Staff & Board

Melodie Bahan was appointed Executive Director of MN Film & TV in June 2017. She previously served as the first Vice President of Communications for Artspace, the nation’s leading developer of affordable space for artists. She developed an integrated strategic communications plan to advance Artspace’s brand identity; broaden awareness of its projects and priorities; and increase the visibility of its projects. She also served as leader of community engagement activities in numerous cities throughout U.S., developing relationships with artists, funders, government officials, and community stakeholders.

Previously, she served as the Director of Communications for the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, overseeing all media relations, publications, and online content. During her 10 years at the Guthrie, she supervised press relations for all aspects of the Theater, including the work on the stage as well as the construction and opening of the new Jean Nouvel-designed Guthrie on the banks of the Mississippi River. Prior to joining the Guthrie, Melodie lived in New York, where she served as the president of the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women and worked in New York City government and on political campaigns.

Jill Johansen has worked in the production industry for more than 20 years on everything from public television to national cable series. She now finds her organizational strengths and radical attention to detail most useful in managing the MN Production Rebate and MN Film Production Tax Credit.

Jade's role as Director of Operations gives him the opportunity to utilize both his creative skills and experience in program management.  Jade's core responsibilities include managing MN Film and TV's state contracts, finances, fundraising, locations database and production directory.  Additionally, Jade focuses on creating and maintaining relationships with Minnesota's production industry by assisting local filmmakers through each stage of their project.  Jade is also a strong advocate for environmental conservation and animal rights, having volunteered with organizations such as Conservation International and the Wildlife Science Center.  Jade's passions include travel, biking, basketball, live music, reading, and spending time with his wife and their cat, Monty.    

In her media career, Lu has worked as a documentary filmmaker, producer, writer, editor, journalism professor, film festival director, grant administrator, and social media specialist. Previous careers include teaching English in Japan and Greece, computer systems analysis, and degrees in Classics, Linguistics, and Mass Communications.

Van Hayden has worked in film and television production for the past 33 years, primarily as a 1st Assistant Director, on shows including: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, The Wonder Years (2021), Kenan; Respect; American Skin, Hustle & Flow, Almost Christmas, Barbershop 3, Night School, All Eyes on Me; Real Husbands of Hollywood (5 Seasons), Kids, Oprah Winfrey Presents: Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Let’s Go to Prison, Stonewall, Stranger Inside, But, I’m A Cheerleader, Whitney, and Project Greenlight.

Hayden began his production career in the Fall of 1989, when he drove from his native Minneapolis to Brooklyn, New York, to intern on the set of Spike Lee’s fourth feature film Mo’ Better Blues. After production ended on the film, Lee hired Hayden to work at the prolific filmmaker’s Brooklyn-based production headquarters, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, where Hayden assisted with the sales and promotion of Lee’s prodigious line of film merchandise, traveled with Lee to more than 20 college speaking engagements across North America and worked as a Production Assistant on Lee’s fifth and sixth feature films Jungle Fever and Malcolm X, respectively. During the five years that followed, Hayden continued to gain invaluable experience, working as Lee’s Assistant Director on national commercials for Nike, featuring Michael Jordan, Little Richard, and Marv Albert; Diet Coke; Levis Button-fly Jeans; The Emmy-Award winning HBO Documentary Brooklyn’s Own, Iron Mike Tyson; and music videos for artists including Prince, Arrested Development and Fishbone.

In 2000, Hayden joined the Directors Guild of America, where he was elected and re-elected to serve as a Co-Chair of The Guild’s African American Steering Committee; The Guild’s A.D./UPM Council; A founding member of The Guild’s 1st A.D. Committee; And named three times to The Guild’s National Negotiating Committee. Hayden worked as the First Assistant Director on Oprah Winfrey Presents Their Eyes Were Watching God; And the Whitney Houston biopic Whitney. Both films were nominated for the prestigious Directors Guild of America’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Television Drama. In 2018 Hayden was honored with the Third Annual Baron Jay Foundation, Trailblazer Award, for his outreach, development of and commitment to supporting the next generation of filmmakers and story-tellers from under-represented communities.

Prior to his career in film and television production, Hayden attended The University of Minnesota, majoring in Journalism and Political Science; Worked as a summer intern at The Philadelphia Daily News, New York Newsday, and The Associated Press. While attending The University of Minnesota, Hayden wrote for The Minnesota Daily, where he covered environmental issues and the Minneapolis City Council, before being named News Editor and Associate Managing Editor. While interning at The Daily News in 1985, Hayden won a Regional Spot News Reporting Award from Sigma Delta Chi, The Society of Professional Journalists, for his story chronicling the successful search for a Massachusetts man, in need of a life-saving kidney transplant, amid the crowd of 100,000 revelers, attending the legendary LIVE AID, Concert For African Famine Relief, at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.

