We’re proud to have an incredibly talented team at BIG. Our skilled staff members have a diverse wealth of experience ranging from filmmaking, production, and editing, to graphic design and marketing, to teaching and curriculum design. Amidst the wide array of expertise, we are all passionate about community media and committed to empowering all community members to express themselves by telling their stories and creating their own content.
BIG's STAFF
Kathy Bisbee
Executive Director - Kathy@brooklineinteractive.org
A native of western Maine, Kathy works in solidarity with diverse communities to amplify their voices; managing programs and organizations rooted in participatory media and digital inclusion as a creative technologist, storyteller, and community organizer. As a research fellow at the MIT Open Doc Lab, Kathy’s fieldwork was featured in Ms. Magazine on equitable access to traditional and emerging media in the public interest. Kathy received the 2019 'Nextant Legacy Prize' from the Virtual World Society, is a policy advisor to the CyberXR Coalition, and served as Vice-Chair of the Northeast board of the Alliance for Community Media (ACM). Learn more here!
Heather Hamilton
Deputy Director - Heather@brooklineinteractive.org
Heather Hamilton is a resident of Brookline and was most recently on the Select Board for the Town. She holds two masters degrees, one in Transportation Policy and the other in Public Administration, although she has found horses to be better teachers. She is very excited to join Brookline Interactive Group as Deputy Director because her new year's resolution was to have more fun while making an impact in the community. Learn more here!
Stephen Walter
Director of Special Projects - steve@brooklineinteractive.org
Stephen Walter has been working as a researcher, designer, and program director at the intersection of technology, community, and care for the past 15 years. He's worked with organizations such as the International Red Cross / Red Crescent, the UN, the Boston Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics, and was the founding managing director of the Engagement Lab at Emerson College. He's currently serving as the Director of Special Projects at BIG, exploring and experimenting with new tools for civic engagement and participatory media - like Civic Brookline! Learn more about Steve's other work and projects here.
Eric Sack
Director of Technical Operations - Eric@brooklineinteractive.org
Results-driven community leader with 17 years of experience developing innovative communication technology-enabled solutions that serve diverse community needs. Deeply committed to using media and communications to support free expression and community development. Proven ability to assess and plan complex, technological systems in team-oriented environment. Adept at building relationships with a shared sense of purpose. Translates ideas into action effortlessly. Possesses an Improvisational and entrepreneurial mindset able to seize opportunities for organizational advancement.
Alexia (Lex) Lalande
Community & Education Coordinator - Lex@brooklineinteractive.org
Lex helps coordinate BIG's educational programs and teaches all types of media classes. She also helps run community projects and create content for BIG. She has a Masters of Art in Teaching from Mass Art in Boston, and taught graphic design/media arts for a decade in the Hartford Public school system. In her spare time, Lex likes to watch films and doodle.
Wes Kaplan
Youth Development & Streaming Media Manager - Wes@brooklineinteractive.org
Born and raised in Newton, Wes Kaplan has been a youth worker and after school educator in the Greater Boston area for over 10 years. With a multidisciplinary background in game design, music production, and community organizing, Wes advises BIG’s Brain Wave Live! Series, a youth driven TV variety show produced entirely by teens. In his spare time, Wes enjoys recording and playing shows with his band Lane and attending midnight movies at the Coolidge.
Marinah J Phennicie
Production Manager
Marinah J Phennicie is a New England based filmmaker who has taught filmmaking and video editing courses at The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, The Sidney Poitier Film Festival, Boston Neighborhood Network, and Cambridge Community Television. After her role as a Senior Media Technician at Harvard’s Hauser Studio, she started her own production company with her partner and is currently in post-production on her first feature film.
Dominic (Dom) Lounds
Digital Media Producer
A recent graduate of Emerson College's MFA film program, Dom specializes in documentary filmmaking and motion graphics. Her work includes archival producing for WGBH broadcasts, animation for both narrative shorts and feature length films, and, most recently, an experimental virtual reality installation. At BIG, she helps to provide civic information and create news content across multiple platforms, all while supporting client and member productions.
Morgan Laing-Buckland
Production Assistant - Morgan@brooklineinteractive.org
John Foley
Tech Equity Coordinator | AmeriCorps VISTA - john@brooklineinteractive.org
John Foley (they/them/theirs) is an Americorps VISTA member serving as BIG’s Tech Equity Coordinator for 2022-2023. Previously John has worked as a freelance writer, editor and academic researcher, as an organizer on the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, and as a research Analyst with Prosperity Catalyst. John is thrilled to be at BIG and in their free time enjoys watching HBO’s masterpiece tv show Industry.
BIG's INTERNS
Charlotte Hunter
Production Intern
Originally from Oregon, Charlotte is junior at Emerson College studying film and comedy and hopes to become a nature documentarian after graduation. In her spare time, Charlotte enjoys watching reality TV and teaching juggling classes at an elementary school.
Celeste Alcalay
Journalism and Marketing Intern
Celeste is a rising freshman at the University of Chicago. Her interests, which she has explored through dual enrollment at BU during high school, include journalism, cinema and media studies and economics. She is excited to gain experience in a media lab/hub through working at BIG and see Brookline through different eyes, especially to help the Civic Brookline initiative in supporting hyper local journalism. She has just returned from a gap year spent traveling, learning Italian and tracing family history. In her free time, she is found, most likely, singing jazz.
Tendo Ochola
Production / Marketing Intern
Tendo Ochola is 20 years old, originally from Springfield, MA, and currently attending the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where he is studying film and video production. He is a writer, filmmaker, and animator, who focuses on personal studies through comedy, documentary, and surrealist styles. He recently started a filmmaking collective called Parachute Time, in which he hopes to create new stories and collaborate with other creatives. He's particularly interested in sharing his interests at BIG, where he can explore different tools of production in a different environment. He also enjoys playing guitar, skateboarding, and drawing.
Daniella Kaplan
TV Programming & Marketing Intern
Hello I'm Daniella, and I just graduated from Dean College with bachelors in communication. I studied video and audio while in school. Over my time at Dean I was able to film sports games of all kind, and it helped open me up to the love of sports. I hope one day to go into the sports world, whether that is filming sports or posting for teams. While in this internship II hope to learn more about different areas of video.
Carla Marin
Production Assistant
Hi! I’m Carla Marin a 21 year old broadcast journalism student with a minor in Spanish. I am currently attending Suffolk University and entering my senior year!
Emely Chavarria
Production Intern
Hi I’m Emely, and I recently graduated from Emerson College with a degree in Visual & Media Arts. I’ve worked in many different aspects of production: writer, camera operator, production designer, etc. However, the most important fact about me is that I’m based in Brookline!
Genevieve Temple
TV Programming / Podcasting Intern
Hello! I'm Genevieve. I'm a rising 4th year at Massachusetts College of Art and Design majoring in film/video. I love video editing or anything in post-production. I also love my cat, Lady, and cooking.