millas del Tráfico Marítimo

Jan Yanehiro

Director, School of Multimedia Communications

Jan Yanehiro co-hosted Evening Magazine, a nightly program in San Francisco that ran for 15 years on KPIX TV-CBS5. The television show pioneered the use of video. Evening Magazine is often cited as the show that launched

entertainment and reality programming. Yanehiro traveled the world in search of exotic places and fascinating celebrities. She has bungee jumped, sky dived with the Army’s Golden Knights and climbed a frozen waterfall in Colorado. She has hosted 6 documentaries on the US Government relocation and the redress of 110,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. Yanehiro has won multiple awards including an Emmy, the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award and the Girl Scout’s Woman of Distinction. She is Board Chair of The Representation Project and holds seats on Kristi

Yamaguchi’s Always Dream Foundation and The Bank of Marin. Yanehiro graduated from Fresno State University with a degree in Journalism: News-Editorial. She is the author of three books, her latest is, This Is Not The Life I Ordered…50 Ways To Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down.

Steve Kotton

Associate Director, School of Multimedia Communications

Steve Kotton has more than 30 years of experience in visual communication productions. He is the co-owner and Director of Production for New Material, Inc., that syndicates science and technology programming to broadcast networks and the web. His prior company, Pacific Video Resources, produced satellite broadcasts, webcasts, live action and VFX for video games, and syndicated series. Kotton was the Director of Digital Education Productions and a Producer and Director for HGTV, The History Channel, and the DIY Network. He was selected as one of the first cinematographers in the country to test the first field video camera, the Ikegami HL 33 back in 1977. Since then he has won many awards including 4 Emmys, a Clio and an International Film and Video Festival Award for Creative

Excellence. Kotton is the Director of Photography for a new silent movie, The Canyon, produced for the 100th Anniversary of Essanay Films, Niles, California.

Professional Background: New Material, Inc. (co-owner and Director of Production), Director of Digital Education Productions and a Producer and Director at HGTV, The History Channel, and the DIY Network

Charles Mauer

Studio and Program Technical Director, School of Multimedia Communications

Kevin Mauer was the Head Technical Director and Studio Manager for The Wealth Channel, directing daily live shows including Wealth Today and The One Person Campaign. Previously, he was an Associate Producer and Coordinating Producer for QVC, one of the largest multimedia retailers in the world. Mauer was part of the team that built the QVC Studio, one of the largest studios in the country located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Mauer has a BS degree in Film and Television from Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Educational Background: Drexel University (BS-Film & Video)

Cyrus Tabar

Director of Editing & Mac Technical Manager, School of Multimedia Communications

Cyrus Tabar is the co-creator of the online music magazine, Chromavision. His company produces videos showcasing up and coming electronic musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the country. Tabar worked as a “Genius” and an Administrator, at Apple. He uses his keen knowledge of technology to ensure the department adapts to today’s rapidly changing, technology-driven world. Tabar has created a number of light and sound sculptures and his work has been shown in galleries in San Francisco. He also produces multimedia (art, music, films) events for public venues. He received his BFA in New Genres at the San Francisco Art Institute

Educational Background: Art Institute of San Francisco (BFA)

John Scott

Online Coordinator & Career Services Manager, School of Multimedia Communications

John has been Content Manager and Program Director for two Clear Channel Media and Entertainment radio brands in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the Founder and President of ReinventU, a mobile channel app featuring job tips and career advice. In 2000, Scott was part of the team at Command Audio.com that launched the world's first on-demand audio service. He has appeared in music videos, television commercials and a Hollywood movie - as the dinosaur rustler in Jurassic Park: The Lost World. He has received several awards from the Northern California Radio/TV News

Directors Association, for Best Breaking News Coverage, Best Newscast Under 15 Minutes and Best One-Person News Bureau. Scott is the author of two e-books and audio books, Destination Reinvention: Starting Over During The Worst Economy Of A Lifetime and You. Employed: Why Winners Get Jobs.

Professional Background: President and Founder, SMF Media, LLC, San Francisco Operations Manager, KKGN/ KNEW San Francisco Executive producer: Television/Radio/Web trimulcast, KNEW San Francisco Content manager:

green960.com and 910knew.com Production Director: WLXR-FM La Crosse Music director: KHYI Dallas

Matthew “Matty” Staudt

Radio Manager / Full-Time Faculty

Matty Staudt launched the University’s UrbanKnightsRadio.com, a student run radio station featured on iHeart Radio. The online station has 70,000 listeners a month. Staudt started as a radio DJ in high school and became at 16, the youngest DJ in West Virginia. He later served as Executive Producer for the nationally syndicated G Gordon Liddy Show in Washington, DC. He moved on to co-host and executive produce for morning radio at WNEW, New York City. He came to San Francisco to be a Producer/On Air Talent for the #1 rated The Alice Morning Show. Staudt then created the podcast radio app Stitcher Radio which is now the world’s biggest app for on demand talk radio and podcasts. Look for Staudt, as Matti the car (blue car with the microphone) in Pixar’s animated movie, Cars. Currently, Staudt is a radio consultant for Premiere Radio, the nation’s largest radio syndicator. His clients include Director/Actor Kevin Smith, NFL All Pro Bill Romanowski, and Oscar Winner Jamie Foxx. Staudt graduated with a BA in English/Creative Writing from West Virginia University.

