Board of Directors
Shana Betz is the Co-President & Founder of The Chimaera Project. She began producing as the ED of MVPA for the music industry, working on corporate partnerships with Universal Studios, Sony, Warner Bros., MTV and more. She produced many short format projects, including The Stranger, which won the Eastman Kodak New Filmmaker Award. (read more)
America Young is the Co-President and Founder of The Chimaera Project. She is currently working in Film, TV and Video Games, as a Director, 2nd unit director, stunt coordinator and stunt woman. To date, she has over 45 video games under her belt. Just this year alone, she has stunt coordinated on 3 feature films for Netflix, Lifetime and Cannal Plus. (read more)
J. Cheryl Bookout is the Executive Director and Founder of The Chimaera Project. Bookout has produced two award-winning short films; Gloria’s Call and I Am Be. She is currently directing Inside the Beauty Bubble, a short documentary film; co-producing a feature-length documentary, Acting Like Women: Performance Art and the Woman’s Building. (read more)
Timothy L. Campbell is a founding member of The Chimaera Project’s Board of Directors and is the Board Secretary. He is a freelance artist/sculptor and is the Registrar for the Laguna Art Museum. (read more)
Foster V. Corder is a member of The Chimaera Project’s Board of Directors. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from The Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and likes to share: “I have helped a lot of filmmakers and other artists get started and for that, I am at peace.” Foster Corder lays claim to many ‘firsts’ in his long and successful career. (read more)
Jenn Fee Catalino is a founding member of The Chimaera Project’s Board of Directors. She believes that “no amount of practice can equal the act of doing,” and her resume ranges from producing, styling, casting, writing, coordinating and acting. (read more)
Dove Meir is The Chimaera Project’s Chief Financial Officer. He works with several philanthropies and has traveled around the world for different causes. He has been working closely with the Chimaera Project to facilitate bringing the female perspective to the world. (read more)
Amanda Quinn Olivar is a founding member of The Chimaera Project’s Board of Directors. She is an editor for Curator magazine and is currently producing the feature documentary Seeing is Believing: Women Direct and the play & film Paint Made Flesh. (read more)
Awesome Staff Members
Stacy Sweeting is the Program Director for The Chimaera Project. She has been working with nonprofits for almost 25 years, making a positive impact by helping reach their organizational and business-related goals. She began her career in the nonprofit sector with the YMCA and for ten years she wore many hats, successfully managing programs, staff, volunteers, special events and budget development through implementation. (read more)
Elizabeth Worley works closely with The Chimaera Project’s administrative staff and board of directors. She worked in the event and wedding business for five years, and then longing for excitement she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film production. (read more)
Joanna Ke is The Chimaera Project’s Event Producer. She is an award-winning filmmaker that thrives in the industry as an actor, writer, professional script reader, and producer. Being half Asian, she champions diverse stories led by women, both behind and in front of the camera. (read more)
Incredible Ambassadors
Heidi Cox, is the Chair of the Ambassador Program for The Chimaera Project. Heidi is originally from South Carolina, is a Los Angeles based actress, writer and producer who is best known for her series, “Stalking LeVar.” She is also the co-founder and owner of Dweeb Darlings: a production company that produces the series. The company works to encourage and support female creators. (read more)
Danni Blackman is an artist and activist and a creative whose artistic process incorporates the mind, body, and soul. Hers is an origin story rooted in a long line of artists. She got her start in a creative family filled with musicians and artists. It was a childhood with surround sound encouragement to pursue creativity. In high school, she felt, what she calls, “a weird urge to paint.” (read more)
Carlease Burke is an actress who lives and works in Hollywood. When Carlease rented John Travolta “The Cadillac of Mini Vans” in the film Get Shorty (1995), she wondered if her unusual name would land her the high octane jobs in Hollywood. Director Barry Sonnenfeld said it did and there have been other high beams in her film acting career: In Her Shoes (2005) opposite Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette, directed by Curtis Hanson; and The Terminal (2004) with Tom Hanks, directed by Steven Spielberg. (read more)
Lohanne Cook is a Content and Communications Specialist who focuses on assisting non-profits, brands and causes to help tell their story. She joined The Chimaera Project in 2015 and has been a proud member of the team ever since. Lohanne is passionate about working on projects such as these that empower female filmmakers. Earning a graduate from CSUF, Lohanne has extensive experience in programming filmmaking panels and seminars. (read more)
Maggie Macdonald is an accomplished action actress, motion-capture performer, fight director and educator and helped launchThe Chimaera Project’s Spotlight Interview series. (read more)
Cady McClain is a two-time Emmy© Award winner and two-time Emmy© nominated director, McClain explores the range of the female experience in her directing, writing, and acting. She was honored to receive the 2017 International Matrix Award from the Association of Women in Communications for her work related to female directors. (read more)
Casey McKinnon is proud to be an ambassador for the Chimaera Project and to literally and metaphorically hold the door open for every woman she can.
Best known for her extensive web series career dating back to 2005, Casey has directed over a hundred webisodes, produced SONY’s official Comic-Con coverage, and wrote a bi-weekly column about the early new media industry for The Guardian. (read more)
Andi Norris is a SAG-AFTRA actor known for her work on American Horror Story (2011), Pipe (2018) and The Invoking (2013). Andi studied acting at Chapman University, Orange, CA and her Facebook profile introduces her as an action actress, creature performer, stunt woman, and likely future apocalypse survivor!
Shaun Paul Piccinino is an award winning Filmmaker, Film and Television Director and an ambassador for The Chimaera Project. Earlier achievements include the Television series Deadliest Warrior, directing and also portraying Scottish hero William Wallace, the Call of Duty Franchise, UFC Undisputed 1, 2, & 3, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Robot Chicken (editing and visual effects) and The Lackey (award winning feature film made for just $7,500). (read more)
Tara Platt is an actress, author, producer and entrepreneur who has traveled the globe as a speaker and adventurer as well as performing internationally in film, TV, animation and theatre. Tara launched The Chimaera Project’s Spotlight Interview series. (read more)
Minerva Vier is originally from Cebu, Philippines. She is a multiracial actor, scriptwriter-producer, voiceover artist, dancer and sketch comedienne. She received her BFA in Film Studies from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and an MFA in Theater Arts at The Actors Studio Drama School in New York. (read more)
