Persons
Jessica Epstein
Jess Epstein is the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Development at BAVC Media, where she leads relationship-building, fundraising strategy, and cross-sector collaborations that support and sustain the organization’s current and future programming. In this role, she works closely with philanthropic partners, industry leaders, and community or Jess joined BAVC Media in April 2023, bringing nearly 15 years of experience as a documentary producer and impact strategist focused on character-driven storytelling and public engagement. Credits include Remaining Native (SXSW 2025), directed by Paige Bethmann, and Daddy, a forthcoming debut feature by Hannah Myers. She holds a M.A. in Arts Administration from [...]
Katherine Pertuso
Katherine Pertuso is the Associate Director of Creative & Marketing at BAVC Media. She leads the design and creation of marketing collateral, including digital assets for social media, email, website, and printed materials in addition to managing the editorial calendar. Katherine joined BAVC Media in March 2023. She's previously supported the content and design strategy at several art and film nonprofits including CAFILM (DocLands, MVFF) and the Ann Arbor Film Festival. She has a BA in Journalism with a specialization in Visual Communication from Michigan State University.
Jin Yoo-Kim
As a Co-Director of the BAVC MediaMaker Fellowship Jin serves alongside Dawn Valadez in mentoring the BAVC MediaMaker Fellowship, an important "early in" artist development program that provides first-time feature doc directors with critical mentorship and an inclusive space for workshopping projects over the course of 5 convenings in 10 months. Jin Yoo-Kim joined BAVC Media in March 2023. She directed and produced a docu-series episode (Boyle Heights ep. of TAKE OUT WITH LISA LING), and feature documentaries (She produced & impact produced MANZANAR, DIVERTED: WHEN WATER BECOMES DUST). She is an impact mentor and consults on projects from production [...]
Kailen Sallander
Kailen Sallander is the Research & Development Manager at BAVC Media. In this role, Kailen supports fundraising efforts across all departments. Kailen also works on program evaluation, data collection, and field-wide studies at BAVC Media. Kailen has a BA in Sociology from California State University Long Beach, where she worked on several qualtitative and quantitative studies. Kailen previously worked with the San Mateo County government, and the research institution Child Trends, on data-driven projects. In 2020, Kailen's undergraduate sociology thesis was presented at the American Sociological Association's Annual Conference.
Daniel Díaz
As Deputy Director of BAVC Media, Daniel Díaz leads the organization's Marketing team, responsible for the organization’s brand, audience development, communications, and creative direction. He also oversees BAVC Media's Artist Development and Community Media departments, as well as supporting BAVC Preservation. Daniel has worked across marketing, distribution, and production in Europe, South America and the US. He joined BAVC Media in 2022 as Director of Marketing after two years at the California Film Institute. He has managed marketing and digital distribution campaigns for films including Spring Breakers, 12 Years a Slave, Man of Steel and The Lobster, as well as [...]
Xiarel Guillermo-Cortes
Xiarel GC is a Youth Media Instructor at BAVC Media. They are an alumnus of the Bridges Live Fellowship (2023) and the Youth Media Making Summer Intensive (2020). Their focus is youth development, and they are responsible for teaching all aspects of live video production in Bay Area-based youth programs. While discovering an attraction to video editing and videography, Xiarel joined BAVC Media as a student in 2020. They later became a Producer, then a lead instructor for the Factory Live Video Production class (2022) and the Climate Warriors summer intensive (2023). Alongside their role as an instructor, Xiarel has [...]
Timoteo Flynn-Valadez
Timoteo Flynn-Valadez is the Program Tech Coordinator for BAVC Media, responsible for organizing equipment across departments, handling checkouts to students, staff and BAVC Media members as well as troubleshooting tech issues and finding thoughtful solutions to technical issues. Teo also teaches classes in video and audio production. Timoteo Flynn-Valadez is an SF State graduate with a degree in Broadcasting and Electronic Communication Arts. They have been a media maker in the Bay Area their whole life working in radio, podcasting, sound design, independent filmmaking, documentaries and commercial video production. Teo is also a passionate educator teaching multimedia audio and video [...]
Yeelen Cohen
Yeelen is a non-binary Filmmaker, Actor, Writer, Producer and Theatre Artist based in Brooklyn. Born in Paris, France, and raised in Jacmel(Haiti), New York, Miami and the Bay Area, their multicultural upbringing deeply influences their artistic practice and view of the world. Yeelen’s work, often rooted in the personal, unfolds into larger conversations about identity, history, space, diaspora and technology. They co-founded and curated the Afrofuturism Film Festival in 2016, Assistant Directed the Haitian magical-neorealist feature Ayiti Mon Amour, and recently starred in Random Acts of Flyness on HBO. They won the mention prize award for Best Pitch at the [...]
Silvia Del Carmen Castaños
Silvia Del Carmen Castaños is an activist, poet, and filmmaker born and raised in Laredo, TX. Their activism and art are both grounded in community, justice, and self-determination. Silvia’s short film Ocean, a visual poem depicting a queer love story of a trans man and a cis woman, won a jury prize for documentary at the Laredo International Media & Film Festival in 2018. Silvia’s debut feature, Hummingbirds, is a uniquely collaborative autobiographical documentary directed by them and Estefanía Contreras about a summer in their lives coming of age on the Texas-Mexico border. Silvia has represented the Hummingbirds team at [...]
Naveen Chaubal
Naveen Chaubal is a Louisville based director, producer, and cinematographer. His work aims to reveal what immigrant suburbia can tell us about this country. He’s a fellow of Film Independent's Project: Involve and Fast Track programs. His short film “Pinball” screened at the DGA, Montana International Film Festival, KC Film Fest, Speed Art Museum and premiered online on NoBudge, where it won Audience Choice. He co-produced and co-shot Tomorrow We Disappear, a feature documentary that premiered at Tribeca, where it was named “Best of the Fest” by the Wall Street Journal. It also screened at Hot Docs and CPH:DOX. Naveen [...]
