2020 OMPA Board Elections

There are five seats open for the 2020-2022 term on OMPA's Board of Directors. You will find bios below for people nominated to fill the seats. Write-in candidates are also welcome.

How it Works

• Only current OMPA members can vote in board elections
• You can only submit your ballot once.
• Voting ends on December 30 at 5:00pm PT.

Bio: A Nigerian-American Producer, Director, and an Assistant Director who has studied directing under some of Hollywood's most prominent and prolific film makers. He has directed and produced music videos, commercials, and films. His first feature, Hurricane In the Rose Garden (2008), screened at the Pan African Film Festival and Slamdance film festival before being picked up for distribution. He most recently served as an Assistant Director on local projects The Waterman, Shrill, and Trinkets.

Personal Statement: I’m interested in serving because it’s an opportunity to give back to the community that has given to me. I have board experience, most recently finishing a 5 year stint with the Northwest Outward Bound School. I also have experience as a working crew member, as well as a production company owner which gives me a vantage point of personally understanding the realities of many of the OMPA membership.

Bio: Angela has been a Recruiter in the VFX and Animation industry for 10 years. She has lived and worked all over the world for various VFX studios which include Base FX (Beijing, China), Gener8, and Prime Focus (Vancouver, Canada). She returned to the U.S. to work at LAIKA and has championed reverse recruiting methods to help share talent among local studios. She looks forward to helping artists and studios make Oregon, and OMPA, their forever home.

Personal Statement: First of all my main goal is to LEARN! I would specifically like to understand more about the advocacy part of the organization. I feel I could be valuable to that team in the coming years. I want to become more involved and really try and own a piece of the puzzle that we are currently trying to put together.

Being a part of OMPA, especially on the board, helps me keep up with what is going on in the local industry and also allows me to put forward ideas that shape some initiatives which could be helpful for recruiting and LAIKA. On a personal level, I love being a part of the board, getting to know the other members, and making a difference internally in the local industry. I am constantly learning about local politics concerning lobbying efforts and strategies, the local industry, business practices, live action production, unions, etc. I believe it broadens my experience and makes me a more well-rounded person.

I really love what OMPA is doing and I will remain a HUGE advocate and bull horn for the organization for years to come.

Bio: Annie has worked in the Portland production industry for 15 years. She is Executive Producer, Owner, and Co-Founder of Actual Industries, an end-to-end video production company creating content for product overviews, web campaigns, and broadcast commercial work for companies such as Google, YouTube, Nike, Amazon, the Oregon Culinary Institute, the City of Portland, Harry & David, and Costco.

Annie began her producing and directing career in New York City working on shows for the Food Network, Fine Living Channel, and PBS. As EP of Actual Industries, she oversees work supporting creative online campaigns and global communication for Fortune 100 companies.

She is a graduate of Brown University and also earned a Master's Degree in TV, Radio, and Film Production from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications. She is currently a member of the Portland Chapter of Women in Film and the Couch Film Collective.

Personal Statement: As a small business owner, I’ve been able to mentor and support so many talented individuals as they honed their skills on our productions. As an OMPA board member, I’d work to advocate for, represent, and support other production BIPOC, women, and non-binary individuals. Sharing my experiences and perspectives, I hope will introduce and broaden the ways in which I believe OMPA can serve its membership and make our regional production industry even stronger and more valuable as collective media producers.

I aim to help shape and create events and programs that can create mentorship and hands on opportunities that support diversity and inclusion. Over the last decade and a half, our city and industry has changed so much. I have a great deal of respect for all those who have contributed to building this production community, and I’m excited by the influx of new talent. Building a strong community that understands, embraces, and supports diverse perspectives and experiences will only make our work more impactful and relevant, furthering Oregon’s reputation as a modern hub for all forms of production media.

Bio: Robin Hewitt is an independent production accountant with 25 years of experience in the film industry. Robin’s career started in Los Angeles as a controller for live action film production companies with an eventual shift to VP of Finance for an animated film & TV studio (Rugrats, Wild Thornberries, Rocket Power) including a commercial division and record label.

Upon moving to Portland, Robin continued working on animated films and television series for an LA studio with clients like Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, DC Comics, Disney, MTV, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Turner Networks. When she learned of the hit comedy Portlandia, Robin was thrilled to be back in the live action game and worked on seasons 2 through 8. Other local projects include the Comedy Central animated series Jeff and Some Aliens and various Warner Bros. live action productions for The CW. Robin also does the accounting for various small businesses in the Portland area.

Personal Statement: I appreciate being part of this group of amazing people in the media industry and having the opportunity to advocate for our crews in Oregon. I enjoy being a part of the financial reporting and analysis team.

After revamping the financial statements, we have two years worth of historical data that we can analyze to help us determine how to maximize revenue and keep expense under control. I would like to set up the budget on a monthly basis (rather than one budget amount for the full year) so that we can have a better idea of our monthly cash flow.

Bio: Matthew brings his extensive TV, commercial, and film production experience to OMPA. Beginning his career in the legal world, Matthew took his desires of being in production to work at Animal Logic, where he worked on projects like the Lego Movie. Next Matthew ventured to the world of commercial post-production where he ran U.S. Operations at The Mill. After a brief stint at Imaginary Forces, Matthew bought his experience to Portland and is looking forward to a long career in the Oregon production community, as well as being an active participant in OMPA.

Personal Statement: I'm always looking at the bigger picture and what can be bigger than being a board member of an organization that helps promote and advocate for the businesses and the individuals that help create the media production industry in Oregon. This organization isn't about the glory of one person, but rather how the collective works together to build a robust production community. My goal as a board member is to continue to grow the organization and make it the central hub of everything media industry related in Oregon and the first and only stop for any and all productions based in Oregon. I want to make sure the OMPA brand is strong and continually evolving with the community it serves. I want to continue recruiting younger members to our organization and showing them the value in not only being a member, but also being an active member within the OMPA. Lastly, I want to make sure make sure there's sustainable work for our members for years to come and that our membership is first in line to work on those projects. I really enjoy being a board member and I look forward to further contribution to the OMPA for years to come.

Bio: Claudia Meza produces and co-hosts the weekly arts radio program "State of Wonder" at Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon's NPR station.

She spent most of her 20s in vans, touring the country, playing in bands, learning every possible way she could fall asleep in an upright position. She attended The Evergreen State College where she studied lab sciences, music composition and digital media. Right after college, she worked as a lab analyst for the state of Washington and then the city of Portland in Oregon. From then until very recently she worked mainly in advertising and in film and television production. Now she’s dutifully learning how to not curse on air.

Personal Statement: Claudia is interested in serving on the board to help broaden perspectives not fully represented in Oregon’s growing production industry, specifically, those of women and people of color. Her background in audio and visual storytelling could be used to bolster OMPA’s community engagement and their already active focus on building a more diverse membership.