Congratulations To Our Newly Elected Board Members

Here are this year’s elected board members. This year’s candidates were all elected and will serve a two-year term.

The board of directors is responsible for ensuring the health and growth of the organization and keeping our work in line with our mission, vision, and values. We're excited to have them join the board and look forward to their contributions to PhillyCAM's service to our community.

Sharp Hall
Self-Nominated

I started my experience in media as an intern at Echoes, a show on public radio. From 2006 to 2007 I was an intern at Prometheus Radio Project, a local non-profit advocating on behalf of community radio stations. I have remained involved with community radio, participating in projects from time to time. In 2016, I helped to build the studio for PhillyCAM’s own radio station, WPPM. I have other non-profit experience as a member of the board of The Hacktory, a local makerspace which existed from 2007 to 2018. Throughout my time with community radio and The Hacktory, I’ve had a focus on engineering and teaching. Since 2021, I've been a board member at PhillyCAM and board secretary, and if reelected I hope to transition into a co-treasurer role. Professionally, I'm a software developer at Runway, a New York based company that develops a cloud based video editor as well as machine learning tools for artists.

If reelected I would consider it a privilege to fulfill this role and be a part of making media production and distribution accessible to the diversity of voices in Philadelphia.

I live in West Philadelphia, in the Cedar Park neighborhood. I’m associated with DIY music, artist, and hacker cultures. I am currently a member at Space 1026, an artist space now located in North Philadelphia. I am a leftist and a non-religious atheist. I frequently travel by bike and public transportation. The following qualities don’t traditionally add diversity to many groups, but for consideration, I am a white, straight, cisgender male in a comfortable economic situation.

Anthony “anto” Mazza*

Self-Nominated

I hope to continue to bring my passion for community media and radical politics, as well as my professional experience in non-profit fundraising and administration in my service on the board at PhillyCAM. My experience with Radio Volta, a volunteer-run radio station in West Philly, inspired me to become an activist and organizer for community media on a national level. As an activist, and in my ten years as a core member of the Prometheus Radio Project I've participated in a variety of campaigns and actions in support of more participatory media- from costumed protest actions here in Philly and D.C., to organizing and testifying at federal hearings on media ownership to over a half dozen radio station building events all over the US. I consider it a privilege to be a DJ/Programmer on WPPM since shortly after the station launched in the Fall of 2016.

I am a Philadelphia native, a lifelong resident of the city and a graduate of Temple University. I am also the parent of a daughter in the Philadelphia public school system. I’ve been producing my own music show as a programmer on WPPM since 2016. Four years ago, I joined the governing board of PhillyCAM, and was immediately elected Treasurer. I am continually humbled by the people and the stories that are being told at PhillyCAM - stories that are not being told anywhere else! I would be honored to continue to serve as a member of the board of directors for the next two years.

Dan Winikur

Self-Nominated

I’ve been blessed with a winding and varied career spanning tv production, advertising copywriting, and working in house at a technology consulting company. Through these experiences, I’ve collaborated with many different people, from production companies, clients of all sizes, corporate leaders, strategists, filmmakers, art directors, and more. This has been a gift, allowing me to build a collaborative muscle that’s enabled me to connect and work well with very different stakeholders. My first job in NYC was at Harlem Children Zone, where I worked with high schoolers to create a TV program that aired on NYC’s public access channel Manhattan Neighborhood Network. I’ve assisted artist Jon Cohrs at the non profit media arts organization Eyebeam on various projects, including a “pirate tv” digital station that explored the underutilized radio frequencies during the transition away from broadcast signal to broadband in 2008/2009.

I’m relatively new to Philadelphia and I look to PhillyCAM and service on the board as a way to connect, collaborate, and learn from others. I know I could bring a lot to the table and I look forward to helping expand public media. As a white, Jewish male, (I’m not in a position to claim any traditional diversity in media;) But what comes to mind again is the experience I’ve had working with different stakeholders, searching for common ground. It’s not always the moments that look huge from the outside, but countless times, people aren’t on the same page. From production, I learned to be resourceful and resilient, making magic happen with limited budgets. That muscle came in handy when working with budgets in advertising (even if they were larger). Like all of us, I’m a work in progress, and I’ve been working on giving myself the same patience and grace I try to give everyone else.

Rachel Courtney

Nominated by Community Legal Services

I have lived in Philadelphia  for 7 years and have a background in community radio, both as a DJ and board member at various community stations including WPPM. I also work in the nonprofit world, have knowledge of nonprofit governance and accounting, and am generally a problem solver and a builder of systems. Most importantly I believe strongly in PhillyCAM's mission of creating vibrant, independent local media that educates both the viewers/listeners and the creators in our communities.

Being a straight cis white woman I'm not the most diverse person in terms of our society but I believe the board could use a few more people with radio backgrounds. I'm excited to bring my unique life experience to the role! As a resident of the Northwest, I am also able to bring that perspective.

