ALISON GIBSON

Bio will be available soon...

JOHN ODELL

John Odell is Faculty Emeritus of the Broadcast Electronic Media Arts Department at City College of San Francisco. Prior to his academic career, John spent more than twenty years in television news, primarily as a videotape editor. He also wrote, produced and reported.

John began his broadcast career in 1973 as an engineer and staff announcer at public television station KPBS in San Diego. At CBS’s KPIX in San Francisco in the late 70’s, he was an editor on the original “Evening Magazine” staff. At ABC O&O KGO-TV, he was a member of the news team that won the 1989 Peabody Award for its coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Among other awards, John is the recipient of seven Emmys and a Silver Medal in the New York International Film Festival. He is a member of the NATAS Silver Circle.

A member of the NATAS San Francisco/Northern California Chapter Board of Governors since 1983, John has served as the chapter’s Awards Chair, Secretary, Vice-President and President. This is his sixth term on the National Board of Trustees – he also served from 1987-91, 1992-96, and 1998-2000.

John holds a BA from Columbia University and a Master’s in Mass Communications from San Diego State University. He served as a navy photo intelligence officer in the Vietnam War.

CYNTHIA ZEIDEN

Cynthia Zeiden was born and raised in Chicago.  Her entire career has focused on non-commercial and educational media through her work in Public Television and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.  After graduating with a Masters degree in Broadcast Management from the University of Tennessee, Cynthia became the Director of Broadcast Operations at WYCC-TV, a PBS station in Chicago owned and operated by the City Colleges of Chicago.  In this role, Cynthia’s work was Emmy® Award-nominated multiple times.  During that time, Zeiden taught a film class through the Center for Open Learning out of Harold Washington College.  She then moved to San Francisco to assume the role of Program Manager at KCSM-TV, a PBS station in San Mateo owned and operated by the San Mateo Community College District.  This was when Cynthia first became involved with NATAS and was elected as a Governor of the San Francisco/Northern California Chapter.  She then became President of the chapter, then National Trustee and now is beginning her third term as a Trustee.

For the last 13 years, Zeiden has served as the Activities/Programs Chair, focusing on programs about social media and new technologies via live events and webcasts and more recently began to serve as the Advanced Media Task Force Chair for the chapter working under the Awards Committee.  Cynthia has had her own company, Zeiden Media, for the last 12 years, she develops, produces, acquires and markets programming for PBS stations around the country.