Search the AFA site

Meet our officers:

Director and Chief Executive Officer Geoff Alexander has been archiving academic films and writing on their history since 1994. Earlier, he spent eight years as an announcer and programmer in non-commercial radio at KTAO in Los Gatos, CA, and KDNA in St. Louis.  He taught for two years in Special Education programs with the Santa Clara County Office of Education.  Geoff attended San Francisco State University and Berklee College of Music, where he majored in flute and composition. His avant-garde musical compositions and performances were noted in Keyboard Magazine’s "Experimental Music" special issue in January, 1987. Geoff crafted the first written history of jazz organ, now archived at Rutgers University's Institute for Jazz Studies, an excerpt of which was published in Keyboard Magazine (May, 1989). 

He received his B.A. in Creative Arts, and Masters of Education from San Jose State University. Geoff holds a life membership in the Association of Moving Image Archivists, whose membership includes the Library of Congress, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the American Film Institute. His monograph ‘An Academic Perspective: The Life and Films of John Barnes’ was published in The Moving Image, the journal of the Association of Moving Image Archivists, in November, 2002.

Vice President- Secretary Barinda Samra has been with ciné16/AFA since its founding in 1996.  She served as program coordinator for Cinequest (San Jose Film Festival) in 2000.  As a marketing consultant in high technology, she has spent more than 10 years developing programs and processes, working with companies such as Cisco Systems, Seagate Software, and Rational Software. Barinda holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from San Jose State University.

   Robert Emmett McGlynn, Public Relations Officer, has served in the capacities of producer, program director, and fundraising coordinator for radio station KFJC since 1980. His Saturday morning "Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show" is a Bay Area institution, dedicated to the history of film soundtracks; Rob also hosts the semiannual "Psychotronic Film Festival" at Foothill College. A St. Louis Missouri native, Rob has a B.A. in Communications from St. Louis University.

   Michael Selic, Chief Financial Officer, 1986 graduate of California State University at San Jose, has had exciting careers as a fruit picker, bartender, photographer and instructor in English as a Second Language, among many others. He was President of the Board for four years of WORKS/San Jose, a non-profit, volunteer-run visual and performing arts venue. During that time, he assisted in securing several grants and helped take the organization from near-bankruptcy to financial stability. 

  Dave Peters, Chief Information Officer, has been a Director of Software Development and Project Manager at several Silicon Valley companies, and is an expert in communication protocols and network management systems. Originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Dave has a B.S. in Oceanography from Humboldt State (CA) University, with a minor in concert piano.

  Iris Shimada, Public Relations and Corporate Liaison, graduated with her Bachelor's degree in Interior and Architectural Design at Cal  State LA, and studied Visual Criticism at California College of the Arts.  She evaluated artifacts for the Asian Art department, Ethnic Art department and public auction clinics for the Butterfield and Butterfield auction house. She's served on the Board of Trustees of the U.C. Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive since 2001. With her outstanding credentials, we still can't figure out why people want to hear her tales of her boss at her first job out of high school, Jack LaLanne.

Margaret Newman is an Emmy-award-winning producer and writer of documentaries for PBS (primarily through Chicago affiliate WTTW); she also writes and produces videos and speeches for corporate clients including Motorola, Avaya and many pharmaceutical companies. A St. Louis native, Margie initiated AFA's St. Louis operation.   She holds a B.A. in communications from University of Missouri and an M.A. in English from Southern Illinois University.

Lisa Cole, our Resource Development Advisor, also serves as the Director of Development for Arts Council Silicon Valley, managing their fundraising and communications programs, and coordinating the Silicon Valley Arts & Business Awards.  In addition, she was recently selected to participate in Community Leadership SJ/SV, a Chamber of Commerce leadership development program for 32 emerging corporate and community leaders in the San Jose metropolitan area.  Prior to joining the nonprofit sector, Lisa spent more than ten years in corporate affairs and public relations within the biotech and high tech industries.  A San Jose native, Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a minor in Fine Arts from Azusa Pacific University.