(from left to right): Chip DiPaula, Ellen Libby, Susan Walker, Cheryl Miller. Photo : Lynn McReynolds.
The Annapolis Film Festival (AFF), which returns for a fourth year March 31 – April 3, 2016, has announced four new Board members and a new slate of Board officers for 2015-2016. The officers are: Lucy Spiegel, President; Lynn McReynolds, Vice-President; Emil Gallina, Treasurer; and Mandisa Henry, Secretary.
The four new members of the Annapolis Film Festival’s Board of Directors are Chip DiPaula, Ellen Weber Libby, Cheryl Miller and Susan Walker.
Chip DiPaula is co-founder of Flywheel Digital, a marketing agency specializing in e-commerce and unique sales strategies. Previously, DiPaula was Secretary of the Maryland Department of Budget and Management, and chief of staff for Governor Robert Ehrlich. He was also CEO of the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. He has been active in Annapolis civic life, having served on the Boards of the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference & Visitors Bureau and the Annapolis Economic Development Corporation.
Ellen Weber Libby is a practicing psychologist, business consultant, author and lecturer. Prior to starting her private practice in Washington, DC, which she still maintains, Dr. Libby was the clinical director of a mental health center serving children and their families, and served on the faculty at the University of Maryland. She is the author of the ground-breaking book The Favorite Child, nationally recognized for promoting an understanding of family dynamics. She consults with businesses on issues of group and family dynamics. She is vice president of the Annapolis-based Carol M. Jacobsohn Foundation and has served as chair of the Summit School Board of Directors in Edgewater.
Cheryl Miller is a businesswoman, volunteer and homemaker who have spent a lifetime contributing to the affairs of her native Anne Arundel County and other communities, where she has lived. She has been a sales and marketing executive in the healthcare and financial services sectors, managed her own Events Planning business and developed a commercial real estate portfolio in partnership with her husband of 36 years. A political activist, Cheryl co-founded Anne Arundel County for Obama in 2007; served as an elected Delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention; and stood for office as a Maryland State Delegate in the 2014 Democratic Primary. Cheryl is the founder of Project H.O.P.E., an innovative community nutrition and outreach program organized under the auspices of Historic Annapolis, where she also serves as a member of the Board of Directors.
Susan Walker returns to the AFF Board after serving during the organization’s first year. An attorney who practiced real estate law in Florida and Colorado, she is an Emeritus Board Member of Friends of the Light House Shelter and has served on the Steering Committee of Anne Arundel Women Giving Together and The Great Give, a fundraising event of the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County. She currently serves on the Hospice of the Chesapeake Foundation Board and the We Honor Veterans Committee of Hospice of the Chesapeake.
The Annapolis Film Festival is a non-profit organization whose mission is to encourage the development of all aspects of the creative arts in and around Annapolis through the cinema experience. The growing annual film festival features top recent documentary and feature films, plus shorts, from around the world, plus panels, parties and special events, all in downtown Annapolis.
For more information, contact [email protected] and to stay up-to-date on what’s coming up at next year’s Festival and what’s been happening with the films that took part in our 2015 event, go to Facebook or visit www.annapolisfilmfestival.com.