Running on a pledge to reinvigorate the Illinois Production Alliance and expand its activities to a larger constituency, film and television producer Sandy Gordon was unanimously elected president of the six-year old organization.
Gordon, who ran unopposed and will serve a one-year term, succeeds Eileen Willenborg, who had been IPA president since 2004.
Gordon said her goal as leader of the 275-member organization is “to maintain our present successes and advance the IPA to help Illinois become a thriving center for all aspects of visual media production.”
Other officers also unanimously reelected: Willenborg, executive director/SAG-AFTRA, first vice president; Wayne Kubacki, VP/Essanay Studios, second vice president; Sally Fletcher, VP/Fletcher Chicago, treasurer; Jennifer Jobst, wardrobe/costume supervisor, recording secretary.
In recent years the IPA focused its efforts on lobbying the state legislature, successfully, for the passage of Illinois’ 20% filmmakers tax incentives program. While extending the tax credit and finding other incentives to promote business is a continuing priority, the IPA will further reach out to the community to become the premier visual media trade organization.
Gordon said her diverse production background should be a great asset to her role as president “and bring a world of experience to this organization.”
After six years as a producer with The Whitehouse where she helped open a New York office and streamline it as an international company, Gordon recently resigned to pursue her former career in film and TV production and to develop a reality TV series.
Earlier, she had been a postproduction producer for I-Cubed and an associate producer for a now-defunct Chicago business theatre and corporate video production company. She’d worked in TV series production locally (“Early Edition”) and in L.A. (“Party of Five” with Matthew Fox) and had been an associate producer at KCOP-TV, where she’d won a local Emmy award.
Gordon had worked on two high-profile sports shows, as production manager for the World Cup Soccer opening ceremonies in 1994 in Chicago, and as producer of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1986 Paralympic in Atlanta.
The author of two industry career-enhancing books, “Action! Establishing career in Film & TV Production” was published in 2002 by Hal Leonard Co. and “Great Jobs for Film Majors,” for McGraw Hill in 2003, she frequently serves as a consultant to people starting out in the industry.
Gordon is currently working with actress Julia Ormond on a video for the United Nations to create awareness of child trafficking and slavery.
Starting Monday Gordon will spend two months in New York producing a major campaign for a Manhattan postproduction company. She said she will return to preside over the August 23 IPA board meeting.
The IPA board meets monthly at the SAG/AFTRA office, 1 E. Erie at 8 a.m. Members are invited to attend. Sandy Gordon’s Email is sandy@sandrasite.com.
