Allan Piper (director/editor) is the grandson of diabetes pioneer, Dr. Frank N. Allan, who participated in the development of insulin, and was one of the early presidents of the American Diabetes Association.
Piper produced and directed the marriage equality documentary, Married & Counting, narrated by George Takei. TIME described the film as “equal parts love story and political protest.”
Piper’s films have screened in more than 50 festivals in the U.S. , Europe, and Asia. His editing work airs regularly on TV. Piper’s most recent editing projects were the award-winning documentary, The Longest Game, and CNN’s Death Row Stories, executive-produced by Robert Redford and the Oscar and Emmy-winning Alex Gibney.
In 2012, Piper served on President Obama’s campaign Video Team, where he cut over 200 videos and mini-documentaries featuring the President, First Lady, Vice President, and other dignitaries. Piper has a degree in literature from Harvard and has studied film at NYU and USC.
Jennifer Houston (co-producer) collaborated with her husband, Allan Piper on the award-winning Married & Counting. The Huffington Post called it “one of the most relevant, heart-felt, and timely documentaries of the year… a brilliant gem.” The film won Best Feature from the Rhode Island International Film Festival Youth Jury, an Audience Award at the Woods Hole Film Festival, and was a finalist for Best Documentary at the ArcLight Documentary Festival. Ironically for a producer of a film about diabetes, Houston founded the sugar-intensive baking company, This Chick Bakes.
Dr. Felicia E. Mebane (associate producer) is the owner and CEO of Mebane Media Communications, LLC. She and her MMC team help public health researchers use creative tools to translate and disseminate their work to broad audiences. They also collaborate with arts and entertainment professionals on public health content. Dr. Mebane blogs about the intersection of arts and entertainment and public health at Encore! Featuring Public Health.
Dr. Mebane earned her Ph.D. in Health Policy from Harvard and her M.S.P.H. from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her training and expertise center on innovative approaches to public health communications. On the BDP team, she collects and interprets data/information, connects with individuals and organizations involved with diabetes, employs best practices for health communications, and takes the lead on outreach and audience engagement.
Tim Bartlett (cinematographer) shot and edited the documentary, Tibet in Song, winner of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize. He created complex video projections for the new opera, Lotus Lives, which uses video and audio recordings as a central component throughout the live performance of this piece. Barlett also collaborated with indie band Ghost Ghost, running interactive projects during their shows in New York City and SXSW. He and Piper have collaborated on numerous projects, including Married & Counting.
Sasha Fornari (motion graphics designer) was a member of President Obama’s re-election campaign team. He incorporated and animated various design elements into nearly all of the President’s online videos, using motion graphics to explain complicated topics, such as student loan reform and the Medicare prescription drug financing “donut hole.”
Fornari is a graduate of the School of Art Institute of Chicago, and has created content for some of Chicago’s leading nonprofit institutions, including the Joffrey Ballet, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Chicago Opera Theater.