meet the committee

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Andy Awes

president / exec producer

Andy Awes is the President of Committee Films and has been working professionally in film and video production as a director, producer, editor and Tom Hanks’ stand-in for over 15 years. That's 105 in dog years.

In addition to turning the company into a production powerhouse, Andy is Executive Producer and Show Runner for ABC's hit docudrama series, In An Instant, and Executive Producer for a new, highly anticipated HISTORY series entitled True Monsters. Long before the success of his series work, Andy’s first foray into television came in 2009 when he executive produced and directed the 2-hour documentary special Holy Grail in America for HISTORY. It was so well received, it helped Committee Films launch America Unearthed, H2’s top-rated show – which aired an impressive 39 episodes. Further broadcast specials to his credit include Who Really Discovered America?, Secrets of Einstein’s Brain, Nostradamus: 21st Century Prophecies Revealed and Bigfoot Captured – all for HISTORY – and Mystery of Easter Island for NOVA/National Geographic. Andy is also spearheading an exciting yet unnamed series for HISTORY, which audiences can expect in 2016.

Whew.  As if that's not enough...

Andy's television work doesn't stop at successful network and cable programming. He continues to direct and edit national spots, digital content and brand campaigns for companies such as Best Buy, Target, Sperry, Dairy Queen, Herman Miller and Alice's Wig Warehouse. (Okay, the last one's a joke. But if Alice were ever to want cool branding, he'd be all over it. But we all know Alice.)

When asked what superpower he'd love to have, Andy replied, “Invisibility. For sure.” I know what you're thinking. It’s not because he wants to see people naked. That's sick. It's because he wants to be naked in front of other people without them seeing him.

Maria Awes

SVP / head of development

Maria Awes is Sr. Vice President, Executive Producer and Head of Development for Committee Films. She also holds the title for most titles. Prior to coming on board, she spent 10.2 years (she's very detailed) in broadcast journalism where she won multiple Emmys and the Edward R. Murrow award for her investigative projects. In 2009, after realizing her journalism award shelf had no more room, she decided to turn her talents toward one of her two other passions: producing and writing TV series and specials - or cooking.  While she’s been known to make a mean pork slider, she’s even better at cooking up ideas for kick-$*% television shows.

Since the success of her first television special, Holy Grail in America on HISTORY, she's gone on to produce a LOT more content - including the hit docudrama series In An Instant on ABC.  She spent three years as the Executive and Series Producer for H2's top-rated show, America Unearthed, oversaw the new HISTORY series True Monsters and was an EP on Top of the World for Travel Channel.  Specials she's developed, produced or written include Who Really Discovered America, Bigfoot Captured, Secrets of Einstein’s Brain, and Nostradamus: 21st Century Prophecies Revealed - all for HISTORY - and Mystery of Easter Island for National Geographic/NOVA. 

Maria has also done not too shabby of a job overseeing the successful, rapid growth of the company, which now employs nearly 30 people in varying roles.  That's a lot more than the 4 it started with!

Is there anything she doesn't do?  Yes, get enough sleep.  But - on the bright side she does still cook every night for her family while she and her husband Andy prep their two young children to take over the world, or at least the company, someday.

Kari Kloster

director of operations + executive producer

There is one critical thing to know about Kari Kloster – other than the fact that she is Committee's Director of Operations and Executive Producer of Television Production.  That is, she doesn’t smell.

By this we concurrently mean that she specifically doesn’t have any sort of objectionable smell and that she actually can’t smell well. This is entirely due to what she calls a “freak childhood mishap.” Having a “freak childhood” mishap is super tough in and of itself, but check this out: Kari’s first job in television was covering sports – The NFL, MLB and NASCAR. She would never have actually gotten that job if she could smell. Have you ever been in a locker room?

Her sports gig ultimately led her to work for John Madden’s crew where her amazing production talents came face-to-face with her then very un-amazing football knowledge base. But with a great attitude, awesome skills and “Football for Dummies,” she went to the Super Bowl.

