Who We Are.

Rina Alvarez is a philanthropic strategist with over 20 years of experience in fundraising, marketing, and community engagement across corporate and nonprofit sectors. She has held development leadership roles at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, National Philanthropic Trust, and El Valor, and served as Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Kirkland & Ellis. She is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy and holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Jennifer Burton is the founder of SWAY, a strategic communications and media production company, and brings more than 28 years of experience in advertising strategy and media production. Her award-winning campaigns have supported political candidates, nonprofits, and advocacy organizations. She previously worked for the DCCC and House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, and is a former board chair of Stone Soup Films.

David Hudson is the founder and CEO of Aluta Strategies, a digital-first communications consultancy serving mission-driven organizations, academic institutions, and private-sector clients. With nearly 15 years of experience in digital strategy, he served as Associate Director of Content at the Obama White House and later led the Motion Picture Association’s global digital communications. He serves on the board of States Newsroom and the advisory committee of the National Press Foundation.

Miriam Lefkowitz is a securities regulatory and compliance attorney with more than 30 years of experience helping financial services firms build strong governance and compliant operations. She has worked with nonprofits focused on issues including anti-human trafficking and financial literacy, and recently founded the Scam Defense Project, which helps seniors and their families avoid financial scams.

Yael Luttwak is a filmmaker, producer, and nonprofit leader who trained at the London Film School and has directed six documentaries, beginning with A Slim Peace, which inspired her to found the nonprofit Slim Peace. She has worked with Thomson Reuters, National Geographic, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and served as Artistic Director of the JxJ Jewish Film and Music Festival. She is currently Senior Director for Programming and Communications at the Matthew Harris Ornstein Memorial Foundation.

Michael Schoenfeld is a partner at Brunswick Group, where he leads the education, foundation, and nonprofit practice. He previously served as chief communications and government relations officer at Duke and Vanderbilt universities, and held executive roles at Voice of America and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. A longtime leader in public media and independent film, he has served on the boards of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Carolina Theatre of Durham, and Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre, and currently serves on the boards of PBS North Carolina and the Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Claire Uhar is the founder and CEO of OBSCURE, a strategic partner to leaders and organizations at the intersection of media, technology, entertainment, and capital. Her career began at a startup that exited when she was 21, and she went on to lead strategy at creator-focused product studios before holding strategy and partnership roles at EVERFI and helping launch Protocol, part of Politico Media Group. She founded OBSCURE in 2022 after more than a decade working across business development, partnerships, and growth strategy.

Nikki Webber Allen is an Emmy Award–winning producer, TED speaker, and cultural strategist with over 30 years of experience in film, television, music, and social impact storytelling. A Washington, DC native, she has held producing, casting, and talent relations roles with HBO, ABC, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Television, and BET, and is a certified intimacy coordinator for film and television. She is the founder of I Live For…, a nonprofit challenging mental health stigma in communities of color.

Alan Zich is Senior Vice President at Blake Dickson Real Estate Services, a boutique commercial real estate firm in Washington, DC, where he specializes in entertainment and hospitality retail. A native Washingtonian and American University graduate, he is recognized for his expertise in film exhibition and distribution, with industry relationships throughout North America. He was a founding board member of DC’s nonprofit Avalon Theatre.

Dan Glickman is a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, based in Washington, DC, where he co-chairs its Commission on Political Reform, Democracy Project, Prevention Initiative, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Task Force. He is also the author of Laughing at Myself, a memoir about his time in Congress and Hollywood.
He previously served as the former executive director of the Congressional Program at the Aspen Institute, a non-governmental, non-partisan educational program for members of the United States Congress, and as chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Prior to joining the MPAA in September 2004, Mr. Glickman was the director of the Institute of Politics located at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (August 2002-August 2004). He is a Distinguished Fellow at the Chicago Council and serves as Co-Chair of its Global Affairs’ Global Agricultural Development Initiative.
Mr. Glickman served as the secretary of agriculture from March 1995 until January 2001. Under his leadership, the Department administered numerous farm and conservation programs; modernized food safety regulations; forged international trade agreements to expand U.S. markets; and improved its commitment to fairness and equality in civil rights, both in the treatment of its employees and in the execution of its programs. During his tenure, the department also focused extensively on improving our nation’s diet and nutrition, and on fighting hunger. Secretary Glickman led the effort to ensure that an effective regulatory approval process that is based on sound science governs new agricultural technologies.
Before his appointment as secretary of agriculture, Secretary Glickman served for 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Kansas’ 4th Congressional District. During that time, he served as a member of the House Agriculture Committee, including six years as chairman of the subcommittee that had jurisdiction over most federal farm policy issues. Moreover, he was an active member of the House Judiciary Committee, where he was a leader on technology issues. In addition to his focus on agriculture, Secretary Glickman was a leading congressional expert on general aviation policy (where he wrote landmark legislation providing product liability protection for small airplane manufacturers), and also served as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Before his election to Congress in 1976, Secretary Glickman served as president of the Wichita, Kansas, School Board; was a partner in the law firm of Sargent, Klenda and Glickman; and worked as a trial attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He received his B.A. in history from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from the George Washington University. He is a member of the Kansas and District of Columbia Bars.

