Jane Renaud • Associate Producer
I joined Learning Matters in 2005 after finishing my BFA at New York University. I've worked previously in reality television, at Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, in feature film development, and as a ballet teacher for young children. Since I've been at LMI, I've had the pleasure of working with the team here to produce segments for The NewsHour and our documentary on community colleges, Discounted Dreams. I'm currently working on our series following school reform in Washington, DC. When I'm not working, I continue to pursue film projects and am an avid novel-reader. Current Project: Leadership: A Challenging Course


Cat McGrath • Producer
I joined Learning Matters in the fall of 2007 after 6 years of working in non-fiction programming, most recently at A&E Television on the short form series, This Day in History. For the past 4 years in New York, I have primarily worked as a Field and Associate Producer on shows for The History Channel. Before returning to NYC in 2003, I lived in San Francisco for 11 years where I worked for two years at KRON TV. I show produced reality specials and associate and segment produced for a local travel show called, Bay Area Backroads.

Prior to my life in television, I was a certified welder working in metal fabrication and before that worked in the theater, directly after completing my degree in theater from Skidmore College. When I’m not at work, my husband and I are basking in the joy of our little baby girl who is one and half years old. Current Project: Leadership: A Challenging Course

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The Office

Donald Devet • General Manager
Before joining Learning Matters in 1999, I was Director of a full time professional touring puppet company. I wrote, produced and performed shows across the country and managed the company's marketing and PR. Before that I served as an instructional television writer/producer in Charlotte, NC. My first experience in television began when I produced and hosted a local children's program, Stanley the Clown" in Columbia, SC. These varied experiences have given me a solid foundation for working with our creative team of producers. In addition to my management responsibilities at Learning Matters, I've produced two serials, "Making the Grade" and "Young Scientists", for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and have handled many of our company's web, dvd production and graphic responsibilities.

Amanda Morales • Administrative Assistant
At Learning Matters I'm excited to contribute my creative and administrative skills I've honed by working at various arts and nonprofit organizations here in New York. I'm proud to be a part of this great journalistic team. After growing up in Queens, a product of the public school system and lots of public television, I ventured south to study philosophy and art history at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Now I'm living in Brooklyn and when I'm not at work, I enjoy music, films, books, and discovering more of what the city's got to offer.

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The Web

Anique Halliday • Web Producer
I come to Learning Matters with a background in social justice activism covering issues like women's human rights, economy and trade, HIV/AIDS, and reproductive rights. And while on-the-ground activism is really invigorating, I also love the action happening online. My aim is to convey clearly (and attractively!) the missions and ideas that power nonprofit work and bring technology and web-based tools to organizations working for social change. In addition to political activism and traveling, I work with a select group of organizations for their web and technology needs.

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Listen Up! Youth Media Network

Rhea Mokund • Director As strange as it may seem, I think of this statement as a guiding principle for the Listen Up! Project. Even though technology and the media play a role in what we are doing, they're only a part of what it is all about. This project is also very much about showing the spirit of those youth who have been marginalized by mainstream society- the poor, the minority and the disabled. As Listen Up!'s Director, I focus on both securing access for young people to speak out and ensuring a place in the mainstream media for authentic youth representation. For the last three years, I have also served on the Board of Directors for Manhattan Neighborhood Network, the countryÍs largest Public Access Station. In 2003, I co-authored with Kathleen Tyner Mapping the Field: A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States, published by the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC).

Austin Haeberle • Creative Director
More than 20 years ago I walked into the radio station at my engineering college -- my interest in calculus plummeted, my love for producing media soared. I switched schools and haven’t looked back since. Out of college and off on a mountain bike, I wrote a weekly newspaper travelogue through the South (USA) and then Central America – the beginning of a 10-year stint in Guatemala. In Guatemala I produced films for development and human rights organizations like Doctors without Borders, Habitat for Humanity and the United Nations mission that brokered the end of a tragic 36 year-old war. I also worked with street children to produce their own TV show – the beginning of an amazing youth media journey. Times flies and almost decade later in New York City, our terrific team at Listen Up! supports 120 youth media organizations around the globe. I’ve produced films like The Way We See It: Youth Speak Out on Education (PBS) which make a visible difference in the way we all view today’s youth. I’m especially proud of our international Beyond Borders: Personal Stories from a Small Planet (IFC). The best part of this journey always ends at home with my wife Wendy and our daughters Anna and Bella.

Sharese Bullock • Strategic Partnerships and Marketing
I join the Listen Up! Youth Media Network as the Strategic Partnerships and Marketing Manager, contributing my creative management skills in brand-building, event production, sponsorship marketing and community organizing. Most recently, I created a brand management company, which serviced for-profit and not-for-profit organizations with technical/creative writing, production, fundraising and brand management. I developed a broad financial skill set through completion of a Financial Analyst program in the Equities Division of Goldman Sachs & Company. I completed my Undergraduate Studies in Communications at The University of Pennsylvania, where I also served as a campus event/concert producer, Marketing Representative for Atlantic Records, Elektra Entertainment Group, Warner Custom Music and Daewoo Motor America. I am an avid traveler, completing service and exchange programs in over twenty countries.

Matthew Griffin • Network Coordinator
I joined the Listen Up! Youth Media Network team as the Network Coordinator in the summer of 2006. Previously, I worked as a freelance writer, editor, and producer in a range of media arts fields from narrative / doc films to artist films / gallery installation art. In 2005, I worked as a producer, cinematographer, editor, and sound designer for Kara Walker's silhouette film “8 Possible Beginnings,” which screened at the REDCAT gallery in the Disney Concert Hall in LA, September through October of that year. I produced a number of short narrative films (SUNSET TOWN, FAULT, ROCKAWAY, and GRANDS) that have had screened at a number of festivals worldwide. I also have a background working for film festivals, a great resource for my work with Listen Up! projects and network. When not working to keep the Listen Up! network of organizations and communities together and productive, I am writing my thesis collection for my Writing MFA (Fiction concentration) at Columbia University School of the Arts.