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Alexis Gambis, Artistic Director & Founder
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Alexis Gambis is the Artistic Director & Founder of Imagine Science Films. He is both a filmmaker and a scientist. Born in Paris, France, Alexis began to cultivate interests in both science and film as a teenager. His recent films, A Fruit Fly in New York and Dr Funque and His Petri Dish, explore the connections between science, imagination and creativity. With his films, his mission is to enhance public understanding on scientific issues, challenging existing stereotypes about science and scientists and generating visually exciting science stories using visual media.
Mr. Gambis is also a key advisor to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a regular Sloan grant reviewer and the youngest appointee to the five-member Sloan Film Advisory Committee in January 2009. He interned at the Communication Office of the National Center of Scientific Research in Paris (CNRS Images) and is a ongoing contributor to TalkingScience. At Rockefeller, he launched the Science and Media lecture series and is the coordinator of the Rockefeller Film Series.
He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Bard College and his PhD in molecular biology & genetics at the Rockefeller University in New York, and will be entering the Graduate Film Program at the Tisch School of Arts at New York University in September 2009. His website is alexisgambis.com.
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Kate Jeffrey, Producer & Program Manager
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A postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller University, Kate Jeffrey, a native Australian, has a Ph.D. in immunology and is the co-founder of Imagine Science Films. Her research investigates how the innate immune system fights viruses, funded by an Australian government fellowship. Dr. Jeffrey’s work has taken her to Melbourne, Sydney, and Geneva and in 2007, she worked as the immunology editor for Nature Medicine at the Nature Publishing Group headquarters in New York. She was also chosen as a candidate for Fresh Science, an Australian government initiative that strived to improve science communication with the media. In between time in the lab, she is the chair of the Life Sciences committee of Advance (a Global Australian Professionals network for Australians working overseas), where she organizes speakers and scientific events around New York City. She is also working with the New York Academy of Sciences to form a New York-based immunology think tank.
Kate has a passion for film and the arts and has participated in international film festivals such as Tropfest and Imagine Science Film Festival 2008, and has communicated science on radio and television, including 2SER, RRR and the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) in Sydney and Melbourne.
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Jonathan Estreich, Managing Director
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Jonathan Estreich is the Managing Director of Imagine Science Films. Mr. Estreich is also a Senior Consultant in the New York Forensic & Dispute Services practice of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP. He has obtained the elite ‘CAMS’ Anti-Money Laundering Specialist certification and is currently pursuing his credential as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). Born and raised in New York City, Mr. Estreich has a strong interest in film, business, and education. He has achieved a Bachelor of the Arts Degree in Economics from Bard College. He also has a diverse background in the financial advisory services sector and in the entertainment industry working with companies such as Wilhelmina Creative Management and Cinematic Management. Through his management and advisory role, Mr. Estreich promotes the success of Imagine Science Films. His mission, as well as that of ISF’s, is to “inspire the general public and creative visionaries to reflect on science and research through the moving image.”
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Veronica Jacome, Assistant Program Director
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Veronica Jacome is the Assistant Program Director of Imagine Science Films. Born in Valencia, Venezuela, she grew a passion for the arts at a very young age. As a teenager, it was films that opened up the world of science and led her to pursue a degree in physics. In December 2008 she received a bachelors degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. During her time at the U of I she did research on superconductors under the supervision of Professor Laura H. Greene, the Swanlund Professor of Physics.
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Linda Arredondo, Editor & Graphic Designer
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Linda Arredondo is a freelance Graphic Designer primarily based out of Los Angeles. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Design in Vancouver, British Columbia, and has worked on projects ranging from identity and packaging design, with Landor Associates and Procter & Gamble, as well as web and promotional design with clients such as Uncommon Results, Taylor Kitsch and Michael Clayton. She has also worked in collaboration with various magazines including Russh Magazine and Fstop Photography Magazine. With a strong desire to continue developing her creative skills throughout her career, Linda is currently enrolled in a full-time photography program in addition to her design work.
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Caitlin Militello, Main Web Developer & Sponsorship Coordinator
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Caitlin Militello is a freelance writer and editor. Much of her work has been inspired by her experiences traveling and living other places, in particular the 11 months she spent living in Japan. In addition to creative writing, Ms. Militello writes and edits for the blogzine she founded, The Talking Twenties, and is the main web developer and a grant writer for Imagine Science Films. Her work has also appeared on We Op-Ed, Talking Science, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal and on the International Children’s Digital Library as a volunteer translator of Japanese.
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Natalie Abruzzo, Funding & Sponsorship Coordinator
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Originally from Northern Virginia, just beyond the Beltway, Natalie Abruzzo moved to New York City to take a bite out of the Big Apple.
Natalie is currently a Film and Media Studies student with CUNY. She has started a production company producing the first of many films slated for principle photography over the next two years. Ms. Abruzzo’s capacity with the production company is that of Producer, Writer, Director, and occasionally as the talent. Her skills combine over a decade of Film, Television, and Theater experience.
Ms. Abruzzo also works as an Independent Contractor on Marketing, Design, and Operations initiatives for small businesses throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. She is involved with writing grants and finding sponsors for the 2009 Imagine Science Film Festival.
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