The Kangaroo Project

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BOARD MEMBERS - SEAN FRANCIS FOUNDATION

JULIE HARTLEY, PRESIDENT - (Line Producer, Production Manager)

Julie Hartley has been production managing and producing entertainment and media projects for the past twenty-five years. Her career began at Twin Cities Public Television (PBS) where she was the Production Manager for national programs. The majority of programs she managed were multi-camera, live event programs. Julie also managed the “A Prairie Home Companion” series live via satellite to the Disney Channel. She then worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in the TV Features Department.

As a freelance production manager, she worked on Comic Relief, a documentary in Northern Ireland and several corporate films shot all over the United States.

Julie made the leap to independent feature film production in 1988 with the production of Old Explorers. She also produced World and Time Enough, With or Without You, Wooly Boys and American Gothic. She worked as production manager on several studio features, including My Cousin Vinny, A Simple Plan (Second Unit), Joe Somebody, Lackawanna Blues, Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys and A Prairie Home Companion directed by Robert Altman.

In 2002, Julie started the Sean Francis Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting excellence in public service announcement (PSA) creation and production, as well as mentoring young people in the craft of filmmaking.

All in all, Julie has traveled extensively and worked on over twenty feature films and many more television programs. She is an active member of the Director’s Guild of America. When she is not working on films, Julie Hartley is available for commercials and other related projects.

KIRK HOKANSON, VICE PRESIDENT - (Executive Producer)

Kirk Hokanson has been involved in the film business since 1972 and is the owner and president of the commercial production house, Voodoo Films. He has extensive experience in documentaries, feature films and commercials. Kirk has been very involved with the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), the national trade association of the commercial industry. He has served on the AICP National Board for five years as Chapter President. He is currently AICP's Chairman of the New Technologies Committee. Kirk was an influential force in the founding of the Sean Francis Foundation.

ERIC MUELLER, SECRETARY - (Executive Producer, Director)

Eric Mueller has worked over the past fifteen years in just about every capacity, including P.A. writer, director, producer and editor, in feature films, television series, music videos, business communications and television commercials. In addition to his extensive production background, Eric has also worked in the non-profit world as Director of Production at the Minnesota Film Board. He is Executive Producer at Splice Here in Minneapolis. Eric is also a filmmaker, with several shorts and one feature film under his belt. He has received many grants and fellowships in support of his work. His films have shown in close to 50 film festivals including Sundance, Rotterdam and London. His feature film won the best picture award at the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

JOHNNY HAGEN, TREASURER - (Sound Designer, Musician)

Johnny Hagen has been involved in the film, television and advertising industry for over twenty years. He started playing music professionally and eventually found himself at Twin Cities Public Television where he became the Director of Audio. Johnny is President of Absolute Music, Inc. in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, a company specializing in creative music and sound design for advertising, television, film, radio and other media. He has developed concepts and produced music and sound tracks for most of the major ad agencies as well as on productions for National Geographic, MTV, HBO, VH1 and Disney. His business has also allowed him the unique opportunity of working with new independent filmmakers and developing artists. Along with multiple CLIO awards, Johnny worked on music and sound for the Academy Award nominated documentary "Changing Our Minds" and "A Prairie Home Companion," directed by Robert Altman.

SARAH WILKEY, TRUSTEE - (Real Estate Agent)

Sarah Wilkey is a successful real estate agent at the Grand Avenue office of Edina Realty. She has over fifteen years experience in numerous aspects of health care management, from private practice to corporate facilities. Sarah brings a broad base of business management, software, marketing and financial expertise to the table. While Sarah's best known by past employers as a "revenue doubler," she prefers creative project development. She has launched websites, product resale campaigns and recently supervised all aspects of design and construction of two successful medical spas in California.

TOM ADAIR, TRUSTEE - (Director, Videographer, Editor)

Tom Adair has been a director, videographer, director of photography and editor for the past twenty-five years. He won several awards for his work with Twin Cities Public Television in the 1980s and 1990s and was voted one of the top 50 television producers by Millimeter magazine in 1985. He has shot documentaries for the Discovery Channel, the Knowledge Channel, PBS, ABC and National Geographic. He produced a three-part technology series for Minneapolis Star-Tribune and KTCA-TV in 2001. He was also the Director of Photography for the short "This Car Up." For the past five years, he has traveled the world for Classroom Connect, shooting video and editing pieces for their Internet learning channel. His work on the Quest Network/Blue Zones "Quest for Longevity" was featured on National Geographic's Web site. Tom was instrumental in the creation of the Sean Francis Foundation.

MARIE DOMINGO, TRUSTEE - (Producer, Production Manager)

Marie Domingo has over sixteen years of film and television experience. She has produced a wide variety of film and television programs. Her credits include Producer of TV commercials for national clients, such as McDonald's and Target, Producer/Production Manager of music videos for major recording artists, such as Prince and The Fugees, Line Producer on the 2001 Emmy award-winning documentary series "American High," Line Producer on the independent feature film "Back Roads," that premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, Line Producer on "A Hoop Dreams Reunion," the PBS follow-up to the acclaimed documentary film, Segment Producer on the Emmy award-winning season of "Newton's Apple," and Producer of "Zero Street," a public TV drama that took top honors at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival and the National Educational Film & Video Festival. Marie continues to pursue her special interests in education and in producing quality media for young people. She is developing TVbyGirls, a project that works with pre-teen and teen girls to produce TV series for girls and everyone who cares about them.  In addition, she has served on the board of the Independent Feature Project/North, has participated in several selection panels for grant making programs and film and video festivals, and has organized educational seminars for the Twin Cities Media Arts community. Marie resides in Minneapolis with her husband and daughter.

NICOLE ERDMANN, TRUSTEE - (Production Manager, Producer)

Nicole Erdmann is a production manager and producer for television commercials, who credits her start to her experience as a Joey to Julie Hartley during the 2002 Kangaroo Project. After working on the first year PSA, Nicole made the jump from working in advertising to production. She began coordinating for Julie Hartley and Kirk Hokanson and went on to produce the 2004 Kangaroo Project on Youth AIDS Prevention. Nicole has been in the MN film community for the past 10 years making documentaries, short films and daydreaming about writing a feature. In addition to her commercial work, Nicole also teaches filmmaking to youth and is on the Minnesota State Art Board's roster of teaching artists. Nicole graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a BFA in Film/Video; she freelances in production and can't wait for more features to shoot in Minnesota!