After that adventure, she boarded a plane to check out what to her was an even bigger matchup than the Super Bowl – figure skating at the 2002 Olympics! This fulfilled a lifelong dream for Kari, as she is an avid figure skater herself. Lifelong dream fulfilled, Kari thought, “Why not move back to Minnesota?” I mean, it is the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," and lakes become ice in the winter – perfect for her to skate on.

Turns out, Minnesota is the land of 10,000 other things too, meaning television series, and all of them wanted a Kloster. She started show running, and she ran fast.

She ran like 3 shows, was VP of a production company, and developed countless programs. In 2013, she fell in with Committee because we needed an awesome Show Runner ourselves! Since then she's moved on up and had a hand in all of our success, including ABC's hit docudrama series In An Instant, Travel Channel's Top of The World, the new HISTORY series True Monsters and upcoming specials Secrets of Einstein’s Brain, Nostradamus: 21st Century Prophecies Revealed, and Bigfoot Captured also for HISTORY.

All of this, just because Kari doesn’t smell.

Donna Drewick

director of communications + executive producer

She's called "Big Red" and not just because she's spicy and packs a kick but also because she's nearly 6 feet tall (6'4" in platforms) and has about 27 pounds of red hair. She also eliminates bad breath.

Donna has been in production since she was 16. In that time she studied film in New York and Minnesota, went from receptionist to producer in 2 weeks, was Executive Producer at CRASH+SUES for almost 7 years, and has freelance produced for a number of agencies. In other words, she is the Mrs. Miyagi to your Daniel-san.

She named her first kid after a rock star. Let her first kid name her second. And her third kid is named Wolfie. In other words, she likes to take chances with odd names, but that's not the point. Point is, you're dealing with a mother of three. That means anything you chuck at her she can handle. That's why we made her Head of Commercial Production and Director of Communications. (NOTE: We literally hurled a piece of cheese at her this morning, and she caught it in a fondue pot. That's what we're talking about here people.)

In her spare time Donna practices archery and crochet. Just kidding – she doesn't have any spare time.

We do suspect she may be in a rock band though - she's just got that thing. And if she did have a band, it should be called "The Gums" and the other members would be Wrigley, Juicy Fruit, and Hubba Bubba. And... she's telling us to wrap this up. See? Great manager.

David Mueller

director of post production You wanna know about “the Mule"?

Neither do we.

But if you do, he has dirty blonde hair, dirty blue eyes, and a dirty personalty. He graduated college in 2 years and moved to NYC to pursue everything dirty. Well, not everything dirty.

For many years, he worked in theatrical film distribution, helping release independent films such as CROUPIER, YU TU MAMA TAMBIEN, PALINDROMES, BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, TARNATION, PASSION OF THE CHRIST, among many others. He worked for Shooting Gallery, IFC films, Newmarket, Wellspring, Tribeca Film Festival & United Artists during his tenure.

David (NOT DAVE - don’t you dare!) made the transition back to television, securing a position on the ABC sitcom Hope & Faith. Once those adjectives wore off, David pursued a producer position with PBS. While at the Twin Cities affiliate, TPT, Mueller wrote, edited and produced a number of local short-form documentaries.

Mueller eventually fell in love with POST and was lured to the other side so to speak. Managing post production on numerous television series for Magnetic Productions in Minneapolis reminded David that he no longer needed to carry pelican cases for pennies and flex his shapely muscles for meals. Please note that flexing his muscles for meals was never required.

In his current Post (get it?!) David leads the post production department, which includes managing personnel, equipment, schedules, budgets and plays Post Supervisor on all projects. He leads a team that is responsible for completing and delivering all projects to television networks and commercial clients.

If that’s not enough, Mueller fights hard to always show that the POST muscle is as fast, strong and as pretty as the production muscle...well, maybe not as pretty. Not that it’s a competition or anything...or is it?!!

