Advisory Board
Carole Dean: As president and CEO of From the Heart Productions (1994 to 1998) Carole produced over 100 television programs, including the popular cable program HealthStyles, where she interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry such as Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. Weil and Dr. Caroline Myss. In 1992 Carole created the Roy W. Dean Grant Foundation in honor of her late father. To date Carole’s grant and mentorship programs have provided filmmakers with millions of dollars in goods and services and have played an instrumental role in establishing the careers of some of the industry’s most promising filmmakers. A sought-after international speaker, Carole is currently touring the U.S. with her popular books, “The Art of Film Funding: Alternative Financing Concepts” published by Michael Wiese Publications, teaching filmmakers how and where to find funding.
Dr. Wande Abimbola, Phd is the Awise Awo Agbaye (World’s Spokesperson for Ifa and Yoruba Religion). From 2003—2005, he was the Special Adviser on Cultural Affairs and Traditional Matters to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He has served as the Vice Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University and has also served as the Majority Leader of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was installed as Awise Awo Agbaye in 1981 by the Ooni of Ife.
Kiran Goldman is a documentary filmmaker with a strong background in environmental science. She has helped produce international, environmental and health stories for FRONTLINE/World and NBC-11, the Bay Area’s local NBC News station. Kiran holds a master’s degree in journalism and documentary filmmaking from the University of California at Berkeley. Her thesis film, “Fast As She Can,” about Jamaican women who compete in track and field, was awarded the 2009 Margaret and William Hearst Award for Excellence in Documentary Film. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and works as a producer, cinematographer and editor.
Across the King’s River is ever so grateful for the counsel of fundraising legend Tom Ahern who gives so freely of his time and expertise. One of North America’s top authorities on fundraising, advocacy and persuasion communications, Tom Ahern is the author of three well-regarded books on fundraising communications and has won three prestigious Gold Quill awards, given annually to communications programs judged to be among the most effective in the world. Tom Ahern is one of North America’s leading authorities on effective donor communications. He is a top-ranked speaker, in demand for major fundraising conferences.
