Staff

Jessica Altman
External Relations Coordinator

Jessica Altman moved to Chicago in July of 2011 from the beautiful state of Colorado where she spent most of her life, although she was born and raised in New York.  You could say she has been all over, but is staying put in this lovely city of Chicago.  Jessica graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver where she majored in Speech Communications with minors in Marketing and Public Relations.

Jessica is the External Relations Coordinator and this mandates she wear numerous hats, so to speak.  From updating social media, to planning numerous events throughout the year, to scheduling tours of the department, to keeping up with the happenings and schedules of faculty and staff, (among other things) she is certainly kept busy. 

office: 600 S. Michigan, Rm. 725
phone: (312) 369-7482
email: jaltman@colum.edu

David Dvorak
Operations Manager

As the operations manager in the TV department, Dave Dvorak supervises a staff of 14 to maintain the facilities, including three studios, a remote production truck and dozens of editing stations, computer labs, and equipment centers. Dave leads the formation of the yearly budget with collaboration of faculty and administration, with the goal of providing Columbia students access to state-of-the-art equipment and the best interaction between students, faculty and technology.

Dvorak has served as Operations Manager since 2003 and been a part-time instructor since 2000. Dvorak teaches Production and Editing I and II and has also taught Advanced Editing classes. He completed his undergraduate degree at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn and Columbia College, receiving a BA in Television with a concentration in Post-Production.

When not working and teaching at Columbia, Dvorak also teaches TV classes at the College of DuPage and serves as a member of their Curriculum Board in the Motion Picture and TV department. He also has worked as an editor for CBS News in Milwaukee and edited national television commercials for Spots BME for clients including Sears, Allstate, Phillip Morris, Kraft, and more. A commercial he edited for George Foreman grills aired during the Super Bowl.

office: 600 S. Michigan, Rm. 1412
phone: (312) 369-7189
email: ddvorak@colum.edu

Greene is a Chicago-based visual and performing artist whose work, in studio art, magazines, performance and exhibitions, is marked by his refusal to separate popular culture and his mostly autobiographical images. Born in Rice Lake , Wisconsin, David has lived and worked in Duluth, Minn., New York City, London, Minneapolis, Grand Haven, Mich. and for seven years in Chicago. Solo exhibitions include his "You’re the Viewer" Performance, Chicago’s Hyde Park Art Center in 2008 and "30 DAYS" video showcase at The Standard Hotel DTWN, Los Angeles, in 2009.

Greene was included in the important video survey "BUTT in ASS" at the Asia Song Society, New York in 2009 and was the recipient of the Beedcroft Travel Grant from the United States Fulbright Program in 2001 to install work at the TATE Modern in London. He has also installed numerous shows at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and is the Chicago Artistic Coordinator for Harry Winston.

office: 600 S. Michigan, Rm. 729
phone: (312) 369-6542
email: dgreene@colum.edu

In her position as production coordinator, she works with classes and department heads on large-scale Television Department productions and oversees Frequency TV. In addition, she coordinates the internship program, providing students with experience in the field and important professional contacts.

office: 600. S. Michigan, Rm. 731
phone: (312) 369-8524
email: nhoffman@colum.edu

Kim also does freelance video engineering work at a few suburban high schools and a Chicago area bar. Her past includes stints as a computer repair technician, burger slinger, punk-rock bassist, state champion archer, bleacher bum, and Radio Shack nerd.

In addition to her work at Columbia, Christy is also director of a community theater called the Nightingale, a contributor at cinefile.info and a recurring guest on WBEZ’s 848, participating in film reviews every two weeks with host Alison Cuddy. She was the assistant director of the True/False Film Club for its first two years, assisting with its creation, and also previously ran the Chicago Cinema Forum.

In her spare time, LeMaster performs with the Blue Ribbon Glee Club, a 30-person punk-rock choir, and is learning to play the cello. Christy earned her masters in English from Truman State University, where she completed her thesis study on writing about art.

Laura is the creator of the Rock on Television course and has happily spent the last two years teaching some of her dream topics in the Studies in Television course – Rod Serling, John Cleese and her all-time favorite series, The Dick Van Dyke Show.

office: 600 S. Michigan, Rm. 1500
phone: (312) 369-7347
email: llevitt-gamis@colum.edu

Nick’s position primarily exists to assist with the transition in the department to computer network based media management, including the new EVS systems. His knowledge of traditional video engineering, combined with his computer networking training makes him an ideal fit for this role.