Sergio M. Rapu

director of development

Sergio M. Rapu, known to some as “The Surge,” was born on the remote island of Rapa Nui, like all great producer/writers. Easter Island, as you may refer to it, is the most remote, inhabited place on Earth, but even distance didn’t stop this guy from coming to Committee Films.

Before he arrived at c_f, he migrated to Hawaii – the most isolated archipelago on Earth – and then went on to Loyola Marymount University in LA – the least isolated place on Earth – where he earned a degree in Film/Television Production. One of his first TV gigs was working on the hit show LOST as a production assistant and he moved up quickly from there – and on to projects of his own. He’s won a boatload of awards and grants for his work, mostly pertaining to the topic of Polynesian culture.

Committee contracted him to AP their first NOVA / Nat Geo project about Easter Island because they figured hey, this guy can help us get access to the sites we need to film!  But what Committee Films got was so much more.  Sergio proved to be an invaluable collaborator, levelheaded producer and aficionado of great restaurants, which he likes to frequent with other c_f staffers and his lovely wife. Naturally we brought him on full-time and he was one of a tight-knit team of folks who made Committee Films’ series, America Unearthed, a hit on H2.  Now, he’s trying his hand producing material for our development department, bringing fresh ideas and a new perspective in our approach to content creation.

see work

Ben Krueger

director | executive producer

Ben Krueger is a dude with a beard in a northern city: Rockin', Livin' and Holdin' Steady (AND keeping the letter "g" off of words ending in "ing"). He's into episodic television playin' rock n' roll, huntin' agates and eatin' wrong. He's also a Producer, Director and all around likable guy.

After attending film school in Minneapolis, Ben started his career as a Production Assistant – working freelance for many years. In 2009, he submitted a commercial (his first) for Doritos "Crash The Super Bowl" contest and was selected as a finalist. His spot "Snack Attack Samurai" aired in the 4th quarter of the 2010 Super Bowl and was "the most watched ad of all time" by Nielsen ratings. It was also rated "best ad with a samurai" by Samurai Zine, which is not a real magazine. Since then he's kept busy working with Committee Films on all of its projects big and small. He's been all over the world with Committee and hopes to keep doing just that.

Ben's trademark is his captain's hat – he is currently on his seven(teen)th. "The Captain stands for quality,” he says, “and being cool with everyone you can, while you can.” He lives in Chaska with his awesome wife, rad sons and odd dog where they have a small garden and a great life.

When asked to write a play-by-play fight between his favorite 8Os comedy star and favorite 8Os drama star (this is a standard interview question), Ben wrote about a bout (see how I did that?) between Fozzie Bear and Magnum PI. It speaks volumes about Ben's character that Fozzie won in this scenario.

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Todd Grabe

director / editor Todd is an award winning Director, Editor, Creative, Barstool Philosopher, Music Lover, Dad, and Pedal Pusher (not necessarily in that order). He loves telling stories and making cool things with smart people. His strong visual style and human approach lend to stories that are beautifully designed yet wonderfully authentic.

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Brandon Boulay

director / DP

Brandon Boulay is Committee’s resident Director / Director of Photography. His approach: be wildly passionate and always reach beyond (or around, or inside, or on top – or all of the places you didn’t think of) the status quo.

We are here to sing our DP’s praises because he won’t – even though he is one of the driving forces behind the amazing Committee Films aesthetic you’ve grown to love and expect. The “20-something Caucasian male” points to his mediocre cooking and affinity for bikes (with a motor, or not) when characterizing himself. His favorite smell: the ocean. His favorite place: the ocean. His favorite sound: [this bio brought to you by THE OCEAN].

