Dallas FilmDallas FilmMeet our Board of Directors leading Dallas Film forward. Made up of leaders across industries, each member brings their unique experience and expertise to create a community connected through film.
Experienced Chief of Staff/COO with a demonstrated history of working in the management consulting industry.Skilled in banking, commercial aviation, organizational design, business transformation, and strategy. Strongprofessional with an MBA from Texas A&M University.
Senior-level Finance Executive with broad, practical experience in diverse industries including retail and telecommunications. Proven ability to impact business growth and manage through changing and challenging situations. Gained significant experience with leading financial transactions, debt restructuring, strategic negotiations and cost reduction.
Adam Hilkemann has significant experience with private equity funds, hedge funds and hybrid funds pursuing a variety of investment strategies, including real estate, venture capital, emerging markets, litigation finance, buyout, distressed debt, energy, macro and funds of funds (FOF).
Adam has particular experience with cryptocurrency fund launches and related transactions. He works as part of a multidisciplinary team that applies Akin Gump’s wide-ranging experience in the digital asset space to meet client needs and drive industry best practices.
He advises management companies in connection with:
Adam has represented equity providers in connection with dozens of real estate joint ventures. He also advises purchasers and sellers in corporate and real estate acquisitions/dispositions, and he has provided guidance to borrowers in commercial finance transactions, including secured and unsecured corporate and real estate and preferred equity financings.
Additionally, he advises management companies on internal structuring issues such as profit-sharing arrangements and seeding transactions.
Adam also regularly advises private equity funds, companies, sponsors and institutional investors in connection with transactional activities, including fund investments, managed account arrangements, co-investments and other strategic transactions.
Jason Cleveland is a partner and VP of Acquisitions and Business Development for the worldwide film sales company Cinema Management Group. Jason began his film career in 2006 as screenwriter and producer of the independent features SOUL'S MIDNIGHT and FINGERPRINTS. Since joining the senior management team of CMG in 2009, Jason has helped grow the companies core activities in feature film sales, international distribution and original content development. In 2016 Jason served as Executive Producer for the animated films RATCHET AND CLANK and THE LITTLE VAMPIRE (3D). Jason is currently producing the live action feature 54321 with Mace Neufeld productions, along with co-writing the animated features AINBO and SEAL TEAM.
Paul Coggins is Co-Chair of Locke Lord's White Collar Criminal Defense and Internal Investigations Practice Group. Paul was the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas from 1993-2001.
He focuses his practice on white collar criminal defense, and has represented numerous Fortune 500 clients in high-stakes litigation before federal courts and the SEC. Paul also has conducted internal investigations involving alleged tax, fraud and securities violations. In addition, he develops compliance and ethics programs for corporations and other business entities.
During Paul's time at the U.S. Attorney's office, he twice served on the U.S. Attorney General's Advisory Council and, in 1998, became its Vice Chair.
INDIE
Mark creates and drives the overall Commerce House vision. He’s fiercely entrepreneurial—one has to be to open his own agency—and incredibly passionate about the ideas created inside our walls. Having worked in large holding company environments for most of his career, Mark’s goal is to ensure brands have a world-class independent option when it comes to agency partners.
“Combine one part entrepreneur with one part business acumen and one part rogue explorer. Mix thoroughly.”
SOUTHWEST BY NORTHEAST
When it came time to launch his own agency, Mark left a position as EVP/Operating Board Member of McCann/New York. There he oversaw the Kohl’s Department Stores and Clearasil business and led the start-up of TAG, dedicated to young adult marketing. Prior to that, he served as GM of McCann’s four Southwest region offices. And when McCann acquired Temerlin McClain, Mark became the Dallas agency’s COO — overseeing such accounts as Texas Instruments, i2 Technologies, La Quinta Inns and Suites, 7-Eleven, Federated Department Stores, SCI Corporation, Green Mountain Energy and Toshiba Computers. He came to McCann by way of O&M, where he was a Senior Partner and Group Management Supervisor for PepsiCo International and GTE. Mark cut his teeth in New York at Grey, Young & Rubicam and Deutsch.
