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ABOUT
The Kindling Group
Our Mission
The Kindling Group produces and sponsors documentary films exploring critical social issues and channels these projects into powerful tools for community engagement and change. As a 501(c)3 non-profit, we provide independent and emerging filmmakers with an environment that supports meaningful productions, maximizes their impact with strong outreach, and fosters connections between media makers and the broader community.
Company History
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| The Kindling Group was founded in 2002 by Danny Alpert, a producer, director and editor who has been making films for 17 years. Kindling recently finished the production of it's high-profile project: The Calling, a four-hour mini-series that aired nationally on PBS’ award-winning Independent Lens series in December of 2010. Right now Invisible People is in production. On any given night 671,857 people are homeless. @home tells many such stories through the eyes of Mark Horvath, a formerly homeless man and now homeless activist, social media agitator and YouTube celebrity, as he explores innovative responses to this crisis and breaks down the barriers between "us" and "them." The Kindling Group has recently released Do No Harm which tells the story of two reluctant whistleblowers in a small Georgia town who endure relentless attacks as they struggle to draw national attention to hospital corruption and the plight of the uninsured. Also in distribution is Kindling’s award-winning A Doula Story about a remarkable woman who empowers disadvantaged pregnant teenagers with the skills and confidence to become loving mothers, which aired on PBS stations across the country. |
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Board of Directors
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Rabbi Daniel M. Bronstein | Director |
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Rabbi Bronstein was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and is currently a PhD candidate in Jewish history at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He has published work in the areas of Jewish history, Biblical commentary and education. In addition, Rabbi Bronstein has worked on educational projects for various foundations and has served as an educational consultant on several film and internet-based projects. |
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Rachel Kraft | Director of Advisory Council
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Rachel Kraft has been working in the arts for 25 years. Before accepting her position as Executive Director of Lookingglass, she spent 12 years as Director of Development for the Goodman Theatre. Working for Chicago’s oldest and largest nonprofit theater, Rachel led a department that raised funds for an annual campaign with a goal of more than $5 million, and oversaw the completion of the theater’s successful capital campaign raising $34 million in gifts and pledges. She also played an integral role in guiding the board development efforts of the board of trustees, including the cultivation, recruitment and acclimation of many of the high-profile members on the company’s current board.
Previously, Rachel served in development and marketing positions with the Arts & Business Council, Northlight Theatre, and the Chicago Dance Coalition. She completed a year-long Community Renewal Leadership Program through the A. H. Wilder Foundation in Minnesota and a summer Harvard Business School program in “Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management.” A member of the Alumnae Council of the Chicago Foundation for Women, Rachel also participates as a mentor in a program initiated by the Illinois Arts Alliance. She is a charter board member of the Kindling Group, a nonprofit group supporting documentary filmmaking and a trustee of the Jewish Women Foundation of Chicago. Rachel serves as Vice President of the Theater Communications Group and Vice Chair of the League of Chicago Theatre, the national and local service organizations for theater. |
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Richard Moskal | Board Chair
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Richard has served as Director of the Chicago Film Office since 1996. The Film Office leads the City of Chicago’s efforts to attract and makes possible the production of feature films, television movies and series, commercials, documentaries and all other visual media. Prior to this position, Richard was location manger on more than twelve studio feature films and network television productions. He was project manager for the Illinois Film Office from 1985-92. Richard was also co-founder and editor of the Chicago FilmLetter, as well as a contributor to the Chicago Reader and Chicago Magazine. |
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Susan J. White | Director of Marketing
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Susan is an independent writer with a background in journalism, public relations and
fundraising; she provides creative communications for a variety of non-profit and other
valuable organizations. She serves on the Board of Directors of Farther Foundation, which supports economically disadvantaged high school students with scholarships for educational travel, and The Auxiliary of NorthShore University Health System. |
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Beth Sternheimer | Treasurer |
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Beth Sternheimer is a documentary producer and researcher on independent films and museum projects. For Kindling Group, Beth was the Co-Producer of The Calling. Prior to this she was the Associate Producer for Secrecy and AP/Researcher for Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, both of which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. For Traces, Beth was nominated for a national Emmy for Outstanding Research. She was the Associate Producer for Unfinished Symphony, a film documenting a 1971 Vietnam veterans' anti-war march in Massachusetts and the controversy that erupted when the protestors attempted to camp on Lexington's historic battlefield. It premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and was subsequently broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Beth's museum projects include producing exhibit videos for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, National Archives and the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. In addition to her film work, Beth is an instructor at Chicago Filmmakers. She holds a BA in history from Oberlin College and an MA in American Studies from UMass – Boston.
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Rebecca Schanberg | Director of Board Development
Rebecca recently produced and directed Do No Harm, a documentary that tells the incredible and often outrageous story of two men in a small, southern town who endured relentless attacks in order to draw national attention to the plight of the uninsured and bring about reform in health insurance. Do No Harm is her first directorial effort and is being broadcast on PBS stations around the country. Rebecca was the Associate Producer for A Doula Story and coordinated the national educational outreach campaign for the film. Prior to joining Kindling Group, she was Director of Corporate Philanthropy at Polo Ralph Lauren, where she managed the corporation's charitable giving program and helped create and run the company's widely publicized "Pink Pony Campaign." She has also worked as a Community and Women's Liaison in The Office of the Manhattan Borough President under Ruth Messinger, and as a Team Leader and Program Designer for City Year, a national urban peace corps. Rebecca holds a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University.
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