For the past decade, Hayden has served as a judge for the annual Pan-African Film Festival in Los Angeles. In 2018, He relocated from Los Angeles to his hometown Minneapolis, where for the past three years, he has served as a member of the Minnesota Film & Television Board of Directors.

Tacy has been a producer, showrunner, writer and manager in the television and media industry for more than three decades. Dedicated to the art of storytelling and creating innovative content, she’s experienced in production genres from unscripted and reality TV to documentaries, talk shows, live music/performance events, news, children’s programming and branded and digital content.

She’s responsible for the successful implementation and production of 22 national broadcast cable and PBS series, as well as a long list of special projects and digital content for networks and clients. She presently produces and develops content and projects through her company, Brown Horse Media. She co-created the Travel Channel series,
“Bizarre Foods with Andrew “ and was the series producer for the first five seasons of what is now the longest running series on that network. Tacy was also the Co-EP for Travel Channel’s “The Zimmern List,” a Daytime Emmy winner in the food/travel series category in 2020.

Her work has appeared on national cable networks including Discovery, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, History Channel, HGTV, Food Network, MSNBC, and Disney Jr. Her producing achievements include two National Daytime Emmys, a national Peabody Award, an Edward R. Murrow Award, the Carnegie Medal of Excellence for children’s video production and a number of regional Emmys and awards.

Jennifer Spire is partner and CEO at Preston Spire, an AdAge Midwest Small Advertising Agency of the Year. She is an accomplished marketing leader with over 25 years of experience in both consumer and B2B marketing for a range of industries. At Preston Spire, Jennifer has played the leading role in reshaping the framework that defines the agency, focused on new vision, values and purpose. She is chief champion of the agency's ethos, Good Wins, which speaks to her beliefs that brands will win by being positive and purpose-driven, creating experiences that are welcome in people’s lives.

For the Minnesota Film & TV Board, Jennifer is Treasurer, on the executive committee, and the chairperson of the Fundraising and Finance Committees.

Will Prescott is an award-winning filmmaker who directs corporate, commercial, and documentary work in Minneapolis. He began his career in Los Angeles producing for PBS member station, KCET, and working with SAGindie to promote SAG-AFTRA’s theatrical low budget contracts. He made his directorial debut in 2013 with the feature, FEEDING MR. BALDWIN, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Minnesota Film & TV.

Amanda is a producer, film-maker, branding expert and sought-after public speaker, sharing her “Do Well By Doing Good” philosophy on stages around the country. She demonstrates how both companies and individuals can make a meaningful and positive difference in people’s lives, while fostering their own success in the process. She believes that companies must not only identify their brand purpose, but put that purpose into action.

Through her work, Amanda has defined what it looks like for brands to truly act “as publishers” creating movements through their content strategy. In her most recent demonstration of this, Amanda was the Chief Brand Officer of Deluxe where the brand challenge was to reach small businesses. The solution? She created, produced and hosted their Emmy-nominated series “Small Business Revolution,” which streamed on Hulu and was named among Inc. Magazine’s top shows for entrepreneurs. Through this inspirational reality show, Amanda was able to prove the model of authentic content stretching a brand’s spend by achieving 12x the reach through this series over traditional paid media. The program accumulated over 13 Billion impressions, 6,000+ earned media articles and 20 million content views (and counting). Not to mention - this work changed lives, families, small businesses and communities across the country.

Amanda is a nationally renowned brand expert, Forbes contributor, and frequent on-camera personality for national news outlets and celebrity interviews, ranging from LL Cool J to Peyton Manning. She has appeared on CNBC’s “Cleveland Hustles,” in addition to hosting the online “Small Talks” series that features successful entrepreneurs across the country.

That’s all while charting an acclaimed career that spans groundbreaking campaigns for brands like BMW, Reebok and Sony, in addition to her role as an inspiring female executive at Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies, such as United Health Group, Allianz, General Mills, and Deluxe. Amanda’s current and former board service includes the Children’s Cancer Research Fund, Make-A-Wish, the Children’s Theatre Company, the Ordway Performing Arts Center, Ad Council, ANA (Association of National Advertisers) and the Women’s Business Development Center. She also passionately volunteers for causes such as Special Olympics, Feed My Starving Children, Habitat for Humanity and more. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband (who happens to be her best friend), her daughter (who is a small but mighty force of nature) and their puppy (who is, of course, adorable).

Engage with her on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook @amandakbrinkman.

I am uniquely able to take on future-oriented challenges. I lead the way to visionary possibilities and create what others said couldn't be done. I say Yes before I even know the end of the question-then turn it into a productive adventure.

