2020-2021 Board of Trustees

PHEOLA EPPS – Pheola is a SAG actress/model/voice over artist and former Richmond District VPA Board Member. Her live performances include Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman. She is also a brand ambassador and in-store demonstrator. 

DAVE HOBBS – Dave is a Stage and Film director, Professional Actor and business owner. Dave retired from the US Navy in 2000 as a Chief Petty Officer after serving 20 years. Since then he has been involved in the film community most notably as a member of the Virginia Production Alliance. He is currently serving as the Vice President and Chairman for the VPA Hampton Roads District. In this capacity he has worked to provide opportunities for film professionals to learn, collaborate, and create together. 

MICHAEL IVEY – Michael has worked on numerous award-winning corporate pieces and is a four-time Official Selection of the Richmond International Film Festival. Earlier in his career, he received numerous Virginia Press Association awards for newspapers in Petersburg, Henrico and Charlottesville. In college, Michael interned at the Virginia Film Office which lead to positions in the art department of two feature films. Michael currently serves as the VPA President, and previously serving as Vice President last year. He has also served on the Richmond District Board for two stints. During his leadership on the American Marketing Association board, the Richmond Chapter won national awards for communications.  

CRAIG MARTIN – Craig is a filmmaker and writer with more than 26 years of experience capturing stories in more than 80 countries. As a video/film producer, director, writer and editor, Craig has produced hundreds of projects both long and short form. With a Masters from Baylor University, Craig has explored a variety of formats including journalistic storytelling and documentaries. In addition, Craig has contributed multiple articles for national publications and served as the Managing Director of Communication for an international non-profit. His most recent work is the feature length docudrama “The Insanity of God” distributed to more than 500 theaters through Fathom Events. He is currently at work on the PBS docu-series “The Good Road.”

GLENDA McEACHERN – Glenda is a former VPA Richmond District Secretary and hails from New Jersey where her love for being behind the scenes started. Having years of experiences, she came to Virginia from Hawaii due to military travels. Once she was introduced to the local film indies within central Virginia and the VPA, she jumped right to work. She has been a casting assistant, ADP, stage manager, volunteer for the Richmond International Film Festival, and even touched a few acting opportunities. As tenacious team player, she is one who adds a positive demeanor and a great outlook for the great state of Virginia.

BRENDA MOORE – Brenda Moore is enjoying exploring the Virginia TV and film industry.  She has worked as cast and crew, sometimes both! It doesn’t matter to her, since any day on set is a day to learn, network and help grow the TV and film industry in Virginia. She has been a VPA member since 2012, on the Exec Board since 2014 and treasurer for the past 6 years and looks forward to helping out again for the next two years. [Treasurer is a two-year role so Brenda won't be up for re-election until 2021.]

JAKE PULLIAM – Jake Pulliam is a native of Virginia who has been living and  working in the greater Richmond area for two decades. With a background as an Electrician, and a BFA in Filmmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University, he has been working in the film industry gaining experience on feature films, documentaries, TV shows, commercials, corporate videos, industrials, and animations in both the camera and lighting departments.

LARS SANDVICK – Lars is President and co-owner of ThunderShot Studios. Starting out in the industry on national automotive advertising projects, Lars learned the value of working for different types of directors and experimented with a broad range of visual techniques. He is now a multiple Emmy Award-winning cinematographer and his expertise as a director of photography, lighting designer and jib operator keep him in demand with producers from HBO, Discovery Communications, Bravo, PBS, and the History Channel.  Lars is a founding member of the Northern Virginia District where he is the District Chair, and has served on the Executive Board since 2017. 

BARBARA SCHEELER – Barb is the owner of Scene-1, a Northern VA business facilitating casting director, agent and acting coach workshops. She has been working and volunteering in the film industry for about five years, ever since her son, a professional actor, was younger and she spent a lot of time going on auditions and hanging out on set. She decided to learn as much as she could about the business and those who work in it. The more she learned, the more respect she had for each and every position, and the amount of training, technical knowledge and dedication it takes. She is also a local realtor and has experience helping productions with short term rentals and site locations. She feels the work the VPA does is very important to the film industry in VA and wants to continue to work on behalf of everyone in the film industry. 

STEVE TAYLOR – After two terms as vice chair of VPA Richmond District, Steve was elected chairman in 2018. Since joining the VPA as a film fan, he has eagerly leapt into local filmmaking and has been involved in projects including commercials and shorts that screened at the Brooklyn, Richmond International, and Cannes film festivals. Steve has expanded his work in film as a member of the Board of Directors of the Byrd Theatre Foundation, helping develop the iconic theater's "center for film." Steve's other experience on boards includes the Friends of the Richmond Public Library, the Richmond Hospital Authority (mayoral appointment), the Virginia Association of Administrative Law, Judges and Hearing Officers (as president), and he chaired the University of Richmond's Legal Forum. A graduate of Leadership Metro Richmond, Steve was also selected as a Virginia Governor's Fellow. He holds degrees from William & Mary, George Washington University and University of Richmond Law School. He works for Richmond's City Council, where he has assisted in lobbying the General Assembly developing ordinances, policy, and the city's $1.4 billion budget. Prior to that, Steve assisted in government affairs for the Department of Motor Vehicles and lobbied both Virginia's General Assembly and the United States Congress. He was also the governor's Virginia liaison to Capitol Hill in Washington. For the past two decades, he taught political science for VCU. Prior to his service in government, Steve worked on more than 30 political campaigns for both major parties. 

DAVID PATRICK WITTLE – David was primarily raised in Virginia Beach, Va. He made his first appearance on the National Geographic television film “Killing Kennedy” (2013) and has had several supporting roles in both television and film since. In 2018, Wittle also branched into screenwriting with his short film “Matchgames” (2018). He graduated from Wesley College in Dover, DE in May of 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies and a Minor in Drama/Theatre. He is also currently events chairman for the Virginia Production Alliance Hampton Roads District.