Our Staff
Katie Taylor – Executive Director/Board Member/Founder
Katie Taylor serves as the Executive Director and is the founder of Film School Africa. She studied communications at Taylor University in Indiana and during her time at university, she spent a semester at the LA Film Study Center learning film production and doing an internship with 20th Century Fox in their feature-casting department.
After university, Taylor returned to Hollywood and began assisting executive producers in television. She became more interested in screenwriting during this time, and even sold a story for one of the series. As a result of this sale, she was included into the WGA (Writers Guild of America).
She soon found that her love for the casting process was taking over, and made the jump to work with Francine Maisler, one of the world’s premiere casting directors. With Francine, she assisted on several big budget features like Spider-man 3 and Michael Mann’s Miami Vice, as well as more artistic fare like Into the Wild and Babel. Eventually she started jumping around to work with different casting directors and numerous studios for producers and directors like Adam Sandler, Tim Burton, Alexander Payne, Ben Stiller, Marc Forster and Steven Spielberg.
Katie spent 6 years working as an Associate Casting Director for various productions, but some of her most rewarding work was helping her super talented friends – like when she cast the short film Short Term 12 for director Destin Cretton – which went on to win Best Short Film at Sundance in 2009. Or the film Day Labor, for director Lowell Frank, which tells the story of a Columbian day laborer in the US and his battle to provide for his family. Day Labor went on to become a student Oscar finalist.
Katie had a quickly growing career but soon came to the realization that not all of her talents were being utilized in the Hollywood system, and that making a difference in the lives of people and sharing the love and grace of Jesus was her greatest passion. So she called on her broad knowledge of filmmaking, and the tremendous power of storytelling, and moved to the township of Kayamandi, South Africa in 2008 to launch the pilot program that would later become Film School Africa.
Marie Midcalf — Associate FSA Director/Editor/Lecturer
Marie has a film degree from AFDA with an emphasis in editing. In addition to her studies in the area of film, Marie also graduated from the Waterfront Theatre School and has performed professionally on stages around the world. She runs her own company, PureLiquid Editing, and has worked on projects with RichRed Productions, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Global Initiative, Bloomberg TV, Sanlam, and Deloitte among others. Marie works full time for Film School Africa as a teacher and mentor.
Howard Taylor – CEO
Howard brings more than forty years of experience in the solicitation of funds for nonprofit organizations and ministries. His professional endeavors have included the writing of direct mail copy for mission agency executive directors and college and university presidents. His development responsibilities have included being directly involved in the solicitation of major gifts for annual, capital, endowment, and programmatic needs. He also brings a great deal of leadership experience including the development of boards of trustees and significant volunteer enterprises. Howard recently completed sixteen years at Malone University, having served as Vice President for Advancement and Senior Gifts Officer. He continues to be a Principal and Senior Consultant with the Rediger Taylor Group LLC, serving the greater non profit community.
Kevin and Cheryl Stemmet - College Campus House Parents
Kevin and Cheryl live on our college campus in Somerset West. They share meals with the FSA College students and provide on campus care along with driving students around. Kevin has a background in ministry and a bachelors in theology - and he meets with students on a regular basis to facilitate the supportive family culture of FSA College. Cheryl is passionate about early childhood development, young mothers and their 2 grandchildren.
Nathan Midcalf — FSA College Sound Recording Lecturer
Nate has a film degree from AFDA with an emphasis in sound. In addition to his studies in the area of film, Nathan has been recording and booming for local and international series and commercials. He has recently wrapped his 2nd season with Survivor South Africa.
FSA College is privileged to have numerous other guest lecturers and volunteers that share their areas of expertise on a regular basis.
Board of Directors
Dave Coen - Board Member
Perhaps more than any other board member, Dave can accurately claim that without him FSA would never have existed. He is a South African and first traveled with founder Katie Taylor to Cape Town where her heart was captured by the people and mission the Lord put on her heart. A passionate people person, Dave works hard to support and uplift those around him. He successfully helps others with financial, retirement and college planning.
Robert Turner - Board Member
Bob is a Project Business Manager at the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization. He has extensive management experience in project controls, financial management, program / project management, risk assessment and mitigation and operations management. He also has proven ability to develop multi-discipline teams to successfully attain project goals on schedule and within budgets. Extensive experience with federal, municipal and commercial client environments and requirements. Bob is proactive, a results oriented leader with excellent communication and presentation skills and he is passionate about Film School Africa and the education they provide to students in need. He believes that FSA has demonstrated true life change in their students and he's eager to share with everyone about the impact of the organization.
Craig Melrose - Board Member
Craig is a fun and loving husband and father who is passionate about solving problems. He is currently a Global Managing Partner at HTEC – Advanced Technologies including mobility. Craig has been blessed to have a career centered around Business Impact and Business Transformation. From Toyota North America improving operations performance and the Toyota Production System to McKinsey & Company improving Fortune 500 companies across ALL industry verticals and ALL operational functional areas with lean, six sigma, and operational excellence approaches both physically and digitally, to PTC embedding 30 years of Business and Operations Transformation experience into software solutions to continue to deliver $10's of millions in impact annually for customers with 5-10x ROI's and same year paybacks similar to his entire 30+ year career. He is excited to bring his skills to Film School Africa after having visiting the campus in 2024 and meeting some of the students. He believes in using his God given talents for the Kingdom.
Jesse D. Wilson – Founding Board Member
Jesse graduated from Butler University with a degree in Finance before going on to law school at Indiana University – Indianapolis. Jesse has spent the last nine years working in the legal profession as in house counsel at a Fortune 500 company. Jesse has worked in a number of leadership positions leading teams from 5 to 60 associates. His combined knowledge and experience in business, law and leadership provide a great foundation for leading the Film School Africa organization.
