MTN Staff
Pamela Colby - Executive Director
Pam works with the MTN Board of Directors to manage the organization. She started at MTN as the Mobile Production Truck Operator. Pam's passion for MTN is rooted in her deep love of community, and the mission of MTN in empowering the community to tell their stories. In her private life Pam has produced her own documentaries including Wellstone! About the life of the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. Pam has served on the board of directors of Midwest Alliance for Community Media, Twin Cities Media Alliance and The National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC). Pam lives in the Central neighborhood of South Minneapolis and has two sons Joah and Theo.
Ext. 304 email Pam
Art Roy - Production Coordinator/Assistant Engineer
Art works with Jim to keep MTN's equipment functioning properly. He also works with MTN's Production Services Hennepin County meeting coverage and at the studio and access desk. In his spare time he produces the MTN show T.C. Muzique and enjoys riding his motorcycle.
Ext 309 email Art
Doug Cain - Checkout Manager/Instructor
Doug manages Equipment Checkout, teaches the Basic Studio Production class and does the graphics for the weekly live Hennepin County Commissioner's meetings. He also loves to garden, cook, bike, kayak, ski and, of course, play international music as a dj on KFAI's "Global Beat" - every Wednesday between 1 - 3 pm (90.3 & 106.7 FM as well as www.kfai.org.
Ext. 329 email Doug
John Akre - Production Specialist/Youth Media
John Akre heads up the MTN Youth Media Department and also does a wide variety of video production for some of MTN's production clients. He also updates this here web site. When he's not at work, he enjoys gardening, reading, bicycling, and animation. See what non-work video he is up to at http://sloppyfilms.net/.
Ext. 307 email John
Beth Peloff - Production Specialist/Video Instructor
Beth shoots, edits and coordinates videos for MTN's production services and teaches video production classes. When not at work, she loves writing songs, singing, playing guitar and drawing pictures and one day hopes to have a piano for her piano window.
Ext. 302 email Beth
Fanuel Tsehaye - Studio Access/Production Specialist
Fanuel Tsehaye assists members in the studio and equipment checkout areas. He also works as part of the MTN Production Services team. He was born in Eritrea and is currently a student at the University of Minnesota studying Mass Communications, Marketing and Media relations.
Ext. 308 email Fanuel
Vera Allen - Director of Programming
Vera makes the schedule of programs that ultimately plays on each of the three channels and tries her hardest to encourage new programming! She enjoys singing, watching commercials, and teasing people. She also loves to cook as long as she doesn't have to do the dishes!
Ext. 312 email Vera
David Paul - Master Control Manager
David Paul manages MTN's automated playback system, which means that he makes sure that shows are playing on MTN's three channels, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. His favorite food is rice and he loves the Minnesota Twins.
email David
Hamil Griffin-Cassidy - Production Specialist
Hamil is a production specialist primarily focused on producing MTN's Community Events programming. He enjoys the fallibility of language and whispering haiku to shallow graves.
Ext 311 email Hamil
Eboun Singhathip---Office Manager
Eboun is a recent graduate of Concordia University in the field of Organizational Behavior and Leadership. She manages MTN’s daily office functions as well and updating and archiving MTN’s historical and sensitive documents. Eboun loves working with unique individuals and the atmosphere surrounding MTN, it’s staff & members. She is outgoing, fun, full-spirited, and a charming individual, more than likely, she’ll say hi to you before you get the chance.
Ext. 310 email Eboun
Kevin Loecke- Bookkeeper/Business Administrator
Kevin keeps track of MTN's financials and helps keep things running smoothly behind the scenes. He is also a visual artist and organizes art events that merge contemporary art with daily life.
email Kevin
Ollie Stench - Master Control
Ollie Stench, when not appearing as Bartender To The Stars on the hit cable access show "Drinking With Ian", works at MTN as a playback engineer. Along with David and Tajudin, Ollie is one of the superstars that make sure the programs everyone works so hard on get played.
Laura Stopyro - Production Specialist/Programming Assistant
Laura works on a variety of MTN productions, shooting, editing, and has now joined the Programming Department to help find time slots for all the amazing shows dropped off at MTN.
Ext. 314 email Laura
Alex Betzler - Youth Programs Instructor
Alex is a CTEP Americorps Member who brings her passion for art and teaching to the Video Voices and other MTN Youth programs.
email Alex
Nate Mains - Network Administrator
Nate is the brains behind MTN.
Todd Wardrope - Production Specialist/Master Control/Freelance
Todd works on various MTN productions as well as over at MTN playback. When he isn't at MTN he is a freelance video producer, and when he isn't doing that he channels his production skills into independent narrative filmmaking. Todd is also completing a novel as part of his MFA degree at Hamline University.
Keith Porter - Freelance
Keith is a camera person and sound engineer for various MTN productions. Away from MTN, he is a musician, producer and runs a music publishing company called BoppDuWopp
Tajudin Hassan - Master Control
Tajudin was born in Ethiopia. He works over at playback as a Master Control operator. Outside MTN he is an independent filmmaker, and also works freelance. On his spare time he loves to play his keyboard and work on his own projects.
Aaron Cackoski - Freelance
Aaron works on production crews for MTN. His specialty is running audio and he frequently works as camera operator as well. Aaron also runs a production company called The Music Greenhouse which is focused on audio and video production for bands.
Jim Derks - Chief Engineer Emeritus
Jim has been the Chief Engineer at MTN since 1985. He designed, built and maintains the video systems at MTN. He has been in the TV industry since its black and white days, when vacuum tubes were the mainstay. Jim likes the outdoors and loves to fish, hunt, camp and snowmobile. He enjoys all the seasons that Minnesota has to offer. Jim retired at the end of 2010 but maintains a presence at MTN.