But that’s why we like him – he’s a humble dude with genuine talent, who loves everything about saltwater and, even so, chooses to reside in Minneapolis. He began his career immediately after graduating high school and spent seven months on the road directing two films, both involving motocross. The experience provided him an arena to explore new avenues of storytelling in action sports and this is where he made bold moves as a fresh, young director – moves that would help him refine his craft and prove his talent.

Even though he’s led a life amongst thrill seekers, Brandon wants you to know he has a softer side. Think Humane Society photos and Sarah MacLaughlin songs. Things that cause him to ask deep rhetorical questions like, “How many dogs could I bring on the road? What if I covered the airfare? Why Sarah, why?!”  

Not to worry, it’s nothing a little Arrested Development can’t fix (the television pleasure for which he feels no guilt).

see work

Marco Baca

director The term: Marco Antonio Baca, loosely translated, means “entirely great human with major directing chops” in all known languages. This is likely not a coincidence as the Marco Baca we know is exactly that. Ever since dominating a three-part PSA campaign called “Buttchuckers” (look into this before judging), he’s been directing spots. First for Wilson Griak, now closed, and then through SER International, now closed. So when Marco walked through the door at Committee we knew he’d close it, but hopefully not in the same way; in a much cooler way, as in closing deals with new major commercial clients. When Marco isn’t busy creating brilliant, compelling stories on film, he loves being at home with his family of six. They occasionally go to visit an even bigger family in LA where Marco developed his love of the ocean and surfing. A Minnesota resident for 16 years now, Marco has found an alternate outlet for this passion by snowboarding and taking baths in huge tubs – not at the same time. Despite having a love of manual labor – he works a lot on his 128-year-old home and has an unexplainable passion for firewood – Marco is also quite savvy with the latest tech. You might also say he’s known just as well for his Facebook posts as his fence posts… or you could just keep that one to yourself. Also… POLO!

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Cari Merryman

stop motion director / animator

Cari is a stop motion director, animator, puppeteer, baker, candlestick maker and all around artistic genius. She actually pointed out that her bio is sort of “stop-motiony” with its one-letter-at-a-time-making-a-sentence thing.

Before working at Committee, Cari had an oddly large number of jobs (her resume was 12 pages) including but not limited to: lifeguard, GAP employee, DNR employee, real estate mogul for Victoria’s Secret, clothes dryer, and ammunition sorter. Only after all that did she decide to get her masters in animation over in Bristol. It’s actually a common path for animators.

When she’s not at work or making art project after art project, Cari is planning her next Halloween party – they are legendary! I kid you not. Her kitchen table is surrounded by 6 handmade corpses; there is a 12ft papier-mâché shark hanging in her basement; and currently at least two frozen cave people effigies reside in her garage (although only one of which has an alien popping out of its chest cavity). Point is, her creativity knows no bounds. And she brings that to each and every project. 

Oh, and if that's not enough, she’s also a scuba diver and co-captains charters to Isle Royale. 

see work

Jason Ho

director You know those people who casually rattle off their incredibly ambitious and unrealistic dreams, like:  “I don’t know, I’ll probably learn Japanese and Chinese because I’d love to do some international work and talk about film all over the world without being slowed down by language barriers or running out of English words. You know, it’s mostly just a childhood dream that would also allow for me to create cutting edge, dynamic content that may or may not inspire my side gig as a salsa dancer”?

Meet jHo - formally (and rarely) Jason Ho 

No, you haven’t met anyone like him and neither had we – until of course, we did. jHo went to film school in Chicago, received a full ride for his first year and spent it studying as much as he possibly could before dropping out debt free, and continuing his studies in a place less academic and more awesome. That place? Everywhere else. He attended Miami Ad School as a way of meeting industry professionals, got an internship at Pocket Hercules, ran the video department (cause he’s overqualified for everything on Earth) and was eventually hired as a director at Pixel Farm. But now, although based in New York, he's at Committee. Thank our lucky stars. So all this to say: jHo set the bar pretty high… we estimate roughly 30,000 feet (cruising altitude) and we’re pretty sure he did it on his flight to Japan – where he first ventured into commercial film. jHo says his style was derived from Chinese movies that he’d watched as a kid. Emphasis on Jackie Chan, snap zoom, whip pans, eccentric characters, sweaty characters and – because he considers himself a wild card at times – characters with unpredictable beauty and passion. And that’s why his work has a distinct flavor and look...