Kari Reid – Founding Board Member
Kari Reid obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Christian Education with a minor in Psychology in 1996 and went on to obtain her Master’s in Organizational Leadership. Kari brings more than seven (7) years of experience working with not-for-profit organizations. This experience coupled with that of roles as a lobbyist for 501(c)(3) organizations as well as program and curriculum development provide a wealth of practical experience and leadership that Kari can leverage to lead Film School Africa as it develops it programs and fulfills its mission.
Matthew May - Board Member
Matt has literally grown up around the Real Estate business and been party to a wide array of transactions, ranging from Condos & Residential Single-Family Homes to Raw Land & Rural Properties to Multifamily Investment & Commercial properties to Multi-Million Dollar plus Luxury Homes. Seasoned from a young age and licensed in 2005, Matt knows what it takes to get any deal to the finish line. Now a student in the art of negotiating himself, he loves to use his skills to help both Buyers and Sellers achieve their Real Estate goals. You will see that Matt is fun to work with, easy to communicate with and always has a positive enthusiastic attitude. He is a devoted husband and father, and he's passionate about his faith and using his skills to advance Film School Africa's mission and vision.
Heather Sommer - Board Member
Heather is a dedicated wife and mother to three boys. She is a real estate pro who knows how to fix up a property for rental and she successfully manages several properties. A Taylor University grad, Heather is a true believer in the impact that a Christian institution has on a young life, and she believes that students at Film School Africa should also get to have these foundational experiences as well.
Katie Taylor - Founding Board Member
See more about Katie under "Our Staff".
Michelle Steffes Aucoin – Former Founding Board Member
Michelle directed her first non-student short film, Say It Again, Sam, while she was the Director of Development at Larger than Life Productions, the production company of Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Hunger Games.) Later, she wrote the short script Driftwood, which led to her acceptance into AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, where she directed the film. In 2011, she directed the comedy short film The Interview, which won at festivals such as the Oscar-qualifying USA Film Festival and was picked up for distribution on iTunes by Shorts International.
Michelle’s short films tend to be fantastical, whimsical twists on reality (Driftwood, Say It Again, Sam, The Interview, and Witches) but she is also drawn to tell stories about people trying to find hope and peace amidst adversity. She produced the short film Day Labor, which tells the story of a Columbian day laborer in the US and his battle to provide for his family. Day Labor went on to become a student Oscar finalist. She also produced the short film Short Term 12, about worker at a juvenile facility in Southern California struggling to connect with his troubled charges. Short Term 12 went on to become a student Oscar finalist, an Academy Award short list selection, and the US jury prize winner at Sundance. Recently Michelle directed the short film Refuge, about a single father in Iraq grappling with the ghosts of his past.
Michelle was the only live action short filmmaker invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2012.
Michelle is a graduate of Taylor University and has trained at AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, Judith Weston’s directing labs, and iO West. Michelle teaches workshops on screenwriting and the art of the short film for Biola University, iO West, Chicago’s Story conference, and Alberta’s Reel Shorts Film Festival and has served as a screenwriting/producing mentor for non-profits such as Cinestory, Act One, and WriteGirl.
Anna M. Scherrei – Former Founding Board Member
Meeshee Scherrei is a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and has worked professionally in careers ranging from Human Resources Director, to Marketing Manager to Ministry and Non-Profit Management. She first became interested in participating in relief work in Kayamandi, South Africa in 2006 when she was invited to assist in the making of a short film about AIDS and the havoc it wreaks on young South African children. Since that time, Meeshee has been actively involved in numerous relief trips and projects. She is excited about the future of FSA and looks forward to helping it launch into its next chapter. Meeshee currently resides in Orange County, CA.
Wadzanai Machena - Former Board Member
Wadzi is a digital product expert who is passionate about leveraging technology, human centered design and innovative business models to solve complex social problems. She brings over 10 years of program design experience in both the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors. When she’s not working on tech product solutions, Wadzi volunteers time mentoring young adults and working at a local homeless shelter.
She earned an MA in International Development Studies from UCLA and an MBA from Gordon Institute of Business Science in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Jill Taylor - Former Founding Board Member
Jill served as the Executive Director of the Pregnancy Support Center of Stark County (Ohio) where she served from 2000 until 2019. During her tenure at the Center, the budget has risen from $125,000 annually to more than $1,000,000. Prior to her role at the Center, Jill worked in public education for 22 years in New York and Southern California. She is passionate about Film School Africa and the potential for life change through education, training and sharing of the gospel.
Tim Harris - Former Board Member/Treasurer
Tim owns his own business through which he consults with businesses and other organizations focusing primarily on leadership development and team building. He has a varied background in business, education and government service. Tim served as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives and served as Chief of Staff for a member of the United States House of Representatives. He has also served in leadership at two colleges – Indiana Wesleyan University where he served as Executive Director of Alumni & Development and Ivy Tech Community College, the largest singly accredited community college in the United States, where he was Vice President of Ivy Tech Corporate College. Tim co-led the statewide Corporate College focusing mainly on sales and marketing. Tim has also taught Leadership Grant County, a local community adult leadership program for over 20 years graduating hundreds of new community leaders during that time. Finally, Tim has owned and led for-profit businesses for over 15 years.
Amanda Wilson – Former Founding Board Member
Amanda Wilson obtained her bachelors in communications and public relations from Taylor University and completed two graduate degrees (Master of Public Affairs in Nonprofit Management and Master of Arts in Philanthropic Studies) at Indiana University.
She is a member of a university advancement team as the Director of Parent and Family Programs. Prior to this position she worked in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. She has also been a financial supporter of Film School Africa since it began as a program under a separate not for profit.
