Why become a Board member at OFS?
It is an exciting time to be a Board member at the Film Society. As new owners of the Capitol Theater, we have of variety of important projects and initiatives that touch all aspects of the organization – programming, personnel, community outreach, fundraising and finance. At this important moment in our organizational history we can use your help to build our organizational capacity and tackle these exciting projects.
Joining the Board has great perks for you too! Not only will you feel great about contributing to the success of OFS, but you will also have the opportunity to join an interesting and creative community of art enthusiasts and attend most film screenings for free!
I’m interested, but want to learn more. What should I do next?
A good first step is to visit one of our Board meetings. We meet the first Wednesday of the month at 6:00p in the OFS Office (416 Washington Street SE, Suite 208). Here’s what we were up to in July: BOD Minutes 6 July 2011
You can also stop by to chat with our Board Development Committee on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 6:00p in the OFS Office or contact our Board President, Sasha Cornellier, president@olympiafilmsociety.org. You may also want to read about our accomplishments in 2010. Download our 2010 Annual Report
Our Wonderful and Talented Board!
Frank Barber, Treasurer
Finance Committee
Since 2008, I have been a volunteer Board member of the Olympia Film Society. During that time, I’ve been involved in many efforts in the organization that are both challenging and rewarding. The result of the coordinated efforts of the Board, Staff and volunteers at OFS during this time have led to a better organization, better programming for the community, and a better experience for all of us. With your support, I hope to continue working with everyone here at the Olympia Film Society to complete our acquisition of the Capitol Theater; continue to support our remarkable programming, Staff and volunteers; and support new initiatives in community arts education. Thanks for your continued support of the Olympia Film Society! I look forward to seeing you in downtown Olympia – at the Capitol Theater!
Vikki Bayman, Secretary
Development & Fundraising Committee
Meli Bless
Marketing Committee
I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Psychology and a minor in arts while at the same time ran my own Theatre Company. I got involved in doing theatre in Virginia as I went to school and had a fulltime job. Now in Washington State my life has begun a new act, volunteering in an Olympia vintage Theatre and joining the Board of Directors.
Sasha Cornellier, President
Development & Fundraising Committee
Sasha fell in love with the art house movie-going experience as a teenager, when Hermosa Beach, California’s Bijou Theater was still offering Tuesday night movies at $2. A long-time devotee of independent and foreign films and the vintage theaters that feature them, Sasha became been a fan of OFS when she took in her first Norwegian art house flick at the Capital Theater on a 2004 weekend trip to Olympia. Upon settling down in Olympia in Spring 2009, she made regular trips to the OFS a treasured routine. Sasha joined the Development and Fundraising Committee shortly thereafter and facilitated OFS’s creation of a comprehensive five-year Fund-Development Plan. Sasha is a graduate of the University of Washington with double degree in International Studies, Community Environment and Planning, and German Language and Literature, as well as a Juris Doctorate from the University of Washington School of Law. After years of working for a number of non-profit organizations in a variety of capacities and for a time as a civil rights lawyer in DC, Sasha now runs Cornellier Consulting, LLC, providing fundraising, management and other strategy consulting to non-profit organizations to support them in better achieving their missions.
Blake Nelson, Vice President
Facilities Committee
Blake was first introduced to OFS while attending high school in Centralia through the Olympia Film Festival’s closing event, ALL FREAKIN’ NIGHT. He has not missed an ALL FREAKIN’ NIGHT since. He joined the board in 2010 directly after earning his Masters in Public Administration from Evergreen. In his professional life he’s an environmental cleanups loan manager for the Washington State Department of Commerce, and was a grants manager and sustainability specialist for the Department of Ecology before that. While residing in Yakima from 2006-2007 he served as a member of the Washington State Recycling Association’s outreach committee. Blake now resides in Tumwater and select hobbies include fishing, vegetable gardening, and playing recreational sports whenever he can round up enough people for a game.
Isaac Overcast
Festival Oversight Committee, Personnel Committee
Isaac was born in Nebraska, a little known fact. He’s lived in Olympia since 1994, coming and going around the theater quite a bit. He graduated from The Evergreen State College with a BA/BS in many interesting things, and that’s where he works now. He joined the board three years ago, though volunteering as a projectionist is his secret favorite hobby. In his free time he makes very short movies.
Paul Potasnik
Board Development Committee
Kaylynn What
Personnel Committee