George Norman

managing producer

George Norman is our Managing Producer and he lives in an 87-year old craftsman bungalow that he managed to restore himself – complete with brass door pins, copper furnace grills refurbished windows. He even took out the old gravity furnace – which he called “an iron octopus wrapped in asbestos” – but all of this rehabbing equates to only the second most impressive thing he has done…

That’s because when George was hired at Committee Films, he took on the lofty goal of teaching us a whole new language. It sounded like English, but it had bizarre words like “spreadsheets” and “structure” and “status updates.” Some were originally baffled by his foreign ramblings, but to George’s credit, he has been patient with all of us. Now, thanks to him, we’re learning better ways to do all kinds of new things like keep track of records on computers – not Post Its, hone in on details and better manage our time. George has also helped shepherd all of our television production from pre-pro through post, most recently working on ABC’s In An Instant and HISTORY’s True Monsters series.

George’s unparalleled organizational skills were honed by a rich background that includes over 20 years experience working on news, corporate videos and other television projects. Twenty years is also the amount of time he’s been going to the same tailor. And in an office full of fabulous people, George has the snazziest wardrobe by far. In fact, sometimes we worry that he’s going to leave us in order to start his own business; one where he sells photos of himself modeling his own clothes to less snappy dressers who can then Photoshop their heads into the shots.

In all seriousness, George says, “I love the rush of production; it can be filled with highs and lows and everything in between. I like that we want to tell great stories that impact people, entertain people and share something with them that they might not have known.”

That sounds exactly like why all of us are here, but as usual, George said it the best and most efficiently.

Martine Pelleymounter

production manager

Martine graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism, which is why she finishes every sentence with "back to you." After graduating she worked at a PR firm representing a number of local and corporate companies before getting her start in the television production world, working as a production assistant on a home improvement television series for the DIY Network.

From there, no one could hold her back!  Martine joined Committee Films just a few short years ago and rapidly rose the ranks, being promoted from an associate producer, to production coordinator, to our Production Manager extraordinaire in less time than it takes most people to complete just about anything.  If you've ever talked to Martine in person or on the phone, you'll know one of the reasons she's so successful - her always-sunny disposition.

Unless, you don't turn in your receipts...

When she's not at work, Martine loves to ski, shop, try new restaurants, hang out with friends and family, and indulge in her guilty pleasure of watching reality TV. Her other guilty pleasure? Tab soda. Yep. It still exists. And she knows where to find it.

When asked what super power she'd love to possess, Martine replied:  It would definitely have to be the ability to read people's minds. I mean, how awesome would that be? Especially if you could read the mind of a person who is reading a book. It would totally be like an audiobook -- but free!

Brian Bangerter

writer

Brian holds the record at our office for the number of different employment histories. He seems to have a knack for just showing up without any documentation and working until somebody pays him. He got his first job at age fourteen, working for a local Taco Bell. He was fired two weeks later when they found out his real age. There’s a joke in there about working illegally at Taco Bell, but we're not touching it. Since that time, he's worked many jobs including storyboard artist, legal research assistant and even risk analyst for mortgage securities corporations. That being said, it’s creative storytelling that is his real passion. He claims to love structure, but we don’t really believe him. He’s been splitting his time at Committee between screenwriting for ABC’s In An Instant and various development projects, which seems to be the perfect fit for his restless brain.

