CONSULTING PRODUCER

Laurence Cotton served as a producer of public television programs, including the recent Stewart Udall documentary, and he originated and produced the nationally broadcast film Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America.  A public historian, Laurence delivers popular talks about the Olmsted landscape legacy and serves as a guest lecturer for a small ship cruise line, plying the waterways of North America.  Laurence was the Director of the Cambridge Forum, a lecture series and public radio program.  He was a senior aide in the Massachusetts State Senate, served as Executive Director of the World Affairs Council of Oregon, and played a leadership role in planning the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial.

PRODUCER

For 30 years, Mauri worked in broadcast news as a reporter, producer, editor and manager. Her career spanned the globe, from California and Texas, to Alaska, the Philippines, Israel, Argentina, and points in between. She was NBC Bureau Chief in Tel Aviv, Israel; covered the wars of Central America during the 80’s; the revolution in the Philippines; dictatorships and uprisings in South America; the Persian Gulf War in 1991; and the Oklahoma City explosion. She was nominated for a national Emmy Award for her Middle East work and received two regional Emmys for television news production.

CONSULTING PRODUCER

Kathy is a director/cinematographer and Associate Professor at California State University Sacramento. Twenty years ago she traded researching evolutionary biology in the Ecuadorian Amazon for filmmaking. Her 100+ productions have appeared at international festivals, on television (BBC, Discovery, Smithsonian, PBS, National Geographic), art galleries, museums (The Hirshhorn, Portland Art Museum, The Crocker), and won numerous awards.

CONSULTING PRODUCER

Peter Harnik is a conservationist, writer and political activist who was coordinator of Environmental Action, co-founder of the Rails to Trails Conservancy, co-founder of the Center for City Park Excellence and executive producer of the 2025 public television documentary From Rails to Trails.

IMPACT PRODUCER 

Karen Olcott grew up and lives in Falmouth, Massachusetts, the childhood home of Katharine Lee Bates. She has over 25 years of experience working with corporations and entrepreneurs with a mission to change the world for good. She led T-Mobile's strategic partnerships with several Fortune 100 companies. A 2-time Emmy winner in sports television, she was Executive Producer for a 2012 documentary Rape for Profit. She has a long track record of non-profit activism and philanthropy. 

COMPOSER

Michael Bade is a Composer and musician with a love for storytelling through music. He has written and performed music for films, commercials, and documentaries. Notably, he has worked extensively with acclaimed filmmaker John de Graaf, contributing to the soundtracks of many of his films. With a background in classical, folk, electronic and songwriting his music combines rich melodies and soundscapes to enhance the mood of narration and scenes.

GRAPHIC ARTIST

Lisa Bade draws, paints, and creates large scale parade art for socially engaged projects. For more than three decades, Lisa has taught studio art, art history and developed arts-infused global studies curriculum in Washington State public schools. Recently, she lived and worked in rural Cambodia, developing international funding and support for grassroots education projects and facilitating art workshops with a peace-building network of activists from marginalized groups in South and SE Asia. Lisa’s current passions are comics and visual narratives.

CROWDFUNDING CONSULTANT

Howard Marks is a marketing consultant. He is an experienced digital marketer, and social media influencer. He helps raise funds for documentary films on crowdfunding platforms, and has worked on multiple campaigns with filmmaker John de Graaf. He's also a political junkie, behaviorist, and dog lover. A born and raised New Yorker, he now resides in Santa Monica, CA. 

WEB DESIGN

With more than 20 years of experience as a journalist, magazine editor, and brand strategist, Ritzy helps organizations bring their mission to life through clear, compelling communication. She believes every organization has a story worth telling. Sometimes it just takes someone asking the right questions (and occasionally deleting a few unnecessary adjectives). A Seattle native, Ritzy has worked with John de Graaf on so many memorable and impactful projects and campaigns over the years.

NARRATOR

Kate is an actor, narrator and teacher. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, UCSD, and Yale. Kate has performed in New York City and in regional theatres across the country. She appeared in all three Law and Order syndicates. In 2018, she became part of the Marvel universe in the Netflix TV show Daredevil, playing FBI honcho Tammy Hattley. She is a proud member of Actor’s Equity and SAG/AFTRA. When not acting she is whitewater kayaking, backpacking in the Rockies, or anything else out of doors she can dream up. For more : kateudallvoice and kateudall.com.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Kevin is the Executive Director of Filmmakers Collaborative SF (our fiscal sponsor), as well as being a filmmaker with a long track record of PBS documentaries and festival awards.  On behalf of Filmmakers Collaborative SF, Kevin will provide editorial guidance, script and edit review, fundraising and distribution assistance and fiscal supervision - as he did on John's Stewart Udall film.  He lives in San Francisco.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Vada Manager is a former senior executive at Nike Inc. and at Levi Strauss & Co.  He was a senior advisor to Arizona governor and former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt as well as Arizona governor Rose Mofford. He has advised White Houses and international leaders such South African President Nelson Mandela and his cabinet. He has been involved in several HBO and Netflix documentaries and served as an executive producer of the Stewart Udall film. He was named one of the Most Influential Black Corporate Directors by Savoy Magazine. He resides in Phoenix, AZ and the Washington, DC area.