Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is the governing body of the Denver Film Society. Representing a diverse cross-section of the community, the Board not only provides guidance to the staff as they carry out the mission of DFS, but also represents the organization to the public at large.

Chair:

David Charmatz
Independent Media Consultant

David Charmatz most recently worked for Starz Entertainment as Senior Vice President of Product Planning and Development, where he is responsible for helping develop and position Starz' original programming, broadband, HDTV, and interactive offerings, as well as new channels and on demand.

Treasurer:

Steven Levey
GHP Horwath

Steve Levey is CEO and senior principal of GHP Horwath, P.C. and a senior principal of GHP Investment Advisors, Inc. He has more than 32 years of experience providing wealth management, tax, and business advisory services.  

Trustees:

Jenny Bloom
Public Relations Consultant

Jenny Bloom has been involved with the Denver Film Society during the Starz Denver Film Festival in PR/Media Relations. She previously worked in the Commercial Endorsements department for Creative Artists Agency's New York office. She is the co-founder and co-chair of Reel Social Club.

Jim Bunch
Grumman Hill

Jim Bunch is founding principal of Green Manning & Bunch, Ltd., an investment banking firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions as well as raising private equity and debt from institutional investors.  

Linda Petrie Bunch
Core Interactive

Linda Petrie Bunch owns Core Interactive, an Internet development and promotional video business established in 1996.

Shannon Gifford
Helios Associates

Shannon Gifford works with businesses principally in the real estate industry, advising on business and development plans, planning and architect selection, financial structure, and lender and investor relations, and preparing complex financial models. She has an MBA in Finance from Wharton Business School.

Stephen Hatfield
Sprint Nextel

Stephen Hatfield is National Channel Manager of Business Marketing at Sprint, where he is part of a team that drives acquisition efforts for Sprint's Indirect Channel.  

Hayden Hirschfeld
A. B. Hirschfeld & Sons

Hayden Hirschfeld is a documentary filmmaker turned real estate developer. Hayden grew up in Denver where he is a fourth generation Coloradan.  He enjoys spending time with his wife Elana and baby son Emery.

Brian Jacobson
Foodswings

Brian Jacobson is founder and president of Foodswings, a healthy food products and services company based in Denver, CO. Previously, Brian served as chief operating officer of Meza Construction Company and director for Environmental Affairs for Qwest Communications.

Joanne Katz
Three Tomatoes Catering

Joanne Katz has lived in Denver since 1964. She is co-founder of Three Tomatoes Catering, a full service catering service that has been operation since 1977.

Lu Law
Syntax, LLC

Lu Law is a partner at Syntax, LLC., a Denver-based film production company.

Betsy Leighton
Challenge Denver

Betsy Leighton is Executive Director of Challenge Denver, a local non-profit that works with Denver urban high schools.  She is also novelist and freelance TV writer and producer. 

Jerry Maglio
Maglio Associates

Jerry Maglio is a real estate and marketing entrepreneur. He was the first president of Rainbow Media and served as an executive at United Artists Cable, Daniels, and Starz Entertainment. 

Claire McAuliffe
GHP Horwath

Claire McAuliffe, is a principal at GHP Horwath P.C. She has more than 20 years of experience in audit and attestation, consulting, and accounting, working with both publicly and privately held companies in the high-tech, manufacturing, and retail industries. 

Suzanne Sell
Starz Entertainment, Denver, CO

Suzanne Sell is Vice President of Research for Starz Entertainment, overseeing audience measurement, consumer research, program development research, and industry intelligence gathering.

Katie Shapiro
Independent Media Consultant, Denver, CO

Katie Shapiro most recently worked for Denver Magazine as the Director of Public Relations. She was a public relations executive in New York City before relocating to Denver in 2007. She holds a Master's degree in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder and is a freelance writer, media consultant, and co-chair of Reel Social Club.

Nancy Silverstone
Starz Entertainment, Denver, CO

Nancy Silverstone is Vice President of Program Acquisitions for Starz Entertainment, responsible for negotiating licensing deals, overseeing a multi-million dollar acquisitions budget, and managing the film evaluation department. 

Chris Tetzeli
Red Light Management

Chris Tetzeli has been in the music industry for twenty years as part of Red Light Management, the largest independent band management firm in the world.  Chris was a founding member of ATO Records which he ran for eight years before moving to Denver in 2008.  Now Chris runs the Denver Red Light office.

Howard Zucker
Zucker, P.C.

Howard Zucker is the principal shareholder in Zucker, P.C. and has been a practicing family and personal injury law in Denver since 1976. 

"It really puts Denver at a very high level. It puts us on the map and it’s a very highly recommended film festival, one of the best in the world."

- John Hickenlooper
   Mayor of the City & County
   of Denver