About Us

MetaFour Productions is a team of educators, artists, and writers with decades of experience in our respective fields who have specifically joined together to make a difference. Our common goal is to work with youth to increase self-awareness and self-confidence, promote a sense of responsibility, and to address issues of ethical behavior in a rapidly changing world.

Board of Directors

Carmen Dean, volunteer director and founder

for MetaFour Productions, has worked in the educational field for thirty-five years as a classroom teacher, reading resource specialist, school librarian, and instructional advisor. She received the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award for Los Angeles County from the California Gifted Association and was awarded the Los Angeles Education Partnership Award for Team Teaching. Her students have been awarded numerous prizes, including several Video in the Classroom Awards, the Los Angeles County Nature Bowl Competition, and the George Page Museum essay contest. She worked as a technology consultant for the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), training teachers and administrators in innovative technology. She is a liaison for ADEC/Matrix California Media Inc., whose goal is to increase mathematics achievement through emerging mobile technologies. Carmen now consults for a private education technology company.

Julie Drake is a founder and volunteers as a

board director for MetaFour Productions. She heads the Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Multimedia Services. LACOE’s Multimedia Services is a member of the California County Education Technology Consortium (CCETC), a collaborative that serves twenty-five California counties. Julie has been a classroom teacher and professional developer in the areas of technology integration, instructional media, and digital multimedia production in the classroom. She has worked as a curriculum writer, workshop developer, and seminar leader. Her students have won many awards for their video productions and writing. Ms. Drake has been a contributing editor of reviews on video technology, has served on education advisory panels, and has led seminars focusing on teaching with technology nationwide. Other efforts honoring youth have included coordination of the Video in the Classroom Awards and the Digital Voice Awards. Her volunteer activities have included mentoring young women through the Fulfillment Fund.

Marilynn Fong is a founding board member

and was a Distance Learning Consultant for STARS Schools Distance Learning projects for the Center for Distance and Online Learning (CDOL) at the Los Angeles County Office of Education. She developed and administered clients services, outreach segments and licensing the projects with broadcasting and educational organizations nationwide. In addition, she assisted in developing web sites and specializes in designing online courses. She has over 25 years experience as an educator, project coordinator, and school psychologist. While at the Los Angeles Unified School District she served as Advisor/Director for bilingual/diversity programs and the KLCS Instructional Television Station. As the Director of KQED-TV9 Educational Services in San Francisco, Ms. Fong directed and managed the learning services to families and schools in Northern California.

Ted Lai is a veteran teacher, educational

technology advocate, and founding board member. He currently works at Apple, Inc. Previously, he was Director of Technology & Media Services at Fullerton School District. Honored as an Apple Distinguished Educator, a GarageBand Advocate, an M-Audio M-Powered Educator, one of the Best of NECC presenters in both 2006 and 2007, and a Best of CUE presenter in 2010, Ted has been a featured and keynote speaker at local, regional, and national conferences. He presents on a variety of topics that include educational uses for podcasting, iPods, video, GarageBand, and the rest of the iLife suite. A self-described "presentaholic," Ted is also the founder of PodPiper Productions, advises the TechSavvyGirlz project, and is the co-author of The Macintosh iLife in the Classroom series with Jim Heid. Ted is married to Trang Lai, a principal and Apple Distinguished Educator 2007, and has two tech savvy children, Zoe and Genevieve.

Gerardo Martinez is a founding board

member and veteran teacher in the Norwalk La Mirada Unified School District. He served over a decade as a middle school math, science, and technology education teacher. Gerardo currently is the Industrial Arts Department Chair at John Glenn High and has served there for 7 years. He is also is the director of the Film and TV Pathway for Career Technical Education electives at John Glenn High School. Gerardo's design background has helped create the courses offered at John Glenn where he teaches Video Production, Graphic Design, and Computer Aided Design and Drafting. In addition to incorporating the latest technologies into a standards-based curriculum, Mr. Martinez has worked as a Global Studies Technology TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) and BTSA (Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment) Mentor. Gerardo taught 3 years for California Virtual Academy's online high school as a technology electives teacher and developed the Los Angeles County Office of Education's highly successful CyberCamp program. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator, and has a Master's Degree in Instructional Leadership. Gerardo is married to Lyse Martinez who is also a teacher, and has two children.

Joana Rivas was a founding MetaFour board

member when she was a high school student. Joana served as a model for the drawings in BEYOND WALLS "Power of One" module.

Ms. Rivas is a recent university graduate and is working to save for grad school. Ms. Rivas spends free time with her friends and family and she enjoys yoga, running, and reading.

M4's Creative Team

Eric Luke, a founder and member of the

creative team for MetaFour Productions, has worked in the entertainment industry for twenty-five years as a writer, director, and producer for Paramount, Disney, MGM, and Fox. His credits include the screenplay for the Paramount feature film Explorers, and directing the top-rated Disney TV movies, Not Quite Human II and Still Not Quite Human.

His producing/directing work in the education field has garnered an Aegis Award for his documentary My So-Called Digital Life, broadcast on PBS. Mr. Luke co-produced, scripted, and edited the federally funded MATRIX Numericon series in addition to composing and performing the soundtrack. Other projects include the score and lyrics for the off-Broadway musicals Fools In Love and Tempest Toss'd.