Elizabeth Estrada*

Nominated by the Philadelphia Latino Film Festival

I have been a part of the PhillyCAM community since 2017 and a member of the board since 2019. Currently I serve as the Board Chair. I’m a Cuban American multimedia producer dedicated to using the power of media to amplify local stories. Currently I am the engagement editor at WHYY’s PlanPhilly where I manage an opinion section and report on how everyday people are positively shaping the city. I have been captivated with storytelling through media since the 4th grade, when I was selected to co-host a public radio show for kids. This experience shaped my future in media, from supporting independent filmmakers at various film nonprofits to working with youth and reporting locally, my work is about empowering individuals to share their stories. My experience in television and radio production, in combination with my passion and leadership on the board,position me well to continue to serve the talented PhillyCAM membership as a Board Member.

While I am not a native Philadelphian, I have chosen Philadelphia to be my home because it is a city shaped and defined by so many groups of people — across nationalities and races, gender expressions, political affiliations and everything in between. But appreciating diversity is not the same as advocating for it, disrupting the barriers to it and ensuring equity in spaces of power. As a Cuban American woman, who grew up translating and navigating two worlds, was able to go to college, and who holds a position of power in a local newsroom, I recognize my privilege and work on utilizing it to uphold the values of PhillyCAM, including, but not limited to diversity.

Charlene Horne*

Nominated by the William Way LGBT Community Center

I'm an accomplished multimedia journalist and content producer; an Emmy award winning video editor skilled in all aspects of television production and have years of experience in the broadcast news industry. I'm an Executive Board Member of the Philadelphia Association Of Black Journalists and serve as Vice President Of Broadcast & Scholarship Chair. My passion is working with young people and mentoring future journalists pursuing their own desire to make a difference in our communities and the world. I'm the owner/operations manager of Phoenix Rising Productions, LLC., a full-service video production company specializing in telling compelling stories in innovative ways. I enjoy working with those who have a message to deliver, a vision to share, a lesson to teach, a product to launch, or an image to build. In my spare time, you can find me line dancing or at karaoke!

I love PhillyCAM and I'm looking forward to a 2nd term on the board. My commitment to PhillyCAM's mission remains steadfast. I am more excited than ever to be part of this community of creative people and look forward to continuing the work of this board and supporting the members.

Michelle Kim*

Nominated by the Termite TV Collective

I am first and foremost an educator; I used to teach in the Philadelphia School District as a social studies and English teacher and then went on to work in museum education programming and teacher training. I am a first generation Korean American and a huge part of my why is supporting immigrant and refugee youth and communities. I am an organizer and have worked with SEAMAAC, Woori Center, and other community based organizations focused on uplifting our immigrant and refugee communities and their voices. I’m originally from koreatown in Los Angeles and have seen and dealt with firsthand the barriers that come with being from a immigrant, LEP, working class family and the way good teachers, school, and education can transform ones’ life trajectory. Knowing that these same opportunities are not equally available to all communities is why I do this work and believe in the active resistance needed to pursue true justice and liberation for all. As an educator, advocate, and community organizer, my lens focuses on how to redefine education to be a space for the community with community voice, issues, and dreams at the center. 

As a queer Korean American woman, I provide a unique perspective and lens to PhillyCAM. I grew up in a diverse community in Los Angeles during a time where marginalized groups struggled from lack of investment and resources from the government. Growing up during the LA Riots, I saw first-hand the impact of dehumanizing policies and practices by our systems and the end-result of racial groups fighting one another. My community picked up what was left from the wreckage of city-sanctioned negligence and grew stronger from it by building solidarity with one another. Experiencing this informed my work in organizing and how to work collaboratively with other minoritized groups and allies in the fight for justice and liberation. Because I sit at the intersection of multiple marginalized groups, I have often felt left out of mainstream discussions about race, gender, or sexuality. This has made me aware of the underlying assumptions in a conversation, and has pushed me to be an advocate for those who are excluded.

Melissa Talley-Palmer

Nominated by the Olney Culture Lab

I have over 40 years combined professional experience with Olney Culture Lab, Village Education Tutors Foundation, Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, Philadelphia Jazz Project, The Village of Arts and Humanities and Art Sanctuary as a Project Associate, Program Coordinator, Administrator, and Administrative Assistant. Fifteen years of her professional career was with the Internal Revenue Service as Secretary, Tax Examiner and Clerical Unit Supervisor. She earned a Certificate of Arts Administration through Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a teaching artist certification in ballroom dance instruction through Dancing Classrooms Philly, and a Trauma Informed Teaching Artist Certification through Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation. In addition, she has a certificate in mandated reporter training. As a trauma informed social

As an African American female artist and administrator, born in VA and raised in a low-income single parent household in Philadelphia, I bring the struggle and triumphs of my life experiences as well as the practices utilized to overcome and exceed expectations set for myself. My diverse engagement in the arts, economics and education has exposed me to various approaches of learning, engaging and producing. Twenty-five years of service in non-profit organizations and fifteen years of corporate service brings diversity in skills and resources necessary to cross-train self and others. I am a unique individual and self-starter inspired by the process as the performance. My baptist and holiness backgrounds are expanding my religious beliefs as I practice treating others the way I want to be treated and opening myself up to others belief systems.dance instructor and teaching artist, Melissa brings a multitude of organizational and development skills.