Ambidextrous, and empathic Growth Operations and Business Strategist, Disruptor, Content Producer/Creator, COO and Chief of Staff, known for high EQ, intrepid curiosity, collaborative and entrepreneurial leadership style, generating opportunities, removing barriers, challenge resolution, leading and accelerating disruptive innovation and driving profitability in fast-paced, high risk industries with focus on upstream thinking. I thrive at the ambiguous and breaking the status quo. I thrive at the intersection of people and technology and impact content storytelling. Passionate about being a contributing global citizen, I am a trail-blazing traveler, adventurer and cultural explorer; 10 plus years as international education volunteer for over 30 weeks in 9 countries as an ally for with NGO's to realize the UN Global SDG's. My colleagues appreciate my leadership philosophy: People remember how you made them feel. Never give up. There is always a YES!

Shawn Judge is a people lover. She founded The Speaker’s Edge to help clients “enjoy the spotlight and celebrate who they are.” She provides public speaking, voice and diction, accent reduction, and diversity-inclusion communication training. Her unique approach to communication comes from her classical theater training and 25+ years as a professional theater, voice-over, and on-camera actor.

Shawn has recently been appointed by Governor Tim Walz to serve on the Commission on Judicial Selection and is honored and thrilled to have a say in who gets to administer justice in Hennepin County. She is a certified qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), an assessment tool used to build intercultural competency for individuals and groups within organizations. She has taught at the William Mitchell College of Law, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and has trained attorneys from around the country through The National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

In 2014, Shawn was appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court to serve on the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board and is also a board member of the MN Film TV board and the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. She is a former board member of the National Association of Women Business Owners-Minnesota chapter and has served as a member of the Guthrie Theater’s Community Advisory Committee.

Her clients include General Mills, Boston Scientific, Target, Lockheed Martin and Medtronic. Shawn is the go-to communication resource for the Dorsey & Whitney, and Robins Kaplan law firms.

Shawn is also the founder of artists2artists, a mentorship program designed to support the next generation of Twin Cities-based actors.

Bio to come

Casey E. Lewis is a proud member of Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Actors’ Equity Association (AEA).  He currently serves as SAG-AFTRA Twin Cities Local President.

Prior to returning to the Twin Cities in 2017, Casey spent 15 years in Los Angeles working as an on-camera, voice and stage actor.

Casey served an integral part during the legislative efforts to pass and later enhance the Minnesota Film Production Tax Credit.  Since September 2021 he has served as the Co-Chair of the Minnesota Film Alliance, and more recently joined the MFA Board.

David has over 10 years' experience leading production operations - both film and television - with his clever and strategic thinking, thoughtful planning, and laser-focused attention to detail. He has a track record of utilizing film incentives worldwide and has helped enact legislative and organizational change in Minnesota to make the state more economically competitive. He joined the board of directors for Minnesota Film and Television in early 2017 and was elected Co-Chair in 2019. He graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2000 with a degree in filmmaking.

Brian is a member of IATSE Local 490. He has worked in the Art Department for over 15 years in Film, TV and TV Commercials and once appeared alongside Mark Wahlberg in the film Contraband. His hobbies include spending each Spring lobbying for film tax incentives at the MN Capitol. 

Bio to come

A noted entertainment attorney as well as an active film producer, Dan Satorius combines a rare understanding of both the business and creative sides of filmmaking.  Satorius represented clients in the entertainment business for over 35 years prior to his retirement from the practice of law in 2022.  His clients included Academy Award, Emmy Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Peabody Award winning independent producers, writers, and television stations in the film and television industry.  He was frequently named to the annual list of “Super Lawyer” in Entertainment Law.

Satorius received a Masters of Arts in motion picture production from the University of Iowa, and his short narrative film, “Fear and Trembling” was a finalist for a Student Academy Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Following law school he produced award winning documentaries and corporate communications projects while he pursued a career in law.  He established a law firm specializing in music which included clients, Prince’s NPG (New Power Generation) Records, The Replacements, Soul Asylum, The Suburbs, and Semisonic among others. He subsequently expand into a broader range of entertainment work, and developed an extensive client roster in film and television.

Satorius has developed and produced a range of films including: “Twelve Thirty,” a dramatic feature-length motion picture written and directed by Jeff Lipsky, which was in competition at the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival and released January, 2010 to critical acclaim; “Varian and Putzi,” a documentary by the late Richard Kaplan about an American scholar who rescued a long list of Jewish artists and intellectuals from Vichy France; “The Starfish Throwers,” a documentary by Jesse Roesler about a five-star chef, a twelve year-old girl, and a retired schoolteacher who through their individual efforts to feed the poor helped to ignite a movement in the fight against hunger; “The Peacemaker,” a documentary by James Demo - an intimate portrait of international peacemaker Padraig O'Malley - who helps make peace for others but struggles to find it for himself.  Satorius is currently in development on several feature-length projects.