Ted was Chief Content Officer at Cinerama following his tenure as President and COO of ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres. Formerly, Ted served as President and CEO of Landmark Theatres, where over his 16-year tenure, he led the Circuit’s rebranding, growth and sale. Landmark opened new premier destinations throughout the U.S. including Los Angeles, Manhattan, Indianapolis, Denver, Washington DC and Miami. Additionally, Ted was also the Founder & CEO of the Westside Tavern, which was adjacent to Landmark’s flagship location in LA. Ted also oversaw Truly Indie, a division of Landmark, which distributed select films into the theatrical marketplace. Prior to joining Landmark Theatres, Ted held various management positions in distribution and exhibition including over 20 years at Pacific Theatres where he was Vice President, Film Buyer and co-head of Operations. Ted was an Executive Producer on Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview, which was released nationally in 2012. He also wrote key chapters on four decades of exhibition in George Lucas’ book, Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including the Untold Secrets of their Financial and Cultural Success. He was also the Producer’s rep for Cormac McCarthy’s The Road which was nominated for a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Ted currently serves as Vice Chair on the American Film Institute Corporate Council and Board Member on Film Independent. He was formerly Board member on both NATO of CA and NV and the International Documentary Association. Ted was selected as one of the “Top 50 People in Independent Film” by The Hollywood Reporter.

With a rich background in public policy and journalism, Jamie creates communication plans that put her clients in the national spotlight—and keeps them there. Whether it’s managing a crisis, devising long-term strategies, or assembling top-notch teams to execute campaigns, Jamie’s boundless enthusiasm and insider’s perspective add clarity and credence to any project.
Jamie has her roots in political communication, and the second phase of her career, in which Robert Redford pushed her to leverage her skills in national advocacy to start a thriving film public relations business, came later. Jamie is a Maryland native (and proud University of Maryland grad) who has been living and working in the metro DC area for the better part of thirty years. It is thanks to Jamie’s sterling recommendations from past clients — the product of hard work, brilliantly structured campaigns, and deep relationships with top tier media entities and leading journalists — that her firm has been so successful for so long.
A former D.C.-based television news writer and producer, Jamie served as press secretary to U.S. Representative Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut during his historic 1994 21-vote victory. She promoted an agenda that included campaign finance reform, healthcare reform, and environmental and trade issues. After Capitol Hill, Jamie was named Communications Director for Handgun Control, Inc. and the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. She served as a spokesperson for Jim and Sarah Brady and was a lead strategist for gun control and education initiatives.
Opening her own firm in 1997, Jamie has served a variety of clients including the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, The Henry L. Stimson Center, the Collaborative Initiatives at MIT, and the World Wildlife Fund. Jamie quickly developed a reputation within environmental advocacy circles, which led her to a project with the Sundance Climate Innovation Summit, held at Sundance and funded by Robert Redford’s foundation.
That engagement changed the course of PR Collaborative and opened the door for Jamie’s talents in film and entertainment promotion to take root. When a local publicity partner failed to live up to its contract for the promotion of a Redford film in DC, he called someone he trusted to get the job done — Jamie Shor. From there, the film portfolio expanded to its current state: the agency of record in DC for major film festivals and distributors including Hulu, Netflix, SHOWTIME, Amazon, National Geographic, Apple TV+, and Magnolia Pictures.
Jamie also has a long career in the arts outside of her work with PR Collaborative. She is the co-founder of the Impact Arts and Film Fund, which produced the Impact Film Festival at the 2008 and 2012 Democratic and Republican Conventions as well as the 2016 Democratic National Convention. The festival was featured multiple times in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, National Journal, The Hill, Roll Call and many other publications.

Lanark Thornton started his life-long love of film and the motion picture exhibition industry as an 18-year-old usher for General Cinema Theatres in Bradenton, Florida. This role led to promotions and transfers at various locations in central Florida, followed by Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston where he was General Manager of the company’s Flagship location in Framingham. There he oversaw numerous initiatives including several remodels and the introduction of a Premium Cinema, a luxury auditorium and restaurant for guests 21 and over that became a precursor to many upscale amenities now common in the industry. Additionally, Framingham was the original test location for WGBH-Boston’s MOPIX initiative that has led to technologies that afford hearing and visually impaired accessibility in today’s theatres.

In May 2007 he relocated to the Washington DC area to become General Manager of the Bethesda Row Cinema. In the fall of 2007, he was asked to take over the E-Street Cinema and remained there until his retirement in 2024. From 2015 to 2020, he was also General Manager of the West End Cinema. Lanark was honored as Regional and National General Manager of the year in 2015 by Landmark Theatres.