holness was a 2018 recipient of the inaugural President’s Innovation Fund from Miami Dade College. As a result of this award, Dr. Holness was able to develop a mobile application to innovatively teach Introductory Chemistry thus improving student success in this gateway chemistry course. She was also the 2019 Peter Masiko Jr. Endowed Teaching Chair recipient. Dr. Holness has publications in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, the Journal of Forensic Research, Miami Dade College’s Polygon Journal and the International Journal of Research in Education and Science.

Tatiana Rodriguez, SVP Brand Head Kids & Family Nickelodeon The Americas

Viacom International Media Networks Americas, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB), owns and operates the company’s portfolio of entertainment brands, which include MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Comedy Central, Paramount Channel, VH1, Telefe and their respective properties in Latin America (including Brazil). Additionally, the portfolio includes Tr3 in the US, which targets a broad US Hispanic audience; and programming partnerships in Canada with Corus Entertainment for Nickelodeon and Bell Media for MTV and Comedy Central. VIMN Americas also holds a majority stake in Porta dos Fundos, one of the main comedy content creators in Brazil. The company’s multiplatform business includes the mobile apps MTV Play, Nick Play, Comedy Central Play, Mi Telefe and Telefe Noticias; on-demand products, Nick First and My Nick Jr., SVOD products, Noggin, in addition to multiple web sites. Mentor @ MAGIC: “Levitate”, “Dine & Dash”, “A Balanced Breakfast” and “A Lesson in Magic”.

Kimberly Dennison, Vice President, Creative, Animation & Family at Gaumont US

Kimberly’s career has come full circle, starting at Disney, leaving for a few years and then returning to Disney. Now, while you hum “Circle of Life” to yourself here is the details…. Kimberly began and established her career at The Walt Disney Company where she worked for 13 years in various capacities at the TV Animation division. Her positions included Manager of Production, helping to oversee the production process for both series and DVD films, as well as Associate Producer for the Disney Channel’s Shorty McShort Shorts show.

In 2008 Kimberly relocated to Vancouver Canada to establish the development department for Rainmaker Entertainment. There, she built a slate of animated feature film and television projects. Upon the impending sale of the company in 2012, Kimberly took the opportunity to return to the sunny hills of Los Angeles and continued her work in the family entertainment industry at the Hub Network. At the Hub she was the network executive on multiple projects including Transformers Prime, Littlest Pet Shop, Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Bitty Adventures, Pound Puppies, Kaijudo, Stan Lee’s Mighty Seven. She participated in development of both live action and animated shows for the network. An opportunity to join the development group at Disney Television Animation brought her back into the house of mouse where she has happily been developing new animated shows for Disney Channel and Disney XD since the beginning of this year. Kimberly’s favorite aspects of the process include identifying visual development talent and collaboratively working with artists and writers. Mentor @ MAGIC: “Memento Moira” and “Hercules & Hippolyta”

Gigi Gomez, Sr. Director of Production Management at ViacomCBS Networks Americas

Alejandro Vergara, Content Supervising Producer at ViacomCBS Networks Americas

ViacomCBS Networks Americas (formerly MTV Networks Latin America and Viacom International Media Networks The Americas) is a regional subsidiary of ViacomCBS Networks International. Its operational headquarters is located in Miami, Florida.

I’m a true believer in the power of storytelling to shape culture. My work spans over 7 years of professional experience in digital content for the TV/Film industry, working with some of the top networks in the Americas. Along the way I have worn all different kind of hats and mastered many skills including: Content Creation and Strategy, Project Management, Digital Production “Predator”. Mentor @ MAGIC: “A Balanced Breakfast” and “A Lesson in Magic”.

Leah Hoyer, VP of Creative/Creative Director, Kids Studio at Wizards of the Coast

Leah Hoyer is a former attorney who left that field to pursue her passion for cartoons. After completing her MFA coursework at UCLA’s Animation Workshop, Leah began working at Disney Television Animation, where she was the Director of Development for Disney Channel Animated Series. During her tenure at Disney, Leah worked on numerous series, including Recess, Kim Possible and Phineas & Ferb. Ms. Hoyer then headed up the Narrative Design department at Microsoft Studios, where she worked on various projects, including the upcoming Sunset Overdrive and Quantum Break.

