"The Public School Wars"

Bill Baykan
Writer, Producer, Director

Bill Baykan is an award-winning filmmaker and media professional who has worked for HBO, Big Idea Productions and Harpo Studios. He has also taught at the university level at DePaul University’s College of Digital Media.  He is currently a faculty member at Tribeca-Flashpoint Media Arts Academy in Chicago.

Bill is a graduate of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television and has an MA degree from the University of Chicago.

Erik Mauck has been shooting film and video since 1998. After graduating with a film degree from Southern Illinois University in 2000, he worked as a producer and cinematographer for the area's PBS affiliate - WSIU. Upon moving to Austin in 2003, he began shooting short video segments covering the independent film community, where he met the subject of his first documentary, "Zombie Girl: The Movie." He has shot several short documentaries and recently completed his second feature-length project, "The Road to Livingston," which premiered at the 2013 Austin Film Festival. He currently works as a freelance camera operator and editor in Austin.

Peter Hawley  

Documentary Production Consultant

Peter Hawley is an award-winning film writer and director working in feature film, documentary, television and TV commercials. He received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and earned his Master's degree at the University of Chicago. He has been teaching film at the college level since 1996.

Peter has been a partner in Windy Cine Productions since 1994, where he writes, produces and directs Film, Television Commercials, Documentaries and Corporate Communcation. His 2010 interview with director Danny Boyle was published by the University of Mississippi Press in 2010.
 

Rose Spinelli  

Crowdfunding / Social Media Consultant

Rose Spinelli is a crowdfunding consultant. In January 2014, she was named among the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Crowdfunding Today.” She is a trainer and educator and author of Working the Crowd: Know the Fundamentals, a six- part online learning series that covers everything from pre-launch to fulfillment.

Her crowdfunding course is not only offered on Udemy. but also to the academic community through United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurs(USASBE) by entrepreneur educators who offer it to students as supplemental educational material. It is also available on QuipuApps.

Kayla McCormick

Documentary Production Consultant

Kayla McCormick is an Executive Producer for New Chapter Entertainment. She is currently working on a long-form documentary featuring the community surrounding Whitney Young High School in Chicago. She has produced for "Oprah's Next Chapter" on the Oprah Winfrey Network, was an Associate Producer for Harpo Studios and the Oprah Winfrey Show.  Kayla has produced for A&E, The National Geographic Channel, The History Channel, The Weather Channel, WGBH Boston, WTTW Chicago and ABC New York.

She is also a world traveler who has survived Bolivia's famed Death Road.