MAD DRIVE
Fueled by a genuine passion for his clients’ businesses, Mark relentlessly pursues new ideas and ways of looking at existing businesses, elevating his involvement to a higher, more emotional plane. This is what drove him to quit his successful career in NY and start an agency in Dallas without a single client. Only a dream and the drive to make it happen.
OFF THE CLOCK
Mark and his wife, Pam, live in Dallas and have two children. He’s active in community affairs, serving on the boards of the Thanksgiving Square Foundation and Dallas Film Society. He’s also worked with Boys and Girls Clubs, Dallas Symphony, Junior League, March of Dimes and Cattle Baron’s Ball. He loves to travel and combines that with a passion for food, planning trips around great restaurants. To offset his food love, Mark runs. He’s completed 10 marathons.
As General Counsel for Epsilon, I’m responsible for all legal matters. I serve as the primary advisor to our senior management team and oversee legal affairs for Epsilon.
My story
For nearly twenty years, I was a Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. During this time, I advised Alliance Data and Epsilon on various legal matters, including M&A transactions. I’ve been named to The Best Lawyers in America in Commercial Litigation annually since 2013, and I am a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (IAPP). Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my four children and two dogs, following college sports and NHL hockey and attending film festivals.
My philosophy
Embrace challenge and change, work collaboratively and do the right thing, the right way, at the right time.
My qualifications
BA, English Literature, University of Dallas
JD, Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University
Executive Director for Mercury One Inc. Mercury One is a nonprofit committed to taking action through American History Education and Humanitarian Aid. We believe in "Malice towards none and charity for all" ~ Abraham Lincoln. Executive with extensive nonprofit management, financial management, business development and fund-raising experience.
Specialties: Nonprofit Management, Business Development, Fund-Raising, Marketing and Public Relations.
Harry Hunsicker is the former executive vice president of the Mystery Writers of America and the author of seven crime thrillers. He is a fourth generation native of Dallas, and his fiction has been short-listed for both the Shamus and Thriller Awards. In addition to the Dallas Film Society, he currently serves on the board of directors for the Dallas Historical Society, the Dallas Heritage Village, and the Mystery Writers of America.
I love sharing the magic of going to the movies. Being taken on a journey from the mind of the screenwriter, to the vision of the director, the hard work of the crew, and putting it all together in the editing suite.
As the Head of Marketing, Brandon’s purpose is to connect Studio Movie Grill’s experience and films with audiences. It starts with building a communication strategy that makes it easy for the audience to engage with films they enjoy and stories that appeal to them. Brandon’s journey with Studio Movie Grill has several sub-plots and did not start in a traditional way.
From 2000-2003, Brandon was Director of Operations and Marketing for Nova Cinemas in Chicago at which time he launched his film marketing company, FilmFrog Productions, LLC. This experience led to developing a network of independent filmmakers seeking help with marketing and distributing their films. In 2003, Brandon co-founded the Mid-Coast Film & Arts Festival in the Quad-Cities and later founded the Dallas Film Series and Fort Worth Film Series. In 2004, the Dallas Film Series began weekly independent film screenings at the Studio Movie Grill, Addison. Brandon was Film Marketing Manager at Blockbuster from 2004-2005 while operating the two film series in Dallas and Fort Worth and continuing to nurture deep roots in the local film community. In 2005, Brandon became an official member of the Studio Movie Grill as Director of Sales. At the time, Studio Movie Grill had two locations in north Dallas, but plans were already in the works to start taking the concept of in-theatre dining to another level. Over the next five years, Studio Movie Grill expanded to ten locations including sites beyond Texas. During this same period, FilmFrog Productions distributed numerous films including SHTICKMEN, NICE GUYS SLEEP ALONE, LOADED, SHUT UP & SHOOT ME, LOVELY BY SURPRISE, FISSURE, and DIRTY COUNTRY, executive produced KARMA POLICE and SPILT MILK, and marketed countless other films.
Brandon served as Vice President, Product Development for Community Choice Financial from 2010-2013, Sr. Director, Product for Think Finance from 2013-2014, Vice President, Business Development for Solutions by Text from 2013-2016, and launched FinanceFrog, LLC in 2014 to further consulting and advisory opportunities.
Brandon rejoined Studio Movie Grill as Sr. Director, Marketing in September 2016, a Board Member of the Dallas Film Society, and CMO of the Dallas International Film Festival.
