WHO WE ARE

DooF's production team brings together a group of talented individuals with a wide range of skills and experience.

• Mike Axinn - Creator, Executive Producer
• Simon Johnson - Executive Producer
• Margo Hall - Writer; Producer; "Brenda Timebender"
• Alan Tangren - Writer; Food Director
• Doug Werby - Broadcast Creative Director; Segment Director; Editor
• Dylan Nolfi - Field Sequence Editor and Shooter
• Maya Owings - Line Producer
• Ethel Brennan - Art Director; Education Coordinator
• Josh Kurz - Animator/English Food Expert
• B. Quincy Griffin - Composer
• Gus Walbolt - Licensing & Business Development Executive
• Alexei Bien - Production Assistant
• Dave Wong Webmaster; Digital Media Coordinator

 

Mike Axinn / Creator; Executive Producer
Mike brings credits as a writer for BBC, KQED and the London stage and technical experience as a sound editor from over thirty feature films—including Star Wars, Titanic, Moulin Rouge, Fantastic Four and The English Patient. For DooF, Mike assembled a dream team from the upper echelons of the filmmaking, food, and education communities. His inspiration for the show came from the fascination he saw in his two daughters—including Tallulah—with the adult cooking shows they watched growing up. (Audio: Listen to an Interview with Mike Axinn)

Simon Johnson / Executive Producer
Simon brings extensive film and television experience as DooF prepares for public television broadcast. He has produced over seventy music videos for Sony Music, EMI, and Warner Bros. His first feature film, Tale of a Vampire, starring Julian Sands, won the Tokyo Film Festival (Best Fantasy Film) and was sold to Lionsgate. Other credits include Cinderella, starring Kathleen Turner (2002), and Alice Through the Looking Glass, with KateBeckinsale, for which he was BAFTA nominated for best children's drama. Simon has continued to conceive and produce films with funding from BBC Films, Buena Vista, Sony Entertainment, BMG, Channel 4, Film Four, British Screen, Nat West, and the Benfield Group. Simon is the writer and producer of Gone to America, a new British Film based on Jane Austen's Persuasion.

Margo Hall / Writer; Producer; “Brenda Timebender”
Margo is a key player in story development and community outreach for DooF. As the character “Brenda Timebender,” Margo takes children back through time to uncover the origins of food. An award-winning actor and director, Margo has performed for many SF Bay Area theater groups, and collaborated with the Tectonic Group (Laramie Project) on Stories from Jonestown and The Peoples Temple. Margo received her MFA from Catholic University in Washington, DC, and she now teaches acting and directing throughout the SF Bay Area. Her film credits include Haiku Tunnel with Josh Kornbluth.

Alan Tangren / Writer; Food Director
Following a brilliant run as Co-Pastry Chef at Chez Panisse, where he was a collaborator of Alice Waters, Alan joined DooF to direct food operations. He ensures that the show depicts food with historical accuracy and the same attention to detail with which Chez Panisse changed the way Americans think about food. As Chez Panisse’s forager, he developed invaluable and enduring relationships with farmers, ranchers and suppliers. As sous chef for the Great Chefs Program at Mondavi Winery, he worked alongside renowned chefs like Paul Bocuse, Julia Child, Wolfgang Puck, and Martha Stewart. www.ChezPanisse.com

(Audio: Listen to the Alan Tangren Interview)

Doug Werby / Broadcast Creative Director; Segment Director and Editor
Doug’s promo DVDs and episode prototypes laid the groundwork for DooF’s success. He’s also been instrumental in creating our DVD-lessons on Tomatoes, Squash, Apples, and Citrus. An award-winning editor and director, Doug founded several prominent San Francisco commercial production companies, including Pomegranit Editorial, Red Sky Interactive, and Red Sky Films. In addition to working with commercial clients like Macy’s, KQED, and the SF Chronicle, Doug produced and edited the feature film Farmer and Chase, starring Ben Gazzara, Todd Field, and Lara Flynn Boyle. www.BallisticPictures.com

Dylan Nolfi / Field Sequence Editor and Shooter

Dylan joined DooF in 2007 to edit the “School of Broc” segment and has become an essential part of the team, adding strong expertise with the camera and with digital workflow. His facility with story telling and Cinema Verite informs the look and feel of the field segments on DooF. Dylan has worked as an editor and shooter in the Bay Area for the last eight years. Recently he’s been a partner at *ontheflyfilms where he completed projects for clients for Cisco, Intel, Samsung, ITVS and Planned Parenthood Golden Gate.