In what passes for free time, Brian likes to enjoy a neat tumbler of American bourbon on his couch while replying in conversational tones to the hosts of Sports Center. He loves journalism, philosophy, politics and his Xbox. He says that he hates television, even though he watches it all the time. Considering what we do here, we're a little concerned he might be a saboteur. When forced to name a favorite series, he replied, "Friday Night Lights probably had more impact on me than any other TV show, because it actually made me care about Texas. Crazy, right?" (ED. NOTE: The beliefs in this bio do not in any way reflect the beliefs of Committee Films. We love you, Texas.)

His idols are Hunter Thompson and Phil Jackson, which seems like a bit of a dichotomy. Just add that to the list of dichotomies in his life. When we asked him if there were any (other) odd quirks we needed to know, he replied: "I just want to help out in any way I can, while being left alone. And no, those two things are not compatible at all.”

Paula Engelking

sr. writer / producer

Paula Engelking was born.

Now she's Senior Writer at Committee Films helping survivors tell their stories on the ABC docudrama series In An Instant. Before that – she proved her chops in the TV series realm working on dozens of episodes of the Committee Films/H2 show America Unearthed.

How does someone get so far in such a short time? Being really good. Before joining Committee, Paula won "a couple" of regional Emmys and "a couple" of Edward R. Murrow awards. See how she says it like it's no big thing? The Society of Professional Journalists and the National Press Club have also recognized her work. In other words, she can "write right." Between delivering acceptance speeches for awards, Paula loves spending time with her family.

When asked to describe herself in one sentence she simply said, "Thrifty", which was incredibly thrifty of her. This tendency used to be at odds with her foodie side – she loves a great meal – but Groupon solved all that. If she could buy a Groupon for stock in Groupon, she would.

Here are two other things you should know about Paula. She once pulled out someone's chest hair because she thought it was a microphone cord that was showing. She also left repeated messages for a man she wanted to interview; only to later find out he was dead. "That," she says, "is the only acceptable reason for not returning my calls."

Courtney Crockett

producer

Courtney has the distinction of being the only person on the planet to produce an interview with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia… in a skirt. She’s earned more production chops at 24 than most people could garner in a lifetime, working everywhere from Dubai to Vietnam to the mosquito breeding grounds in the Everglades. When she needed to get to Bermuda overnight, she “negotiated” a passport at a Miami passport agency in under an hour. We can’t provide details on how that happened.

Needless to say, Courtney is an invaluable addition to our producers in the field, especially for the projects where we’re sending her to the four corners of the globe. That’s why we entrusted only Courtney to produce a multitude of international shoots for the major fashion brand SPERRY. She’s currently lending her talents as a Field Producer to an exciting yet unnamed series for HISTORY slated to air in 2016.

In addition to producing, she loves shooting whenever she can find the time. She shot her own indie doc in the Philippines, and her “How I Fell Into Production” story starts with getting unexpectedly thrust into cam ops.

When we say an employee is “driven” that’s usually code for OCD. Court is VERY driven. Like a lot of her coworkers she has an irrational love of candy (Twizzlers, if you must know). And coffee. And RedBull. But outside of work she says she’s even more neurotic.

“I have extremely weird habits, and most of them revolve around insomnia. I bask in awkward situations. I’m learning Arabic via podcasts in my car right now. I’m a serial YouTuber. My feed usually looks like: South Korean Plastic Surgery, Real Life Ukrainian Barbie, How Stuff Works, Tribal Tattoos, Head Transplants...” Hmm…maybe we should be using her more in the Development department?

Maybe the most important thing to know about Courtney is that she refused to accept she was human until she was 10 years old. “From age 7-9 I thought I was a fairy. Like SERIOUSLY thought I was a fairy. I was waiting for them to shrink me down. I spent all my free time making tiny stick houses in the woods covered in moss and glitter.”

While we’re absolutely thrilled to have her on board, we’re sorry we can’t give her a fairy-sized, glittery workstation. It’d certainly save us considerable space.

 

Cate Honzl

producer Bio coming soon.

