Filmmaking Team
Dru Holley
Director & Producer
Dru Holley is a director and producer who is passionate about producing inspiring stories that empower viewers to re-think broken systems. Dru is motivated to highlight the stories of marginalized groups whose experiences can help shape conversation for solutions and illuminate the truth of the past.
Dru graduated from the Art Institute of Colorado, where he specialized in video broadcasting. Dru was selected by Stanley Nelson, the iconic African American filmmaker, for the prestigious 2020 Firelight Documentary Lab Fellowship, Black Public Media 360 Incubator, and 2022 Better Angels Levine fellowship.
He recently collaborated on the development of four short-form episodes on the past, present, and future of the Albina Vision Project in Oregon, and is now in pre-pre-production on the documentary, Exonerated. Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts is his feature directorial debut.
Debra Simon
Producer
Debra M. Simon, Producer IMDb is an award-winning documentary producer and writer. Recent projects include the Restorative Justice Documentary for Narrative Alchemy. Production Manager for the PBS 4-hour documentary series, Hacking Your Mind (debuts in Sept 2020). Debra has produced for CBS, NBC, A&E, Discovery, Showtime, 20th Century Studios, Universal, and Lionsgate. Co-produced the Academy Award Nominated documentary, Beyond the Mat (2000), is a recipient of the World Fest Platinum Award for the Historical Screenplay, Season of the Witch, and several Telly/Webby Awards.
Dan Evans
Editor & Story Producer
Dan Evans is the principal filmmaker of Storywise, a Portland-based production company with a global reach. Dan has been a trusted partner on multiple films, series, and digital media for National Geographic, PBS, and international organizations like JPMorgan Chase and USAID. He has shot and produced films on five continents and 14 countries, including difficult locations like Afghanistan and Libya. Dan won an Emmy Award for his work with OPB. He works in Spanish and English.
Iana Amauba
Motion Graphics & Creative
Iana Amauba a creative designer with a diverse background in motion design, graphic design, and traditional fine art. She combines a variety of techniques bringing unique visual expression to projects large and small. She has a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from The New York Academy of Art. Iana’s artwork has been shown throughout the United States including the Studio Museum of Harlem in New York in addition to being a part of public and private collections in Oregon and Washington.
Iana is a Portland-native passionate about the experiences and stories of Pacific Northwest.
Carlos Simon
Composer
As a part of the Sundance Institute, Simon was named as a Sundance Composer Fellow in 2018, which was held at the historic Skywalker Ranch. His string quartet, Elegy, honoring the lives of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner was recently performed at the Kennedy Center for the Mason Bates JFK Jukebox Series. With support from the US Embassy in Tokyo and US/Japan Foundation, Simon traveled with the Asia/America New Music Institute (AANMI) on a two-week tour of Japan in 2018 performing concerts in some of the most sacred temples and concert spaces in Japan including Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Richard Takach, Jr.
Executive Producer
Richard (Rick) Takach, Jr. is Chairman and CEO of Vesta Hospitality. Rick has over 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry and in 1996, founded Vesta Hospitality. Takach is an active community & industry leader generously giving his time as to many organizations. Takach has served as Chairman of the Owners Association for InterContinental Hotels and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA). Rick lives in Vancouver, Washington. He has three children and seven grandchildren.
David-Paul B. Hedberg
Associate Producer & Research
David-Paul B. Hedberg is a historian specialized in the history of the Pacific Northwest. He has worked professionally as a historian for over a decade and holds MA and BS degrees in history. Through his firm Outdoor History Consulting, Dave works with filmmakers and other clients to create historically accurate stories that are grounded and utilize the power of archival materials. He has done projects for NW Documentary, OPB, City of Portland, City of Gresham, and the National Park Service.
Dave firmly believes in collaboration; always striving to tell stories that have many sides and use the past to help us understand our current times.