BAVC Staff
Paula Smith Arrigoni
Paula Smith Arrigoni is the Executive Director of BAVC Media. In partnership with BAVC's staff leadership team, and Board of Directors, Paula advances BAVC's vision and strategy, partnerships, administration, and funding. Paula's background blends community development, nonprofit management and independent storytelling - from her urban planning education at UCLA, to the CDFI Fund at the US Treasury, Nonprofit Finance Fund, Youth Speaks, an independent film fund, BAVC Media, and several volunteer roles with film and media organizations and collectives, including The Roxie Theater, Watsonville Film Festival, BAMMS, and the Ninth Street Independent Film Center. Paula has executive-produced several independent films. [...]
Javan Jiles
As Media Specialist, Javan supports existing and new SF COMMONS members, manages the outreach and engagement of the public and their entry into the orientations, programs, social media support and producing content. He also provides technical support and equipment maintenance for BAVC Productions. Javan joined BAVC Media as an intern in November 2017 and became a full-time staff member in July 2018 whilst obtaining a BA in Cinema and double-minoring in Critical Social Theory and Political Science at San Francisco State University. Over the past several years, he has written 2 screenplays and produced music and video content. When not [...]
Anita Gay
Anita Gay works across several programs at BAVC Media, including Operations, Workforce, and Employee Engagement. She liaisons with the City and County of San Francisco on Tech Apprenticeship initiatives, and oversees facility operations at BAVC Media's home in San Francisco, the Ninth Street Independent Film Center. Prior to joining BAVC Media in 2017 Anita spent many years in the world of photographic arts and retail, working in sales, bookkeeping, and human resources. She spent some formative years living in Thailand and South Korea, which fed a lifelong desire for world travel. In 2017 she co-founded the East Bay Photo Collective [...]
Dawn D Valadez
Dawn D. Valadez is the Director of Workforce & Artist Development at BAVC Media. She is responsible for training young adults and people of all ages in media careers. Dawn co-directs national artistic programming such as the Media Maker Fellowship. Dawn Valadez is a second-generation Xicana, fiercely independent, disabled, queer filmmaker and artist. Along with the Colectiva Varina, their film Querida Fátima (in post) won the 2024 DocLands Jury Prize for their recorded pitch. Dawn is the Producer/Co-director of The Pushouts (with Katie Galloway, 2018), earning the 2019 Imagen Best Documentary award. Dawn loves road trips, creating art with friends, [...]
Mindy Aronoff
For our clients seeking video, audio, and animation services, Mindy assists BAVC Productions and Producer Andy Kawanami with delivering original content. She oversees logistics, creative, and administrative elements of each project across pre-production, production, and post-production. A people connector who thinks entrepreneurially while fighting the good fight, Mindy credits seeing people change their lives as the fuel for her 26-year tenure at BAVC. She has directed teams of artists, technicians, and editors to produce quality media for hundreds of clients, forged partnerships between industry and government to implement award-winning workforce training contracts, and has received over $1M in in-kind donations [...]
Brittney Réaume
Brittney Réaume is the Director of Artist Programs & Services at BAVC Media, leading programs for independent filmmakers across the U.S, notably the BAVC MediaMaker Fellowship for early-career documentary directors and the suite of complementary initiatives. Brittney handles all Fellowship logistics from application to selection, travel, training, and events. In addition to the Fellowship, you can reach out to Brittney with questions about the Mediamaker Connect Mentorship & Residency Program, Fiscal Sponsorship, the IMAG (Independent Media Arts Group) network, BAVC Media’s VERSED workshop series, or BAVC Media’s partnerships with peer organizations in the independent film and media field. Brittney has [...]
