MEET OUR TEAM |
VETV only exists because of the dedication of our community. Our Board of Advisors has helped shape and support our organization from the earliest stages. Our classes are taught by some of the greatest talents in the industry, and our staff and faculty keep our organization running day to day.
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BOB LEFCOVICH
Founder and President
Instructor Bob has over 55 years working in almost every aspect of the TV industry. From TV Stations, including WRBL in Columbus, Georgia, WAGA in Atlanta, and WFGA in Jacksonville, Florida, to Mobile Trucks for Video Tape Enterprises, Trans American Video, and ABC Wide World of Sports in California. At Metro Tape West, Bob worked on scores of Network shows, including ‘All in the Family’, ‘The Jeffersons’, and ‘One Day at a Time’. Bob then went to Caracas, Venezuela helping build and run the country's first Color TV Production facility, Video Movil. Returning to the U.S., Bob worked at ABC TV in NY and then EUE Screen Gems. Bob then took a position as Senior Editor and Edit Supervisor for MTI in NY. Among his editing credits there was ‘The 3000th Performance of A Chorus Line’ for the Kennedy Archives, the series ‘Stand-By-Lights-Camera-Action’ with Leonard Nimoy, the series 'The Comedy Zone' for CBS, ‘The 20th Anniversary of Wide World of Sports’ for ABC, montage sequences for Woody Allen’s film the ‘Purple Rose of Cairo’, political commercials within the film ‘Power’ with Gene Hackman and Richard Gere, and hundreds of network commercials. In 1985 Bob moved on to the Grass Valley Group as the Senior Applications Specialist for Edit Systems and spent the next eleven years training hundreds of editors in 49 states and fifteen countries, as well as designing the feature sets for Super Edit, the VPE Editor, and the Infamous “Saber Edit’. In 1996 Bob and three others founded Editware, where they continued the legacy of Super Edit with the DPE series of editors, and designed the first ever series of Hybrid Edit Controllers; Fastrack, DiVA and eClips. During the last 30 years, Bob also found time to work as Edit Trainer and Tech Support for five Olympic Games, as well as being a consultant and trainer for POST (Peace Officers Standards & Training) for the State of California. Bob ‘semi-retired’ in 2018 and now spends all his energies on VETV.
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PETER A. MASON
Board of Advisors
Board of Directors Instructor: Tech Operations, CTO Peter is a Broadcast Television Engineering Consultant with over 40 years’ experience. For the last 20 years of his career, he worked with National TeleConsultants (Glendale, CA), as a broadcast systems design engineer and as a Principal Consultant providing technical expertise to numerous Broadcast TV clients . Peter specialized in media management, playout automation, custom controls, production systems, intercom and audio. He participated in the planning, design, construction, and testing of large-scale broadcast TV systems. Peter is a native Californian and became interested in the performing arts and technology in Middle School. He has a degree in Motion Picture and Television Production from Loyola Marymount University.
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ED SIMEONE
Digital Audio Specialist
Board of Advisors Ed enjoyed a long career in the entertainment industry before retiring to Nevada City in 2018. From 1976 until 2004 Ed toured as a Sound Engineer or backline tech for, Journey, The Electric Light Orchestra, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, TOTO, Charlie Sexton, Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, Glenn Frye, Boz Skaggs and Michael McDonald. The TOTO years (1982-1986) included studio work on albums by Michael Jackson, Don Henley, and numerous other artists.
