Peggy has been involved with the Film Festival since 1997, starting as a volunteer and then becoming a Board member in 2002. She served as Secretary prior to her current position as Treasurer.

Peggy earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English/American Literature from UC, San Diego and studied dance for a number of years during and following college. She honed her event planning and organizational skills while working at UCLA Extension and Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising before moving to the Central Coast in 1995. While living in L.A., she was an avid and frequent attendee at UCLA Extension's Sneak Preview film course. She is an enthusiastic supporter of the Arts and loves great filmmaking.

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Dave holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Arts in Public Affairs and spent more than 20 years in the city manager business in the Milwaukee, Chicago and central coast California areas. He found his way into feature films in the late 1990's, with a primary interest in acting. His management skills have proven beneficial in the production, marketing and distribution aspects of the film business for his current employer, Energy Alliance Entertainment, a Long Beach, California based production company.

Dave feels that independent films are made out of pure passion, often on shoestring budgets. He views his membership on the Film Festival Board as a valuable opportunity to promote independent filmmaking.

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Charles Crellin has been a Director of Marketing and Public Relations for over 20 years. He has worked for numerous non-profits and corporations, including the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the Santa Barbara Writer�fs Conference, Wood�fs Humane Society, Rancho Arroyo Grande Winery, International Aviation Network-Corporate Jet Charter, Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort and Two Bunch Palms Resort.

As a journalist, he has written essays and reviews for numerous publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Westways magazine, L.A. Weekly, the Santa Barbara News-Press, the San Francisco Review of Books, and The Tribune.

Charles also teaches aikido, a Japanese martial arts, on the Central Coast.

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Jim was born in Hackensack, NJ and lived for short stints in Nevada, New Mexico and southern California, before ending up in San Luis Obispo in 1965. During Jr. High, High School and as a journalism major at Cal Poly, Jim spent 90% of his time at Cal Poly's radio station, KCPR. As a college student, he started an on-again off-again film club called The Cinema Zoo with artist (and current SLOIFF board member) Paul Karlen, who went on to design the Rainbow Theatre and Palm Theatre logos.

Jim opened the single-screened Rainbow Theatre in 1979 in San Luis Obispo and owned and managed it until it closed in 1989. He opened The Palm Theatre in August 1988, and since them it has become the home of the SLO International Film Festival, and is now one of the only solar-operated movie theatres in the world. Jim was one of the original founders of the SLOIFF and we are delighted to have him back on the board.

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After earning a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, Denise Dudley worked as a field therapist, psychiatric hospital administrator and AIDS educator. Her focus on adult education led her to public speaking in the areas of mental health, assertiveness training, communication, self-esteem, leadership and managerial skills and women�fs issues. She is the author of several books, including Every Woman�fs Guide to Career Success, now in its fifth printing, and Simon and Shuster�fs best-selling audio tape, entitled Making Relationships Last.

In 1989, Denise formed a partnership with Jerry Brown and founded SkillPath Seminars that quickly grew to become the world�fs largest public seminar company. In 1993, they decided to sell the company to Graceland University and Denise is still a board member of both organizations. She resides in Santa Margarita with her two children and makes her living as a rancher, writer and business consultant. A long-time film devotee, she is delighted to get involved in the SLOIFF and share her passion for the arts and professional skills.

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Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Wendy got her first job at 14 as a production assistant on a television series, and that was it…she was hooked. After graduation from college and a short stint at art school, she began working full-time as an assistant director, working on many film and TV productions, including "A Christmas Story," "Suspect," "A New Life," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," and many more.

Wendy met her husband, Tim, while traveling in the South Pacific and in 1989, they moved to San Luis Obispo to start a family and a mail-order food business called Mo Hotta - Mo Betta. They successfully grew the business, selling it in 2000. Wendy then became Executive Director of the SLO Little Theatre and managed it until the end of 2004.

Tim and Wendy are currently developing a video production/distribution company, and she is finally pursuing her dream to write, shoot, and edit her own productions. When she's not doing that, she's watching movies or playing tennis. Her two children are active in theatre and are also avid movie buffs.