Curt Ash

senior editor

Normally we take the time to write up a bio for someone, but we think Curt’s answer to the question “What’s your background?” is pretty good by itself:

I was born in Fargo, ND and I'm half Canadian. When people make fun of Canada in front of me, there are repercussions. I went to film school to avoid sitting at a desk all day.  Ironic, eh?  Also, I joined the Army after High School but didn't pass my physical.  I was voted most likely to win an Oscar in high school. I dig the outdoors. I'm an Eagle Scout, how's that for all-American (but half Canadian)? 

That sums it up, except for one thing.  Curt is just ridiculously tall. 

He’s as tall as any two other Committee employees combined.

We say 6’10”.

This allows us to constantly shower him with praise puns: “If you left we’d have big shoes to fill,” or “You take editing to new heights,” or “You’re super tall Curt."  Wait, that last one isn't quite the same…

Despite his stature, he’s crap at basketball and has a tiny dog - a 6lb Chihuahua named Paco. He is, however, a fantastic editor despite the small keys.

Outside of work Curt likes to be outside in the woods. He may be solely responsible for 1/5 of the sasquatch sightings in North America.

In the past, Curt has been a cart pusher at Target, a truck driver and a homebuilder. He was also once a door-to door meat salesman – a common path for editors. Whatever the path he took to get here, we’re happy he’s here now. He was a huge hire for Committee Films. There we go again…praise punning.

Suzy Cyr

commercial coordinator

Pro Tip #1 for dealing with Suzy Cyr – Her last name is NOT pronounced “Sir” as in: “You did a good job with that, Sir.” or “Sir, you are incredible!” (Both are phrases she hears regularly because she routinely does an impeccable job, but also because people routinely mispronounce her name). It is pronounced “Sear” as in: “Sear that steak!” or “Seer, you are incredible!” Don’t worry though, this is easy to remember since Suzy brings the heat to every task she’s given.

Now the Commercial Coordinator at Committee Films, Suzy studied Psychology and Journalism in school and then did what most double majors in Psychology and Journalism do – wait tables. “Sear that steak!” she’d say after convincing the customer to order it (psych) and reporting the order back to the kitchen (journalism). But Suzy wouldn’t have to wait long before she was hired by back-to-back post production companies for her impressive attention to detail and incomparable work ethic. Now she helps give the orders and keep our plates full with commercial work. She occasionally finds time to use one of her majors to wheedle her way onto sets with 30 puppies as well. True story.

When she’s not coordinating the commercial production, post, and marketing at Committee, Suzy likes to change it up and do things that start with “B.” Bikes, books, boats, beer, babes and basketball are among her interests. She currently lives in Minneapolis where she still listens to the Spice Girls on occasion.

Bethany Hoogenakker

production coordinator

Bethany is a huge fan of the movie Grease. Normally this might prevent her from being able to work at Committee, but she blew us so far away in her interview that we couldn’t stop ourselves from hiring her.

Bethany came to us straight after graduating from college – in fact she took an Uber directly from her ceremony at the University of Minnesota campus and had it drop her off right outside our door – she’s that passionate about production. When she arrived we initially thought it was somebody meeting her parent for “Bring Your Daughter To Work Day.” But it quickly became obvious that an incredibly organized and competent Coordinator had just walked in, especially when she told us that “the ability to fly” was only her second choice if she could have any superpower. Her first choice – “predicting the future, but only a month out” – was so that she could plan things, but not have an overwhelming amount of information. Even her thought process for the logistics of superpowers is organized. (By the way, applying for Production Coordinator is the only time that “planning” is an acceptable choice as a superpower.)

Her last name, Hoogenakker, is actually the Dutch word for “master of snowshoeing,” but oddly Bethany has never strapped those tennis racket flippers onto her feet. Fortunately, she’s a master of production for us, so hopefully she won’t need to defend her family name with proof of her snowshoeing prowess any time soon.