From 1989 until 2009 Ed also enjoyed a parallel career as Founder, CEO, and then Chairman of the Board for digital audio powerhouse TC Electronic US. During his tenure at TC Ed lectured about signal processing at Society of Broadcast Engineers meetings and recording colleges, including Berklee College of Music, Full Sail School of Recording, Institute of Audio Research, SAE School of Recording NY and LA, New York University, and the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences. After TC Electronic closed their US offices Ed went on to lead the broadcast sales teams at Linear Acoustic and later at DK Technologies’ US office. Ed is a graduate of Emerson College Boston Mass with a Bachelor of Science, Speech with a major in Communication. |
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JOHN B. FIELD
Board of Advisors
Advisor: Tech Operations and Technical Direction (Switcher) John has more than 50 years at the top ranks in the TV and Broadcast industries. He has been recognized with an Emmy Award for Paul Simon in Central Park-HBO, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, and the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. The Kennedy Center Honors recognition award for first thirty years, plus multiple Emmy nominations. Johns Directing experience includes Miss Teenage America Pageants, Videopolis, Multiple Sporting Events and Commercials. As a Technical Director, Johns credits include Technical Directing Academy Awards(17 years), Grammy Awards (41 years), Latin Grammys (5 years), People’s Choice Awards (28 years), American Music Awards(18 years), Comic Relief (7 years), Tony Awards(15 years), ACMA Awards(5 years), CMA Awards(29 years), Prime Time Emmy Awards(28 years), Daytime Emmy Awards(13 years), Cable Ace Awards (all), Billboard Awards(3 years), Drew Carey Live, Will and Grace Live, Miss America Pageant (11 years), Kennedy Center Honors (37 years), Christmas in Washington (18 years), Divas Las Vegas (3 years), Super Bowl Halftime Shows (5 different years), Celebration at Ford’s Theatre (3 years). Stand Up To Cancer, Paul Simon in Central Park, The Eagles Reunion Special (Hell Freezes Over), The Three Tenors at Dodger Stadium, Reagan and Bush 41 Presidential Inaugural Galas, Republican National Convention 1996, We Are One (The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial), US Festival, Rolling Stones Tour Specials, Alan Jackson Tour Special, Don Kirshner Rock Concert Series (10 years), Solid Gold Series (10 years), Alice Sitcom Series (3 years), Down and Out in Beverly Hills Sitcom Series, It Is Written Series (20 Years), dozens more Concerts and Musical Variety Specials of 70s-80s-90s+. John attended Columbia College of Chicago and has a B.A. in Telecommunications.
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DAN CASTLES
Board of Advisors
A Telestream co-founder, Dan has over 30 years of TV industry executive experience. Under his leadership, Telestream has become the recognized worldwide leader in enterprise-class video transcoding and workflow solutions, addressing the numerous video format and device incompatibilities encountered when delivering video over the Internet or within a facility. With twenty years of consecutive revenue growth at Telestream, their employment grew from eleven employees initially to over four hundred today. Dan was named President of Grass Valley Group (then a division of Tektronix) in 1994, following a sixteen-year career at Portland-based Tektronix. Dan holds a B.A. in Business from Washington State University and an MBA from the University of Portland.
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MIKE KRIM
Board of Advisors
Mike Krim is an Emmy-award winning professional with more than 25 years of experience in large media environments. He delivers innovative technology solutions for top-tier firms, interprets requirements and implements the needs across the organization’s verticals. Mike has a strong working knowledge of broadcast technology, IT and operational workflows including television production, editing, media management, satellite transmission and OTT / Cloud distribution systems. He has managed large, complex multi-platform broadcast operations, including the design and innovation of systems for International Broadcast Centers for three Olympic Games. Mike is currently a Senior Manager with Optimity Advisors in New York. He advises clients on IT strategy, transformation management, shared services, data management and other related technology choices.
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JEFF SPALLA
Board of Advisors
Jeff is the co-founder of ReelData in Hollywood, specializing in Data management strategies, software design, product management, information systems architect, storage hardware implementation, and IT optimization. He has a demonstrated history working in the entertainment industry, skilled in Streaming Media, Music Videos, Camera, Avid Technology Products, and Film. Jeff edited the Dr. Phil Show for five years and was the Senior editor and Facility Director for Tri-Crown Productions for twelve years. As if he weren’t busy enough, in his spare time he was a Demo and Training Specialist for Grass Valley Editors, Switchers, and Digital Effects. Jeff has a BA focused in Cinema/TV from University of Southern California.
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BOB ENNIS
Board of Advisors
Bob is the director of Wheel of Fortune and has been a Technical Director for Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, The Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The $25,000 Pyramid, Hollywood Squares, the Oscars, the Olympics and many other top Network shows. He has also directed episodes of Supermarket Sweep and Family Feud and is the current director of Wheel of Fortune. He has been EMMY nominated five times for his work as a Technical Director, winning for the Olympics and for Hollywood Squares, and has been nominated once for Directing on Wheel of Fortune.
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JACK CHEW
Board of Advisors
Jack has over 30 years of professional experience in the television and film industry, having worked as an editor, videograper, creative developer, director, and producer. He was Senior Editor & General Manager at Nite Lite Studios, Senior Editor and Director at Post East, Senior Editor at Cross TV, and is currently Chief Operations Officer and Video Operations Manager for Calvary Chapel Church, all in Florida. Jack has a BSC degree in Motion Pictures Directing and Cinematography from the University of Miami, and is recognized by the State of Florida as an Expert Witness in the field of Videography.