“I make entertainment experiences. Actually, I work with teams of talented people who make truly incredible, interactive, entertainment experiences—because nobody makes something that is loved by millions of people on their own. I build teams, mentor people, foster great ideas, and find the best way to the get those produced.” Mentor @ MAGIC: “Void”, “Siberia, The Frozen Front”,“InterGalatic Food Truck”, “TeraFlow” and “Chip & Chop”

Breanna Faye, Chief Technology Officer at The Friends of The Underline

A trained architect and multi-faceted technology leader with a focus on Experience Design and Emerging Technologies at the intersection of cities, mobility, and innovation. With in-depth experience using DeepTech and spatial technologies as tools for connecting places and people, ideas and objects, and work across disciplines to develop human-centered design solutions with experience working in international economies, contexts, and cultures across North and Latin America, Southeast Asia, West Africa, the Middle East and Europe. With extensive experience in ecosystem design, strategy, and product development, agile methodologies, agencies and accelerators alike, for companies that operate both digitally and IRL – providing high-level technology expertise to improve operations, technology infrastructure, guest/visitor/customer/user experience, as well as economic impact, viability, and ROI. I am passionate about bringing IRL companies into innovative tech space, guiding omni channel design and product teams across software, hardware and the spaces they are built between. Mentor @ MAGIC: ‘Dig & Learn” get it at the Apple and Google Play stores and “The Underline AR App” also at the Apple and Google Play stores.

Allyson Gantt, Director of Education at Everglades National Park

Many people — even from right here in South Florida — are afraid to come out to Everglades National Park. They find the prospect of encountering snakes, mosquitos, and alligators intimidating. I love to hold someone’s hand through their first visit to the park and get them excited about this amazing place. I take visitors on wet hikes — what we call a slough slog — off the trail and into the sawgrass prairie. I lead visitors through the open marsh into a forest of cypress trees with soft green needles. On late winter afternoons, the angle of the sun makes the light particularly beautiful. With the dark water below and the cypress branches swaying ever so slightly overhead in the breeze, it feels like a magical place. Mentor @ MAGIC: “Everglades Adventure”. Download the video game on the Apple and Goggle Stores.

Leonardo Menezes, Director and Curator at The Museum of Tomorrow, Brazil

Leonardo Menezes is a screenwriter, exhibition curator, PhD in Communication and Media Studies at UFF and a founding member of Guaraná Content, a production house specialized in projects for audiovisual, museums and the Internet. His screenplays have already been broadcast on TV Globo, Canal Futura, Globo News, Globo Internacional, TV Brasil, TV Cultura and Universal Channel and created content for Museu do Amanhã and Roberto Marinho Foundation, Rio + 20, Rock in Rio, Rio Art Museum, among others. He is Content Manager at the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro. He was awarded for Best Documentary at the Mix Brasil 2017 Festival; Best Film at the Rio de Janeiro Gender and Sexuality Festival 2017, Leading Cultural Destinations Awards 2018 and 2016, Promax 2009 (USA) and Caracol de Plata 2009 (Mexico) for the creation of the We Can for the UN campaign, in addition to receiving two Prix Jeunesse Iberoamericano 2005. His scholarly research is centred on transmissive narratives, participatory media, edutainment, memory, and cultural heritage. Mentor @ MAGIC: “Amazonia”.

Selymar Colon, Senior Director, News Digital at Univision Communications Inc.

Selymar Colón is managing editor and senior director of digital at Univision. She has been with Univision since 2006 working across various roles and going up the ranks as producer for Sunday show, Al Punto, hosted by Jorge Ramos. A digital pioneer, Colón championed the use of social media in the newsroom and created a team of multimedia producers to produce digital only videos in her role as director of digital integration.
Colón has produced the coverage of the Haiti earthquake and World Cup in 2010, President Obama’s second inauguration, one of the first interviews with the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, digital special “The Hispanics of the President” and Spanish-language network exclusive interview with Hillary Clinton in 2015. Univision News was the first to Periscope an interview with a presidential candidate. Her efforts contributed to Univision News winning awards for Children of the Border online coverage of the Humanitarian Crisis at the U.S.-Mexican border and TV news special “Meet the Candidates.”

Named a 40 under 40 : Latinos in American Politics by the Huffington Post, Colón holds an M.S. in Investigative Journalism from Florida International University and a B.A. in Communications and Business from Lynn University. Mentor @ MAGIC: “Endless Cycle”.