It is incredible when you look at the full scope of what it takes to bring a movie to life. I enjoy being part of sharing that journey.
Lynn Lewis has 37 years’ experience in the financial service industry, the last 25 years focusing on firms that specialize in US REITs and European Property Companies. For 17 years as a Managing Director and Member of the Board of Green Street Advisors (an independent, premier provider of REIT research known for its proprietary data and analytics), she formulated policy, developed strategy and guided the firm’s revenue growth. She opened the firm’s offices in Dallas and London and built successful teams and businesses serving the US REIT and European Property Companies, respectively.
Lewis is expert in issues surrounding volatility in the US stock market in general and REIT stocks in particular. She recently participated as one of five industry leaders in a Special Task Force of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), which documented the correlation between REIT stock volatility and the formation of levered Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and presented its findings to the SEC, playing an instrumental role in eliminating proposed new levered ETFs. An experienced public speaker, Lewis is a guest lecturer at Rice University’s MBA program on the volatility of the US stock market and the legislation responsible for it, and speaks at Rice University’s Economic Conference on the relationship between High Frequency Trading (HFT) and ETFs and stock market volatility. Lewis, is also on Rice University Advisory Board.
A serious student of global economics with focus on Russia and the Middle East, Lewis aggressively pursues international learning and active adventure travel with recent immersions in China, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Bulgaria, Namibia, Siberia, Iran, Dubai, Oman and India. She is also a dive master who has dived in all of the world’s major seas and is certified to drive high-performance racing cars.
Lewis earned her BFA in Drama and English from the University of Houston.
Lewis expresses her ongoing passion for the theater, film and the performing arts through board service at the Dallas Film Society and membership on the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival annual fundraising Gala Committee. In addition, she lends her time, expertise and leadership to The Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Dallas), and Volunteers of America regarding prison reform.
Jennifer Small is a brand strategist working with marketing departments and advertising agencies across the US and the world. Jennifer received a BFA in photography from The Parsons School of Design and an MFA in design from The University of Texas at Austin. Her professional career began as a producer of large-scale commercial photo shoots for fashion and lifestyle photographers in New York. Eventually Jennifer began working as a as photographer for publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Res and commercial clients such as The United States Olympic Committee and The Americans for the Arts. Jennifer’s love of film began at the age of 3, when she saw “Fantasia” for the first time. She was brought up immersed in films of all varieties and was introduced–at a very early age–to the brilliance of “The Blues Brothers”, Mel Brooks and Sir David Lean’s award-winning films. Jennifer was honored to be asked to join the board of Dallas Film in February of 2019 and has been very active in promoting the organization as a source for programming and activation events for brands, products and services.
Larry Waks is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP in the firm’s Dallas, Austin, and New York offices. He is a member of the firm’s Transactions and Intellectual Property Practices.
Prior to working at Foley, Larry was a partner at a large full-service law firm where he served a broad range of domestic and international clients. Larry represents many clients in the food and beverage, high tech, media and entertainment industries, on a scale that takes him across the country and around the world. His practice experience is broad based, with particular emphasis in food and beverage, consumer product, fashion, entertainment, intellectual property, and mergers and acquisitions. Larry has a keen understanding of risk and how it is best controlled, which makes him a clear choice for clients engaged in mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic transactions.
Beth Wilbins is a seasoned communications executive whose career has covered an extensive range of marketing disciplines, including PR, advertising, magazine publishing, television production, radio promotion, executive positioning, community relations, charitable giving, social media, and branding. She has planned and executed countless high-profile events in her 35+ years of agency and client-side experience, including more than 100 in the past four years.
The former owner of Forte Group, Inc., which was acquired by The Point Group in August 2015, Beth serves as President of the Senior Lifestyle Division of The Point Group.
She is also a member of The Point Group Restaurant and Hotel Group, and, along with her husband, Rick Wilbins, she is a franchise owner with Patrice and Associates, the largest restaurant and hospitality recruiting firm in North America. Beth and Rick became even more keenly interested in the industry with the August 2017 opening in Coppell of GEORGE: Coffee + Provisions, an establishment owned by daughter Laura Wilbins Hemberger and son-in-law Christian Hemberger.