Eric has volunteered for many years doing voice-over for books-on-tape for the Braille Institute. He is the co-creator, co-producer, and co-writer of the award-winning podcast, Extruding America, and author of the experimental meta audiobook, Interference.

Welcome New Board Director!

Kristine Schomaker is a new media and performance artist, painter, and art historian living and working at the Brewery Artist Community in Los Angeles. Kristine received a BA in Art History and Masters in Studio Art from California State University, Northridge. Most recently, she founded Shoebox PR, a marketing firm for visual artists to help them promote their art events. She is currently the President of the Brewery Artwalk Association and is the social media coordinator for the Southern California Women’s Caucus of Art and has been an adjunct art history instructor at Antelope Valley College and Pasadena City College concentrating on modern, contemporary and women’s art. Sitting on two non-profit art boards, Kristine is given the opportunity to assist local artists build a community of like-minded people with powerful ideas, who can share resources, and bring their dreams to life. Over the past few years, Kristine has organized a couple of art collectives where artists can come together to get feedback on their work, talk about the business and help each other navigate the perilous waters of the art world. Kristine’s passion is supporting artists and providing access to art for those who wouldn't normally have the means to do so. She believes in building communities that bring people together and helping to make dreams come true.

Board of Directors

Judy AmicAngelo owns and operates a

conceptual product design and consulting firm, Illuminare, Inc . For more than 30 years, Judy has created for an international clientele everything from small electronics to automobiles. She recently has added production design for film and video to her repertoire. Her first film, Three 7 Nine, was a Cannes Film Festival nominee for Best Picture in the short film category.

Simultaneously, during 9 of those years Judy was CFO of an after school enrichment program licensed for multi-campus operation by LAUSD, called Kids Club Enrichment, Inc. She volunteered for several years as an art instructor for LAUSD. Her own children attended Wonderland Avenue School, where she is proud to say she began the "Friends of Wonderland," a nonprofit 501(C)(3). The organization still exists and has raised considerable funds that bridge the financial gaps that now exist with budget cuts in the public school system.

Judy has let us know she is most excited to be a part of MetaFour Productions. She is looking forward to passionately contributing her artistic and fundraising interests for this worthy organization.

Kate Hoffman has been self-employed for over

20 years as an artist and consultant in the interior design field. She holds a BFA in Photography from Murray State University in Kentucky, and has exhibited photographs in group and solo shows, as well as at Brewery Artwalks in Los Angeles.

Kate has long been a passionate advocate for social justice issues and firmly believes that teaching core moral and ethical values to children and young people is our best hope of changing our collective future for the better. Having been a volunteer and supporter of MetaFour for a number of years, she embraces her participation as a board member.

Patricia Horton taught in LAUSD for

twenty-five years. She taught language arts in middle school, primarily seventh and eighth grade at Parkman Middle School, now known as Woodland Hills Academy. At Parkman from 1988-2008, she served for many of those years as English Department chair, 8th grade speech coordinator, IMPACT leader, and other leadership roles.
Currently retired, Trish is involved with a women’s choral four-part harmony singing group, serving on the Board of Directors for the past five years and two years as President. She enjoys yoga, reading, poetry, and working with Girl Scouts as co-leaders of her granddaughters’ troops.

Laura Shumate is a non-profit veteran with over a decade experience in fundraising and a member

community support, as well as nonprofit marketing and promotions. An arts enthusiast, she’s worked as Drive Director with NPR-affiliate KCRW, Membership Manager with LACMA, as a Senior Membership Manager with the American Film Institute, and is presently Assistant Director for Individual Giving for the Sundance Institute.

A Los Angeles native, Laura’s been a writer all her life, entering SFSU as a Creative Writing major in 1989. She graduated in 1996 with a BA in English Literature, a degree she believed would promise her better job security. As a visual artist, she has shown throughout Los Angeles, selling work in gallery shows alongside such notable artists as Shepard Fairey, Risk, Kino Villand, Henry Rollins and Sage Vaughn. Laura loves watching movies and hopes one day to write a screenplay that Darren Aronofsky directs.

M4's Creative Team

Bruce Dean, member of the creative team

and founder for MetaFour Productions, has worked as an exhibiting artist, editorial, corporate and advertising illustrator, international poster artist and art director for over thirty years. As an illustrator he received a silver medal from The Society of Illustrators and numerous awards of merit from national and international publications. His fine art posters and illustrations have been featured in many books and magazines. He has participated in over thirty gallery exhibitions nation-wide.

Bruce currently teaches advanced painting at Mount St. Mary's College and taught secondary students for nine years in the Summer Academic Enrichment Program at California State University, Northridge. He frequently hosts studio visits for high school and university classes.

Mr. Dean has art directed and designed sets for off-Broadway theater in New York City. Bruce was the creative director and lead artist for Intelligent Life Games, an online game company, and the art director, artist, co-producer and co-writer for the MATRIX Numericon series, which was funded by a federal Star Schools grant. You can see his work at www.brucedeanart.com