Maya Owings; Line Producer
As Line Producer for DooF, Maya’s job is to ensure that each live-action
shoot is completed within budget and with an eye toward production value. Her experience includes recent feature films The Kite Runner and Just Like Heaven, clients like Pixar, and commercials for Toyota, Hewlett Packard, and Macy’s. Since she joined DooF in 2005, Maya’s generosity, professionalism, and organizational skills have been essential to our success in creating a show that bridges narrative, cooking, and documentary.

Ethel Brennan / Art Director; Education Coordinator
In her capacity as Art Director and Education Coordinator, Ethel brings her numerous talents directly to children in person and through the look and feel of the show. The author and co-author of several cookbooks, including The Children’s Kitchen Garden (Ten Speed Press), Goat Cheese, Citrus and most recently Herbes de Provence, all by Chronicle Books, Ethel has also worked as a food, prop and floral stylist for a wide range of print and video media, including Pottery Barn Kids and the SF Chronicle. Before joining How Now Productions, she managed the gardening program at the East Bay French American School in Berkeley.

Josh Kurz, Vegetable Animator/Mr. Worcestershire
Josh is DooF’s master animator. In college, he appeared on Comedy Central for 30 seconds at 4 a.m. During a multi-year stint on ABC, he and his partner Adam teamed up with good friend and reporter Robert Krulwich, who let them dress up as sheep and smash dozens of eggs for Nightline and Good Morning America. He built a pickle electrifier for Oliver Sacks. Josh graduated from The University of Southern California, can whistle in German, and lives by the motto: “Always smell your food before you eat it.”

His website: www.joshadam.com

B. Quincy Griffin (photo from Filmsight)

B. Quincy Griffin is the owner of and primary composer for Random Cubes Music. Quincy’s credits include scores for the films Daughter from Danang (Academy Award and Emmy Nominee, 2003), My Flesh and Blood (an HBO broadcast which received top honors at Sundance Film Festival, 2003), and Wilderness Survival For Girls. His commercial clients include Microsoft, Adidas, Ultimate TV and The Sharper Image. He is also producer for the Latin Hip Hop band O-Maya. More info and music sampler CD available at www.randomcubes.com

Gus Walbolt, Licensing & Business Development Executive
Growing up with a love of art and business, it seemed quite natural for Gus to pursue a career founding and running several companies in publishing, art prints, and licensing. Since selling his own company, AMCAL, to MeadWestvaco in 2003, he has been consulting to various companies in in the areas of creative strategic planning, with emphasis on raising capital, product development, branding, and licensing. Since joining DooF in 2006, Gus has been instrumental in crafting a business and licensing strategy to bring DooF to a worldwide audience while still honoring our unique mission.

Alexei Bien, Production Assistant

Alexei Bien is a writer who joined the team in 2007, and whose professional experience continues to straddle media and education. He is currently an editorial assistant at Edutopia magazine (The George Lucas Educational Foundation), and a mentor at Art Links, an after-school arts enrichment program in Napa.

Dave Wong, Webmaster/Digital Media Coordinator
A graduate of UC Berkeley's Film Studies program, Dave brings to the table a multi-disciplinary skillset consisting of backgrounds in graphic design, comic book illustration, web design and computer science.

He is a San Francisco based photographer, shooting weddings, events, corporate and commericial assignments. See www.DaveWongPhotography.com his blog at www.SweetSmile.com

