Elena Engel is an award-winning Director/Producer/Writer of film, video, radio and spoken word. She has been a creative resource to The Walt Disney Company, Warner Brothers, Amblin Entertainment, Simon and Schuster, Western Publishing Company, National Public Radio, The United Nations, Mercy Corp International NBC and PBS television. Elena has been an advocate for Children around the world producing and directing more than seventeen live action and documentary films for the cable television, home video and educational divisions of The Walt Disney Company, and as an independent, receiving three Cine Goldens in addition to numerous awards from The Birmingham, Chicago Film Festival and others. Later, as an independent filmmaker, her dramatic film about child abuse, Listen To Me, won the Lillian Gish Award at the Women in Film International Festival and her film for UNICEF’s Child Survival Campaign, A Promise to Remember, premiered at the International Animation Festival in Annecy France.

As audio producer/writer for both National Public Radio and The Walt Disney Music Company, Elena received The Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s “Most Creative Use of the Medium” award twice, a NARAS Grammy Nomination, four Gold and two Platinum albums. Her humanitarian and non-profit film projects have included global travel on behalf of UNICEF and Mercy Corps International while creating informational films distributed to audiences throughout the world.

Currently as president of her own company, Azimuth Films, Elena continues to be drawn to stories that instill empathy and a deeper understanding of the human condition. JOHN LEGUIZAMO LIVE AT RIKERS a short documentary about recidivism she recently made, received a World Premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC. Accepted to over 25 film festivals so far, the film has also won FIVE BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY awards from around the world.

Geoff Alexander has spent the majority of his career in the film business, as a creative executive, literary manager, location scout and manager and Santa Barbara County Film Commissioner.  As the result of a decade of volunteering with local area youth as a career mentor and youth sports coach, Geoff made a change in order to help launch the non-profit Dos Pueblos Institute and create outdoor education and regenerative agricultural program opportunities for our youth and community at large to participate in and shape a sustainable future for our world.

Jana Zimmer is a retired lawyer, writer and artist.  She practised law for over forty years, specializing in public agency and environmental law. As an immigrant herself, she knows in some measure the struggles of coming from a family where English is not the first language, and familiarity with the majority culture was hard for her parents to achieve. Over the decades, she has watched as her own children and grandchilden have suffered unduly in public education settings where their own learning differences were undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, and unremedied, even by the special education administrative law system.  She has written a memoir entitled “Chocolates from Tangier” which incorporates her own art, and family history, which she is sharing in educational sessions with other traumatized communities.  She joined the Board of Every Childhood Counts to pursue different and hybird forms of education and advocacy for the next generations of students.

Heather epitomizes a remarkable blend of dedication to both family and professional pursuits. As an entrepreneur and founding member of GECE, Corp, Agrosource Irrigation, and AgLaboratory, she has carved a distinguished path in the realm of science and technology. Graduating from California Polytechnic State University with a background in Electrical Engineering and Power Systems, Heather’s career has been marked by a steadfast commitment to business development, electrical design, and project management. Her entrepreneurial spirit has led her to establish multiple successful ventures that have made significant contributions to their respective industries. Heather’s entrepreneurial prowess, coupled with her expertise in electrical engineering, has positioned her as a leader in business innovation and technological advancement.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Heather’s personal journey has uniquely equipped her to champion the cause of children and families. Her firsthand experiences navigating the challenges of securing safe, appropriate, and inclusive education for her own children have fueled her advocacy. Recognizing the critical need for support, she has actively fostered community relationships, particularly within private school settings, to ensure children with disabilities have access to the resources they require.

However, Heather’s influence as a mother and advocate transcends traditional boundaries. She has played a pivotal role within her community, cultivating meaningful relationships, forging strategic partnerships, and spearheading initiatives that open doors to new opportunities for parents and children alike. With her commitment to transparency and choice in education, Heather has championed new processes and procedures that empower parents to make informed decisions for their children’s well-being and educational journey.

By joining Every Childhood Counts, Heather underscores her unwavering determination to dismantle barriers to quality education. Her journey serves as a testament to resilience, resourcefulness, and an unwavering commitment to effecting positive change for children and families in her community and beyond.

Andréa is a mother and zealous advocate for children’s civil rights. Diagnosed with a learning disability herself, Andréa dropped out of high school in the beginning of her Sophomore year and experienced homelessness and a long and nonconventional path to becoming an attorney in 1996.   Awareness of the advantages she had that many children do not, and the value of respectful comprehensive education, have informed her practice from its inception.  After practicing civil rights law for primarily low-income and non-white children for multiple decades in California, Andréa founded Every Childhood Counts to make common knowledge, the lack of due process and other struggles children and families face when seeking safe, appropriate and inclusive public education.  

Andréa’s efforts have always been based upon her strong belief in the importance of providing all children with respect, safety, inclusion and education.  Andréa hopes the work of Every Childhood Counts, exposing first-person experiences of our public education system, will lead to independent oversight of our schools, increased safety, inclusion and education for our children, transparency for families and communities, and increased support for good teachers and school staff willing to stand up for children.