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Paul Karlen, B.S. Graphic Communications with a concentration in Printing Technology, oversees all design and print production at Karlen Designs. His talent for delivering creative solutions for clients has established a reputation as one of the premier design firms in San Luis Obispo. In addition to his design and graphic skills, Paul has successfully photographed products for dozens of catalogs using digital technology. Paul was chosen by Scitex Corporation to beta-test the Leaf, one of the first high resolution digital cameras to hit the market.

Karlen Design has a 23-year working relationship with the mail order catalog CCS. CCS is the world's largest retail mail-order catalog to Generation-Y boys.

Paul has served two terms as Nobel Grand of the San Luis Obispo, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In this leadership role, he has helped to raise and contribute money to local charities.

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Cathy Henderson Martin has been a casting director for 30 years.  She grew up in Hollywood where her mother was an actress, and her father a Production Manager on television series such as �gBonanza�h, �gRawhide�h, �gHave Gun Will Travel�h, and �gMod Squad�h. She began her career in casting working on the film �gGrease�h. She then became an independent casting director on series such as �gCharlie�fs Angels�h, �gHawaii Five-O�h, �gChips�h and �gMacGyver�h. She has cast over 130 features including �gWeeds�h with Nick Nolte, and �gLove Letters�h with Jamie Lee Curtis, as well as projects that gave Michelle Pheiffer, Renee Zellweger, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Patric, William Forsythe, David Duchovny, Billy Bob Thornton and many others, their first break.

She is currently casting several features, and conducting casting workshops around the country and in San Luis Obispo county, bringing to town professional agents who are scouting for new talent.

She now lives in Pismo Beach with her husband, Sandy and loves to surf and kayak. She has been a member of The Casting Society of America for over 20 years. Cathy was a SLOIFF board member in 2006 and a competition film judge in 2007. She is delighted to be back 'on board' the board for the 2008 festival. 

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Raised by two film-loving parents in various California towns, SLOIFF Board President Steve Leone moved to the San Luis Obispo area in 1998 from Fresno to take a job as a full-time English instructor at Cuesta College. Before then, he enjoyed work as a disc jockey, a weekly columnist, a concert promoter, a radio music director, and a facilitation trainer. Since receiving tenure at Cuesta in 2002 teaching composition, film and literature, Steve has found the time to learn surfing and travel abroad. Steve also co-edits Cuesta's annual student literary journal TELLUS and is the co-organizer of a monthly film and discussion series for Cuesta faculty and staff called "Flex Flicks."

Steve brings to the Festival a passion for independent, character-driven films, and he considers himself a life-long learner and a student of world cinema. He has been on the Festival Board for six years and was President of the Board for three of those years.

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Mary is old enough to remember going to the kiddie matinee on Saturday and watching cartoons, a serial installment and two movies.  Great stuff.  When she first attended the Film Festival in 1993, she knew she wanted to be involved and now her dream has come true.  Mary is also in love with live theatre and has been active with the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre for many years in capacities on stage, back stage and serving as Board secretary. She is the Props Mistress for Pacific Repertory Opera and works with the on-call tech crew at the Performing Arts Center.

Mary has been a Central Coast resident since 1990.  Her day job is as a legal assistant for a local law firm. 

Born and raised in San Jose, Kristy moved to San Luis Obispo in 1987. She has always loved film and worked in a theatre in high school and college. Kristy has been involved with several non-profits in the community, most notably the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre where she served for 16 years. Her last assignment at The Little Theatre was as its president and she recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 for her many years of contribution.

When she is not watching movies or going to the theatre, Kristy is a Credit and Collections Consultant at Glenn, Burdette, Phillips & Bryson. She is in her Second Term as a Board member and has been a regular festival attendee for 11 years.

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Mary is passionate about the visual arts and holds a Degree in Applied Art & Design from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  She particularly loves the Festival's film competition with its rich variety of entries and themes.

Shortly after Mary moved to San Luis Obispo, some of her friends began occasionally screening movies and called it the Cinema Zoo. That independent theater began her exposure to films outside the mainstream.  After the Cinema Zoo came the Rainbow Theater and that became the Palm Theater. When the SLOIFF came along she especially enjoyed the independent films, foreign films, and competition entries.  She began as a volunteer at the festival, became a board member in 2002, and served as Board Secretary in 2004.  In 2005 and 2006 she left the board but continued as a member of the Programming Committee, and this year she is back on the board once again.    

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