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DAVID WOOD
Board of Advisors
David is the President, Founder and Chief Design Engineer of Ensemble Designs in Nevada City, California. His products are found in all major production, post-production and broadcast facilities world-wide. Before Ensemble Designs, David was a Senior Design Engineer for the Grass Valley Group. Prior to that, David was the Director of Engineering for WKOW-TV, the ABC affiliate in Madison, Wisconsin. David received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
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CINDY ZUELSDORF
Board of Advisors
Board of Directors Cindy grew up in one of the highest-pressure business environments - broadcast television. In an industry fueled by high-touch, face-to-face relationships, she cut her teeth selling tech to companies ranging from NBC to NASA. After decades learning things the old-school way, Cindy discovered sales and marketing automation and began using new systems for repeatability and success. Fast forward to the present, Cindy - via her agency, Kokoro - helps SMB’s across a baffling spread of verticals do the same. Their specialty lies in the rare skill of taking scattered technical platforms and transforming them into a cohesive, finely tuned, time-saving, revenue generating engine - all while keeping the ‘human-to-human’ approach intact. Her company, Kokoro Marketing, serves clients in six countries and many more times zones. When Cindy isn’t busy super-charging businesses, she’s sipping an Americano at Java Johns in downtown Nevada City, or taking a little hike with her family along the Yuba River. Cindy recently helped start the local Girls Who Code Club in Nevada County.
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JOE LEWIS
Board of Advisors
Instructor: Editing Joe started working the tv industry in 1984. He was involved in creating a State of the Art Cable Television facility with and for the City of Torrance. From there, he as gained experience in pre and post television production, and IT and software design. Joe has credits for television shows on all the major networks: CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX and many cable networks: MTV, Bravo, Spike, Reelz, Discovery to name a few and edited for the Canadian Broadcast Company, at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002. Joe has 2 Emmy Nominations and numerous editorial awards. He is fluent with Avid, Adobe Premiere, and Davinci Resolve NLE edit systems, and has experience working in remote trucks for NCAA Football, Robbie Knievel Live Jumps and several award shows, and for the past 3 years, he is the Senior Finishing Editor for Natural Nine Productions, in Burbank. With his IT knowledge, he is involved with several production companies’ workflow design and custom application development and company integration. Joe brings knowledge of moving media from point to point as fast as today’s technology will allow, and is ready to work with tomorrow’s cutting edge technology.
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GLENN STILWELLInstructor: Digital Audio
Glenn Stilwell is a long time audio engineer based in Northern California and has worked Regional, National and International radio & television events starting in 1986. Growing up around radio and electronics when his father started a local “Ham Radio” shop in 1976. He holds an Extra Class Amateur Radio License and has a CBT SBE certificate. From the early days of being the back-up radio engineer for the Sacramento Kings post game show, he moved through the industry working for the Sacramento Kings, NBC/Comcast, CBS, ABC/ESPN, NASCAR, IndyCar, Lucas Oil HD Productions, 5 Olympic games for Olympic Broadcast Services, and now leads the audio team at the Pac-12 Networks. Currently, Glenn is a consultant for Dolby Labs, and is the West Coast Sound Supervisor for the Major League Baseball Game of the Week on Apple TV. Glenn served with the United States Marine Corps.
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MIKE MINKOFF
Instructor: Technical Directing (switcher)
Michael Minkoff has been in television since 1980 and combining his technical skills with his creative ability he has become well honored and respected member of the broadcast community. Eight-time Emmy winning Editor, Producer, Director and Technical Director. Former Operations Instructor for Grass Valley Group and Editware. His experience includes Assistant Chief Operator, WIFR-TV, Staff Editor, Producer and Director for General Motors Corp, Freelance Editor and Tech Manager for NBC Olympics, ESPN X-Games, Director and TD for UFC, Top Rank Boxing, and Director and TD of numerous corporate shows around the world.
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MIKE BETTSInstructor: Switcher and DVE Operations
Mike Betts was previously Training Director at Grass Valley and has been involved in Television engineering from 1974 through 2018. He has trained many Technical Directors on switcher operations and Digital Effects around the world. After leaving Grass valley he ran his own training support operation for the Broadcast industry and has trained on both Operations and Technical support for Switchers, Routers, Storage systems and Master control. |