Team

Susan Wallner is an award-winning producer, director, and writer focusing on culture, history, and the arts. As a principal at PCK Media, Susan co-produces State of the Arts with Eric Schultz. She began with the series as a production assistant, becoming series producer four years later. Many of her 18 New York and Mid-Atlantic Emmys are for her work on State of the Arts, including Rose Marie McCoy: It’s Gonna Work Out Fine and Guthrie at Greystone.

Among Susan’s national documentaries are Anne Morrow Lindbergh: You’ll Have the Sky, Ben Shahn: Passion for Justice, Toshiko Takaezu: Portrait of an Artist, and, most recently, Kea’s Ark, a documentary about the self-taught artist, activist, and builder of a legendary ark in Newark.

215-530-6726

Eric Schultz is an award-winning producer and director of arts, cultural and music programming and a founding member of PCK Media. He and colleague Susan Wallner have produced State of the Arts since 2011.

Eric’s performance documentary, Ode to Joy: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, filmed at the 100th birthday celebration of William H. Scheide in Princeton and in Vienna, aired nationally on PBS in 2016. The previous year, public television viewers saw Pulling Out All the Stops, his film about the Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition. PBS also distributed his documentary Peanuts Gallery, the recipient of a NETA Award for Best Performance Program. His documentary Bonaparte’s Retreat was picked up for national distribution by American Public Television (APT). He is a founding member of PCK Media.

Eric is a cellist and loves to play chamber music and practice the Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello. Recently he’s been working, with mixed results, to learn the Italian language.

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215-932-9582

Mae Kellert is the Communications Producer for State of the Arts. They are a creative writer, photographer, and visual artist based at the Jersey Shore, with an MA in Literature, Media, and Culture from Háskóli Íslands in Reykjavík, Iceland, and a BFA in Photography from Stockton University, with concentrations in art history, writing, and French. They have also studied painting and art history at IESA Paris. Mae oversees State of the Arts’ social media and newsletter, manages their website, and assists on PCK Media projects. Their visual arts portfolio and written word publications are available at www.maekellert.com. Follow on Instagram at @mae.eli.

Joe Conlon has worked in broadcast television for over 30 years as a Director of Photography and Technical Manager.  As Director of Photography for State of the Arts, he works closely with the producers to establish the look and coordinate all technical aspects of field production. Joe has been honored with over 30 Emmy nominations and has won 11 for his work as a DP, sound recordist, and Technical Manager.  Joe began working with State of the Arts in 1983, winning 7 of his Emmys and contributing to several others the show has earned during that time.  He has special interests in lighting and capturing high quality sound.  Joe owns and operates Conlon Video Works and provides camera and engineering services for a wide range of clients.

Aubrey J. Kauffman is a fine art photographer and contributing producer to State of the Arts. He has worked as a cinematographer on numerous Emmy Award winning productions for NJPTV.  His photography has been exhibited widely, including solo exhibitions at the New Jersey State Museum, Enfoco at 7th and 2ND Street Gallery in New York, Southern Light Gallery in Amarillo, Texas, the Rider University Art Gallery in Lawrenceville, NJ, and more.

Aubrey has an MFA in Visual Arts from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, and he has taught photography at Mason Gross and elsewhere. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, Rider University, and Johnson & Johnson’s Corporate Headquarters in New Brunswick.

www.aubreyjkauffman.com

Bob Szuter is an independent writer/producer/editor with over twenty years experience in field production and editing. He’s been responsible for creating broadcast and online media focused on the arts, history, food culture and the environment. Recent PBS series include: Pasta & Politics with Nick Acocella and Mike Colameco’s Real Food, in addition to State of the Arts. While at NJN Public Television, many of Bob’s long-format programs were distributed nationally. Szuter has also produced broadcast shows, digital media, and spot campaigns for non-profit organizations. His last documentary for NJN, The Power of the Governor, won the 2011 New York Emmy for Best Political Special, and his profile of urban wetlands Turning the Tide received both a CINE Golden Eagle and a World Medal at the New York Festivals. Bob was also part of the State of the Arts team that won a 2015 Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy for Best Magazine Program.

https://rbszu6.wixsite.com/szuter 

Ilene Dube is a contributing producer for State of the Arts. Her short documentaries have screened at NJ film festivals, arts centers, museums, and libraries. Her documentary about artists in Roosevelt was the catalyst for an exhibition she guest curated at Morven Museum & Garden, and her film Painting the Moon and Beyond: Lois Dodd and Friends became the topic for an exhibition she curated at the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie. Her arts writing has appeared at JerseyArts, Princeton Magazine, Hyperallergic, and others, and her short stories have been published in more than a dozen literary journals. As an artist she has been exhibited at Phillip’s Mill, Hobart Art in the Native Landscape, Hopewell Tour des Arts, Prallsville Mill, Monmouth Museum, and others.

Sam Vladimirsky is a director & editor working between LA & NY. He is the founder & Chief Creative Officer of Whimsy, and his work has been featured in Vogue, PBS, and the Museum of Modern Art. He has a natural hunger for collaborative storytelling that is fearless and uncompromising, and is committed to making good trouble and raising difficult questions through film. Before launching Whimsy, he was the Creative Marketing Director at the Academy Award®-winning Breakwater Studios, where he ran Oscars® campaigns, headed up the marketing department, and worked with iconic brands like the New York Times, YouTube, UNICEF, and Charles Schwab. Previously, he worked in the photography department at the MoMA and served on the education team at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

https://www.samvladimirsky.com/

Dan Gordon is an actor, voiceover artist, and comedian living and working in Los Angeles.  He’s been the narrator of State of the Arts since 2012.

Dan is currently the face of a Kelly Blue Book national campaign and is voicing multiple characters in Comedy Central’s new animated series, Trip Tank.  He most recently starred opposite stars Ellen Pompeo on Grey’s Anatomy and Kerry Washington on Scandal.

Born and raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Dan received his BA in Acting and Theatre Education from Emerson College.  He co-founded Brimmer Street Theatre Company in the Hollywood area with a small collective of fellow Emersonians.  They produce original plays to cultivate artists and engage audiences in Los Angeles.

Nemuna Ceesay (she/her/hers) is an actor/director/educator based in New York. Selected theater credits: Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Shed, Second Stage, Two River Theater, CalShakes, Joe’s Pub, PlayMakers Rep, Woolly Mammoth, A.R.T., The Public Theatre, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Selected TV credits: Bull, Broad City, Instinct, Younger, FBI, Prodigal Son, and Katy Keene. Selected Directing credits: Playwrights Horizons (Amusements), 66th Obie Awards, Clubbed Thumb Winterworks (Reply All), Associate Director of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning A Strange Loop on Broadway. 2022 Clubbed Thumb New Play Directing Fellow. Founder and Creative Director of an all BIPOC training program called The Blueprint. MFA in acting from American Conservatory Theater. Follow her on Instagram @_nemuna_ and @theblueprintartist. You can also visit her website: www.nemunarceesay.com and learn more about The Blueprint at www.theblueprintartist.com.

Kevin Ronan is the post-production editor for State of the Arts, overseeing everything from color correction to audio sweetening as the program makes its way to broadcast. Kevin is a television producer/director and 7 time Emmy winner. He’s also the co-owner of Ronan & Ronan Productions and 3R Media. In the mid-1980’s, Kevin began his career as a videographer and editor, and soon added producing and directing to his toolkit. He’s produced hundreds of segments for broadcast, programs for Fortune 500 companies and video projects for many non-profit organizations. Kevin graduated from the University of Hartford and attended The New School, NYC for journalism.