BHEF and The STAR Education Resource Station Present
STEP-UP
Multi-Media Production Summer Steam Academy 2013
Instructor
Shanee Edwards
Shanee began acting at age 7, and performed extensively on both stage and screen, winning Best Actress at HBO's Aspen Comedy Arts Festival for the film Dead Silence. Shanee obtained an M.F.A. in screenwriting from UCLA Film School.
While at UCLA she received the Samuel Goldwyn Excellence in Screenwriting Award, the Women in Film Award, and the Alfred P. Sloan Award, for her original screenplay Enchnatress of Numbers based on the life of Ada Lovelace, the world's first computer programmer.
Currently Shanee is the film critic for the online magazine SheKnows.com and produces/hosts the web series She Blinded Me with Science to encourage young girls to explore science and technology.
Instructor
Alexander Rossi
A film graduate from Art Center College of Design, Alexander Rossi is a music producer and an educator.
He is currently the director of the Music and Media Arts department at STAR Education, and the assistant director of the widely acclaimed RockSTAR program, running in schools all over California and recently expanded in New York and Nashville.
Orchestrating camps and afterschool programs Alexander gets children excited about music and having fun with film, whilst guiding them to becoming accomplished muscians and film makers.
Meet the STEP-UP Crew
Lynn Okimura is an industry professional, and educator of Animation and Media Arts for students of all ages. Her professional work includes 2D animation (traditional and computer), visual effects, puppetry and mixed media projects for G4TV, HBO and Disney.
She has been an Assistant Professor and Instructor at the UCLA Film School and CalArts, where graduates move on to work for top studios in the fields of animation, gaming, visual effects and film.
Lynn has been a partner to STAR education for the last 12 years lending us her expertise both as a teacher and an animator.
Instructor
Lynn Okimura
Instructor
Greg Scott
Deemed "A real musician" by legendary soulstress Roberta Flack (Killing Me Softly), Greg Scott's extensive resume encompasses live performances at venues across the nation such as the House of Blues (Hollywood, CA), The Village Underground (NYC) and the Boom Boom Room (SF) to name a few. Greg has performed with the The Platters Motown Review and with multi-platinum recording artists K-Ci and JoJo; his voice can also be heard on Televsion Media recordings. As well as being a singer/songwriter and musical director, Greg is also a film-maker and combines this skill with his others to produce music videos. He is able to share this knowledge through teaching film-making programs throughout Los Angeles, and coaching at Seth Riggs' Vocal Camps.
Program Director
Tery Arnold
Tery Arnold has a wealth of experience in both the education and entertainment industries.
Tery's journey to becoming an educator started with the performing arts. After graduating from UCLA, she travelled extensively with the International Mask Research Foundation and the Los Angeles Mask Theatre, offering compelling theatre performances and cultural mask workshops in California, Holland, Belgium, and throughout the southern United States. Tery also performed for several years with an all women's ragtime band, The New Miss Alice Stone Ladies Society Orchestra. Alice Stone performed in clubs, colleges, and on television. Tery later continued her studies with masks in Paris, France, at the prestigious Jacques le Coq School of Mime.
Taking a break from her travels, Tery started her own production company, Tery Arnold & Associates. She produced and directed fashion videos, music videos, children's videos and commercials. She worked for Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, assisting the Vice President of Production with development, production and post production of a variety of film projects, including "Independence Day" and Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo and Juliet", and later coodrinated events for Fox LA, Fox Australia, and Fox Baja, Mexico.
After becoming a parent herself, Tery decided to devote herself to a career in education, in 2001 she came to STAR Education as the Director of the Gifted and talented Education (GATE) department. In 2013 she is also, along with her co-director Marisa Cleghorn, the director of the STAR Resource Station and the STAR Assemblies and Events department, bringing progressive and interactive programs to children, parents and teachers in over 60 different school districts.
Site Supervisor
Romayne Putna
Romayne comes to us from Wales. After receiving a degree in philosophy, specialising in logic, from the University of Liverpool, she travelled the world, and spent eight years working as an instructor in outdoor education, art and theatre.
Six years ago she joined STAR Education teaching programs in science, math and the arts . She is now the Curriculum Coordinator for the STAR Resource Station where she develops - and still loves teaching - new currciulum with a focus on project based activity learning, and being a part of the assembly and events team that specialises in going to schools and bringing unique 'Edutainment' experiences to the students.