Educational Background: West Virginia University (BA-English/Creative Writing)

Paul Colardo

Full-Time Faculty, School of Multimedia Communications

Paul Colardo has been a writer, producer, director and videographer. His work has been on Good Morning America, The Disney Channel and broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC. He is the Founder and President of East West

Communications Group, a company that produced marketing videos and “Live” presentations for Fortune 50 companies such as Apple, Cisco, HP and Oracle. He has been honored with a broadcast Emmy for Best Feature Story and a Cine Golden Eagle for Outstanding Photography. Colardo graduated with a BA degree in Sociology from Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island.

Educational Background: Providence College (BA-Sociology/Psychology)

Richard Hart

Full-Time Faculty, School of Multimedia Communications

Richard Hart has reported on emerging technologies for ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Discovery, SyFy, and USA Network. As producer and host of Discovery’s longest-running technology series, he became the only person to win both a DuPont- Columbia Journalism Award for investigative reporting and an Emmy Award for comedy. Also one of the founding members of CNET/CBS Interactive, he continues to host technology reports syndicated to television stations in the US. Hart has co-hosted with Ryan Seacrest, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and Jan Yanehiro. He holds a degree in Physics from the University of Detroit, where he was an NCAA fencer. As a 2nd degree black belt, he founded United Taekwondo of San Diego. Hart is an instrument-rated pilot and an advanced SCUBA diver who has piloted an F-16 and bungee jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge.

Educational Background: University of Detroit (BS-Physics)

SCHOOL OF MUSIC PRODUCTION & SOUND DESIGN FOR VISUAL MEDIA FULL-TIME FACULTY

Brad Hughes

Director, Music Production and Sound Design for Visual Media & Director of Sound/Audio for Motion Pictures & Television Bradley Hughes has over 23 years of experience in sound and music as a composer, saxophonist, recording engineer and editor for clients including DreamWorks, Soundelux, The Hollywood Edge, and Creativity Studios. He has recorded on the scoring stages of 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Studios. He is a voting member of the Recording

Academy's Grammy Awards, and serves on the Board of Governors of the San Francisco Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. He has a BFA from U.C.L.A., and an MFA from The California Institute of the Arts.

Professional Background: California Institute of the Arts (MFA-Music Performance); University of California, Los Angeles (BA-World Arts & Cultures)

Scott Drapeau

Manager, Multimedia Language Labs

Scott Drapeau has over 10 years of multimedia production and teaching experience. He has worked in film, advertising, theater, and independent cinema. In New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo, Scott has worked as a sound engineer, camera operator, editor, colorist, musician, vocalist, & actor. His work has been shown worldwide at festivals and on international television.

Scott has been an instructor in EAP, MUS, and WNM at the Academy of Art University since 2007 and has also served as an Instructional Designer, Music and Video-Editing Tutor, ESL Support Specialist, and occasional Guest Speaker in his areas of expertise. His current passions lie in music production and education.

Educational Background: Hampshire College (BA-Film and Video Production)

Sahba Aminikia Online Coordinator

Sahba was born in Iran and studied music composition at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory under Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko. He earned a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from San Francisco Conservatory of Music and received a Phyllis Wattis Foundation scholarship.

His work has been commissioned by numerous classical and jazz ensembles and his third string quartet, "A Threnody for Those Who Remain," commissioned by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Kronos Performing Arts Association, was described by Financial Times as “An experience not to be easily forgotten.”

Dirk Epperson

Full-Time Faculty / Curriculum Coordinator – Music Composition & Scoring

Dirk Epperson has worked for the entertainment industry for over 40 years. He has worked with many major theaters, symphony orchestras, opera companies and professional singers in both North America and Europe. He has also worked in television and with well-known composers.

His musical expertise is as an Arranger and Orchestrator, working in genres including Classical, Film Scores, Musical Theater, Opera, and Pop. He also has a focus on music technology, and especially on creating orchestral mockups using sampling technology in order to get the most realistic possible sound.

Dirk has instructed at the Academy of Art University since 2012. As Music Production Curriculum Coordinator he is engaged in helping the department expand and adapt the course offerings for an ever-changing 21st century musical and technological environment. He has an M.F.A. from Yale University.

Educational Background: Yale University (MFA-Theatrical Engineering); Harvey Mudd College (BS-Physics)

Stephen Romanko Full-Time Faculty

Steve Romanko has worked in the entertainment industry for more than 25 years, including radio, television and motion pictures. His work has appeared on television and at film festivals around the world and his background in sound gives him an interesting perspective that continues to influence his writing, producing and teaching. During his years at Skywalker Sound, the audio division of Lucasfilm, he worked on more than 100 feature films, including Star Wars, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan and Fight Club. Steve has taught at Academy of Art University since 2001.

Educational Background: Marywood University (BA-Communications: Radio, Television and Film Production)