ASIFA-Seattle Officers

Linda Spain has been fascinated with animation since seeing a Chuck Jones documentary at the age of six. After seeing how a series of drawings played back in order made Bugs Bunny walk, she wanted to make her own drawings come alive. She moved to Seattle from San Francisco in 1995. Here she learned the trade and got a BA in Media Arts and Animation. Her first animation job was at Humongous Entertainment where she worked on game titles such as Backyard Sports, Blues Clues, and Pajama Sam. After a few years, she left Humongous to work freelance from home, specializing in Flash animation. She has had the priveledge of working with Tony White on the Fire Gods project - an animated film that now plays at the Tacoma Museum of Glass. She also did animated shorts for the PBS television show BizKid$. Now she works on a variety of projects from animated web banners to commercials, and she's happy to be doing what she loves for a living.

Michelle Conto
Vice-President

Michelle is a graduate of Sheridan College's Classical Animation program and has worked on animated tv shows, commercials, and Barbie's first ever (direct-to-video) movie: "Barbie in the Nutcracker". "The best thing about animation is it can go anywhere, and when done just right, you'll enjoy the ride". This is her first term as VP of anything.

David Roomes
Membership Chair

David came to ASIFA a few years back, and immediately demonstrated his desire to connect animators in the Northwest. After the initial chapters split, he tracked down old membership lists and revised them so they were up-to-date.

He is currently working on several short films with the production company "Bad Alien Productions", which he co-founded with a friend, Bob Freeman.

Steve Ball
Secretary, Events & Newsletter Editor

Steve has been involved with the Seattle-based events for many years. He sends out the email news updates, and helped with ASIFA-NW's printed newsletter. He actively seeks out new events and venues for future ASIFA events and is dedicated to helping out at these events.

Steve is a classically trained animator with experience in handrawn, stop-motion and clay animation. He worked in televison production for 15 years including animating two clay shorts for Bill Nye the Science Guy. He still dreams of long nights spent with the Oxberry animation stand at RISD. He now works in Flash and Photoshop creating web graphics.

Other Positions

Education Coordinator
Robert Musburger

Robert taught animation history at the University of Houston School of Communication and has written several books about animation.

Duties include;
Coordinating and scheduling technique demos, workshops and classes taught by members, guest lecuturers and visiting artists. The Education Coordinator is also ASIFA Seattle's liason between local animators, aspiring students, and local animation schools.

Open volunteer positions:

Treasurer (currently being filled by David Roomes)
Duties include;
Reimbursing members for approved expenses
Organizing payments to venues for rentals, facilities, etc.
Tracking expenses related to promotion

Events Planner (currently being filled by Linda Spain)
Duties include;
Planning events such as screenings, symposiums, lectures, and workshops
Coordinating with local venues and organizations for events
Arranging shipment and return of event materials (such as DVDs, videotapes, props, etc.)

Promotional Coordinator (currently being filled by Linda Spain)
Duties include;
Coordinating the promotion of events (placing ads in local papers, etc.)
Contacting local papers with news blurbs of upcoming events

All of the officers assist in various capacities to help us grow.

Contact us if you're interested in a volunteer position.