Mason is now fulfilling both of his television passions. He has also been working at WGN-TV for 17 years as an engineer, cameraperson and live truck operator. At Columbia, Mason worked his way up the ranks in the television department, becoming the chief engineer in 1996. He has also been a part time faculty member since 1986, teaching “Television Practicum,” “Advanced Control Room Techniques” (now taught in the state-of-the-art HD remote truck) and other courses over the years.

Mason also does freelance camera work, engineering and technical directing, which helps him to stay in touch with current trends, equipment and the newest industry technology.

Cesar Mojarro
Computer Systems Assistant

Cesar, a Chicago native, has been a tech guru since the age of 12. He began to explore technology in Computer Camp, where he was reprimanded for practicing unconventional methods of disrupting processor and development behavior. Discovering technology as a tool to communicate in times where the digital divide was apparent, in the summer of 1995, Cesar managed to show a Medical Center a breach in their technology structure. Later on the following year Cesar was accepted to the Young Artists Program in the Museum of Contemporary Art where he would meet the discipline of learning how to speak through an Artists thought. Trained by some of Chicago’s most love Latin Artists such as Georgina Valverde, Luis Ulloa and Jeff Abbey Maldonado, Cesar begins his experimentation with video and abstract story telling. The challenge was embedded with having a final project for exhibition, which in fact was nominated for an award, Cesar's experimental visual metaphors and saturated enigmatic poetry lead him to love the aspects of video and film as a media to voice. In his inter disciplinary art practices, he combines different mediums to make films and tell personal stories that reflect identity. Cesar's films explore diaspora, representation, and aesthetic.

Cesar is inspired by immigration, nationality, and identity. His films include: Serpent (1996), Animation (2003), and Who am I poem compilation (2010). His works have screened in different venues in MCA, Chicago Theater and Internet. He then follows to volunteer for several Cinematography movies. As a teacher, Cesar aims to capture students imagination, channel their creative thoughts through multiple media and string a story so creative they can build from their own realities into characterization.

Add to that Cesar had a diverse technical abstracts ranging from developing software, implantation of Enterprise model applications, leading development teams, not to mention certified statistician in node regressions under the category of data mining. A problem solver at best and a great head for techy tasks.

office: 600 S. Michigan, Rm. 707
phone: (312) 369-7914
Email: cmojarro@colum.edu

Tamale is a cutting-edge interdisciplinary performer based out of Chicago. As a comedian, she has produced numerous shows (Tamale Presents LOL) and has opened for Michele Balan, Poppy Champlain, Julie Goldman, Vickie Shaw, and Sandra Valls. She was named the seventh funniest lesbian in America by Curve Magazine and one of Chicago's Top 30 Under 30 by the Windy City Times.

office: 600 S. Michigan, Rm. 1401
phone: (312) 369-8549
email: tsepp@colum.edu

Dave Smith
Engineer

Smith began working at Columbia College in 1991 as an engineer in the Television Department, training student work aids and new adjunct faculty to properly use the equipment in the studios and control rooms. For seven years, he also was the instructor for a class titled Equipment Practicum, which helped students learn how to operate the equipment in the studios and control rooms. He also helps to operate and maintain the department’s state-of-the-art HD media production truck.

Dave graduated from Columbia College in 1989 with a BA, Television Production.

office: 600 S. Michigan, Rm. 1503
phone: (312) 369-8528
email: dvsmith@colum.edu

As equipment center coordinator, Tony supervises student work aides in the equipment center, assists with distribution of television equipment and assists with developing policies and procedures as well as providing input on purchasing equipment.

Chris has managed Frequency since its inception in 2002 and has been an adjunct faculty member since 1993. He has taught several production courses throughout his career with concentration on dramatic, music and sports programming. Prior to his involvement with FTV, he was an Engineer and Assistant Chief Engineer from 1991-2001. Chris completed his studies in television and communications with a BA concentrating on multi-camera production and directing. Aside from his continued career with Columbia, he has worked in all aspects of the production industry focusing on music and sports as a freelance coordinator, director and technician.

Paul Wozniak
Engineer

Paul graduated from Columbia in 1986 with a degree in Broadcast Communications. That same year he joined the Television Department as a video engineer where he continues to work assisting in the installation, upgrading, and maintenance of all the television equipment. In addition, Paul assists with conducting faculty in-service education on new technology within the department.

Paul has taught several classes at Columbia since 1988, earning an "Excellence in Teaching Award" in 2004 for his Production and Editing 1 class.