DooF Kids
Ari Ari caught our eye with his knowledge of apples in our very first kid-on-the-street pilot segment.   He plays drums, loves rock and roll, and is especially gifted at air guitar. His love of food comes from his participation in the organic and sustainable food movement from the time he was in the womb.  He has a keen sense of humor and loves to collaborate with his fellow DooFers. Someday, probably soon, he’d love to direct an episode of DooF.
Brandon Brandon, 10 years old, has been with the DooF team since its inception, having acted in the first DooF demo video produced back in the fall of 2003. He has subsequently become a lead player in nearly all of our educational videos and scripts in development. In his spare time, Brandon likes to read a lot, design paper airplanes and sports cars. His best friend is Eliyah and his favorite subject in school is science. Brandon hopes to attend UC Berkeley and become a forensic scientist, a lawyer, or both.
Haley Haley, 8 years old, is in the third grade. She enjoys painting, drawing, and singing at church.  During the summer, Haley spends most of her time at home in the swimming pool, or riding her scooter.  Her favorite things to eat are Mexican food, green grapes, kiwi fruit, and fresh mozzarella cheese.  Someday, Haley would like to meet Johnny Depp in person. Her favorite movie is Pirates of the Caribbean. (Audio: Listen to an Interview with Haley)
Mikianna Mikianna, 10 years old, was a featured player in the Food Talks PSA last summer. Mikianna was discovered during the filming of a DooF documentary at the Manzanita Elementary School, where her enthusiasm and food knowledge caught the attention of the DooF Team. She loves to swim in her spare time. Her favorite foods include pizza and salad. Her best friend is Nakiea.
Katya Katya, 6 years old, is the oldest of two kids. She is in the first grade and is very excited to be learning how to read.  She loves recess break to play with her friends. In her free time she enjoys dancing, acting, running track, and getting a manicure at the salon.  Katya’s favorite food is seafood, especially crab! When she grows up she would like to be an actress or a pediatrician.
Tallulah Tallulah, 10 years old, is one of the original members of the DooF repertory group and played a major role in the How Now Productions educational series produced last year. Tallulah’s favorite foods are rice, strawberries and omelets made with herbs. A gymnast and piano player in her spare time, Tallulah attends a French bi-lingual school and loves reading and math. Her best friend is Carmen.
The DooF Advisory Board Alice Waters, Owner/Head Chef, Chez Panisse Alice is the Founder and Director of the Chez Panisse Foundation, an internationally renowned chef and advocate for the slow food movement. One of the best-known and most influential American chefs since the 1970s, she is credited with single-handedly creating a culinary revolution in the United States. She has also promoted organic and small farm products heavily in her restaurants, in her books, and in her Edible Schoolyard program in the public schools. Her ideas for “edible education” have been introduced into the entire Berkeley, CA school system, and with the current crisis in childhood obesity, have attracted the attention of the national media. Janet King, MD, PhD Dr. King is a Professor of Nutrition and Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, a Professor of Nutrition, University of California, Berkeley, and a Scientist at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI). She is member of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine. She chaired their Food and Nutrition Board and is currently a member of the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources of the National Research Council. She has served on Expert Consultations for the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization and is a member of the International Zinc Consultative Group. She was the recipient of the Excellence in Research Award of the American Dietetic Association (1999), the Distinguished Achievement Citation from Iowa State University (1998), the Borden Award and the Lederle Award from the American Society for Nutritional Sciences (1997; 1989), the International Prize in Modern Human Nutrition from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland (1996), and the Agnes Higgins Award in Maternal Nutrition from the American Public Health Association (1993). She has published over 200 articles and trained over 50 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Anthony Iton, MD, JD, MPH, Alameda County Public Health Officer As Alameda County’s Public Health Officer, Dr. Iton has worked to position DooF at the forefront of “social marketing” initiatives to address obesity and diet-related health issues. His efforts on behalf of DooF have led to funding for education outreach and program production. Dr. Iton received his medical degree at Johns Hopkins, trained in internal and preventive medicine at New York Hospital, Yale, and Berkeley, and is dually board certified. Dr. Iton has also received a law degree and a Master’s Of Public Health from UC Berkeley and is a member of the California Bar. Dr. Iton’s primary interest is the health of disadvantaged populations and the contributions of race, class, wealth, education, geography, and employment to health status. Jim Hill, President of Hill & Associates As President of Hill & Associates, Mr. Hill specializes in social marketing interventions to promote healthy living and healthy eating among populations that are impacted by obesity and related health problems. Working closely with the Alameda County Public Health Department, he spearheaded a number of groundbreaking programs, including ‘Soda Free Summer’ and the ‘Passport to Healthy Living.’ Most recently, Mr. Hill has helped DooF in developing its pilot education outreach program. Jim brings strong credentials from his experience as a Vice President at Kaiser Permanente and Burrell Communications in Chicago.   About the Show See clips and more on the Channel DooF