Weds One: Media for Museums
Michal Carr co-founded Hillmann & Carr with Al Hillmann in 1974. An
award-winning firm of communicators and storytellers in media formats
both new and traditional, Hillmann & Carr provides full-service media
production to museums, visitor centers, non-profit institutions,
corporations, and government in the creation of purposeful presentations.
As Vice President and Treasurer, Michal oversees the firm's creative
management. Hillmann & Carr is a Woman-Owned Small Business, with
Michal as majority shareholder.
With more than 40 years of experience, Michal is one of America's
foremost experts in shaping visitor experiences and integrating narrative, social, and interactive media
into interpretive programs. Her formal and field expertise include design and art direction, art
rendering, animation, and the integration of existing motion picture, archival, and graphic material into
audiovisual productions.
Michal Carr has been at the heart of the D.C. media community for decades. She is a founding
member of Women in Film & Video (WIFV), served as its first elected president, and currently chairs
its Advisory Committee. She is a recipient of the Women of Vision Award, which celebrates women’s
creative and technical achievements in media. Michal is also a past president of the Washington Film
Council, and has served on the board of directors of the Council on International Non-theatrical
Events (CINE). She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Motion Pictures and Advertising Design from
Syracuse University.
Kristin Reiber Harris, president of Kristin Harris Design is an award winning
animator and media producer with over 25 years’ experience in the industry.
Forty of her short form animations have been broadcast on HBO Family. Her
animated shorts have been included in film festivals all over the country.
She has a long career as an educator, most recently teaching at Lynchburg
College and the Virginia Summer Residential Governor’s School of Math,
Science and Technology. In Northern Virginia, Harris taught at the Art
Institute of Washington, Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria
Campus and Imagination Stage.
Harris teaches iPad Camps, sponsored by Lynchburg College, Lynchburg City Schools and Howard
University’s Middle School of Mathematics and Science. She was the Technology Coordinator at
Lynchburg College for a grant from the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges. Her
responsibilities included faculty and student training and organizing a conference about 21st century
technology in the classroom. The studio’s recent independent projects are iPad apps that introduce
preschool children to art treasures from major museum collections; Duck Takes A Ride: An Art Story,
ABC.DC: An Art Alphabet and I Can Do That: A Kids World Art Game. These animated, interactive
apps are available in the App Store.
Harris has a BA in Fine Art from UCLA and an MFA from The George Washington University.
www.KristinHarrisDesign.com
Augusta "Gussie" Lehman is a staff media producer/editor at the Smithsonian
Institution National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). Since 2003, she
has told the stories of Native Americans primarily through first person narratives
featured in exhibition media and special programming events. Her position at
NMAI has provided her with extensive opportunities to tackle challenging
stories and to work to correct misconceptions about Native America. Her
production of Robert Davidson: Abstract Impulse received a Cine Golden Eagle
award in 2014.
Prior to joining NMAI she was a media producer at The Nature Conservancy in
Arlington, VA. She is a member of WIFV and TIVA and has been a member of the DMV production
community for over 25 years.
Amy L. Maddox -- Principal -- Vice President /Creative Director -- Amy provides story
and creative ideas and direction to transform complex content into engaging media
experiences for museum visitors. In her role as creative director, Amy leads Cortina
Production team members in collaborative engagement with museum directors,
curators, historians and educators, exhibition designers and hardware systems
integrators to deliver compelling media exhibits that deliver our client’s editorial and
educational mission. Her 20+ years of production experience includes video, audio,
multi-screen, interactive, web and now, mobile app and her museum work has been
honored with CINE, Telly, New York Film Festival and numerous American Associate
of Museum MUSE awards. Amy became captivated by museums when at the age of 10
she attended the King Tut Exhibition in New Orleans. Given her love of history, Amy
tends to lead many of our historical projects. Before joining Cortina Productions in 1999,
Amy was Director of Multimedia Exhibits at the Newseum, The Interactive Museum of
News. She graduated from the American University School of Communication with a
Bachelor of Arts, Visual Media.