If she does, we’ll make it work in post.

Ryan Soule

designer

Ryan started at Committee Films as "the intern." He'd come in sort of whenever and do whatever and then go to his real job at Canterbury Park as a camera operator. We have no idea how long he'd been showing up, as no one really talks to the intern.

Turns out, Ryan is actually an extremely talented designer and master of Photoshop, so the execs at Committee decided he should be paid before it started to look like the company was in violation of labor laws. In addition to making his own films in his spare time, Ryan is an avid snowboarder, jazz connoisseur, and tree-fort builder. Seriously, you should see his tree fort.

Now that he's on board at Committee and lending his creative brain to all things design, we actually talk to him. We found out his favorite television guilty pleasure is Wife Swap, which he calls "excellent social experimentation." He also likes the Planet Earth documentary series, Misfits, NewsRadio, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

We've all stopped talking to him again.

Jen Blanck

head research librarian

When Committee Films decided we needed somebody to manage our research library, we went out and got an actual librarian.  That’s how we roll.  Jen Blanck is not just an example name you’d see in a mobile app tutorial on how to consolidate your friends into one easily accessible group, it’s also the name of our rock star Head Research Librarian.

Jen is schooled in anthropology, airplane runway taxiing, hand modeling, camp counseling and fancy coffee drink making – though she’ll tell you herself she’s the worst barista ever.  She also happens to have an MLIS degree.  That’s the part that makes her a real deal librarian.  After an eight-year stint working in a hospital library, she decided it was time to do something that made more use of all of her various skills and that’s when she started heading up Committee Films’ research department.  It’s a place where she can both do research and do a little hand modeling from time to time.  But, she’s not allowed to touch the coffee, except the Keurig. 

Jen spearheads our many research needs, managing all of the information from that research and loves it almost as much as we love her.  When she has free time, she doesn’t read nearly as many books as you might think a librarian reads.  She loves to travel and spend time with her friends and family.  Any other free moments are spent uploading and organizing all of her photos of her travels, friends and family. 

 

If she could have a superpower, she’d love to make more of those moments. “I would like to be able to stop time. I would use this power for two purposes. First, during the best days, I would stop time to revel in the moment. Additionally, I would stop time to do stupid tasks like dishes and laundry.” 

We’ll remember to not add dishes and laundry to the, er, laundry list of everything else she does for us.  

Liz Rolfsmeier

researcher | development bio coming soon

Stephen Garrett

associate producer bio on its way

Brandon Juarez

associate producer

bio long overdue

Devin Meierding

post coordinator

Before working at Committee Films, Devin Meierding was in college.  Literally, that's where we hired him from. There is a rumor that he literally drove from graduation at the Art Institutes International Minnesota to {c_f} and literally sat down at a computer to start work. At the time, he was the youngest person ever to join the Committee. Why? Because awesomeness knows no age or bounds!

Officially, Devin is the Media Management Coordinator, but in reality he’s the Catch-All-Guy Extraordinaire. When he’s not helping to keep the media nice and tidy, driving gear around, making our calendars run smoothly or simultaneously troubleshooting fifteen random office tech issues, Devin can be found unwinding by taking selfies. You know, pictures of yourself, I mean himself, I mean yourself , if you’re Devin, or if even you’re just you… forget it.

At any rate, you should see his selfie collection – its amazing.

Devin's mastery of selfie snapshots stems from his general love of photography, film and images and that's why he's a great member of our team. Bottom line, we’re glad to have him on board and don’t think we could live without him. We're not sure if he feels the same about us, but he definitely can't do without the TV shows Glee and Heroes. 

Outside of work Devin enjoys being terrified of the ocean.   Really, he does.

Cindy Barber

office manager

Bio coming soon.

Kyle Schultz

production assistant Bio coming soon (or so we've been told).

Zak Hanson

production assistant Promise we'll have the skinny on Zak very soon.