We are honored to have gathered a distinguished group of individuals for the panel discussion following the movie presentation.
The Filmmakers:
Stuart Sender is an Academy Award® nominated filmmaker, broadcast journalist and screenwriter. His credits include producing and directing the Academy-Award® nominated documentary Prisoner of Paradise which also received a Directors Guild nomination and won the prestigious Grierson Award for best documentary on film. Stuart also executive produced The Garden which was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature.
Stuart is a partner in Balcony Films, a Los Angeles based media production and consulting firm. Stuart produces and directs much of Balcony Films award-winning content which has featured some of our best-known public figures and personalities, including: His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Shamir, KKK Grand Dragon David Duke and performers such as Will Ferrell, Jason Alexander, Felicity Huffman, Rosario Dawson and Stevie Wonder.
Julie Bergman Sender has a complex experience—from producing feature films and documentaries to producing and directing groundbreaking media campaigns that focus on politics and social issues. Julie began her career as a film executive at Warner Brothers producing movies with her mentor, director Sydney Pollack, as well as working at Disney, Universal and partnering with Jodie Foster in the creation of Egg Pictures.
Julie is a partner with her husband Stuart Sender in Balcony Films, Inc., a Los Angeles-based media production and consulting firm. Balcony Films current projects include feature and documentary films and television programs, as well as visual content and large-scale campaigns and specials for theaters, television, on-line, radio and whatever comes next.
Stuart Sender – Co-Producer/Director and Julie Bergman Sender – Co-Producer
Lori Pye, Ph.D.
Dr. Pye comes from an extensive background in education, environmental and marine conservation, ecopsychology and cultural mythology. She is the founder of Viridis Graduate Institute: International School of Ecopsychology.
www.viridisedu.org
Nicholas Deitch, R.A.
An architect, educator and civic activist, Mr. Deitch has been instrumental in developing community consensus and support for the preservation and revitalization of several downtowns and neighborhood centers throughout Ventura County and California. Founding Partner at Mainstreet Architects + Planners, Inc., Ventura, CA
www.mainstreetarchitects.com
Jim Churchill
Jim Churchill spent an important part of his childhood in Ojai. He has been farming in the Valley intermittently since 1978 and full time since 1997. With his wife Lisa Brenneis, Mr. Churchill grows organic tangerines and avocados. He is a founding member of the Ojai Pixie Growers Association. He is also a Board member of Food for Thought Ojai – working on school food issues in Ojai Unified School District since 2003.
www.tangerineman.com
Moderator: Michael Shapiro
A 22-year resident of Ojai, producer-screenwriter and disruptive entrepreneur Michael Shapiro has been a long time environmental and progressive political activist who has led many successful environmental coalitions, which have helped preserve and protect the Ojai Valley for generations to come.
Michael@michaeljshapiro.com
ABOUT OUR PANELISTS: click here to view their extended profile
The Coalition and the Community Environmental Council have extended the deadline to sign up for the Solarize Ojai Valley program until October 18. This program extension will offer Ojai Valley homeowners additional time to sign a contract and take advantage of limited-time, discounted pricing. Solarize Ojai Valley is the second community-led solar program that the two non-profits have run in the region; the program has already helped 13 Ojai Valley homeowners start saving with solar.
visit a 400 sq. foot home that has been built almost entirely with recycled wood and steel, and another home with a 1084 sq. footprint that is all about water conservation and efficiency while creating a food forest. Along with the homes, learn about and tour an aquaponic system as part of a local permaculture farm, then drop in next-door at Ojai Olive Oil, also sustainably farmed with a permaculture approach.
• October 26 Green Home & Building Tour and Home Show
