SIMA
TEAM + BOARD
DANIELA KON LIEBERBERG
Founder + CEO
Daniela Kon Lieberberg is an award-winning media executive, educator, and impact producer whose career driving social change initiatives spans over two decades. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, she began her career in New York, working with Emmy-winning director Marc Levin at Blowback Productions. In 2005, she founded DEEDA, one of the first impact agencies dedicated to advancing global humanitarian and human rights initiatives. From the United Nations Ending Hunger Campaign to community programs in post-conflict regions, she worked with NGOs, IGOs, and aid organizations across Southeast Asia, West Africa, and the Middle East. Committed to harnessing the transformative power of storytelling for social change, Daniela founded SIMA in 2012. Under her leadership, SIMA has become the largest nexus of impact creatives and changemakers and a multi-award-winning education platform, mobilizing community-led impact and global citizenship education in over 100 countries. Based in Los Angeles, Daniela serves on the Film and Women’s Rights Committee of Human Rights Watch and teaches Global Storytelling at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
ERINN SULLIVAN
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
Erinn is SIMA’s Chief Marketing Officer and possesses a blended expertise in visual communications, brand strategy and social impact. She is an award-winning producer who brings innovative visual concepts to life across various media platforms. She is passionate about leveraging storytelling to drive meaningful change and champion underrepresented voices. Erinn has been part of the SIMA Family since 2014. She helped craft the SIMA brand and oversees all creative direction, press, and marketing for SIMA and its programming. She holds a BLA in Advanced Media Studies and Communications with an emphasis in Cultural Anthropology.
VIRGINIA PITTARO
Global Partnerships Director
Virginia oversees collaborations with local partners across the globe for SIMA’s traveling series, Cinema Across Borders, and partners with educational institutions and grassroots organizations to advance Global Citizenship Education through the power of film via SIMA Academy. She also facilitates leadership training and professional development opportunities. Originally from Argentina, Virginia currently lives in Los Angeles and received her Master Degree in Public Policy and International Development at University of Maryland. Prior to working at SIMA, Virginia worked for 15+ years at the intersection of sustainability, entrepreneurship and social justice as a team member of United Nations Development Program, Endeavor Foundation, Sistema B/BLab and the Ministry of Social Development in Argentina.
ANAT ESHEL
Operations Manager
Anat manages the operations of the annual SIMA Awards festival and oversees the Fiscal Sponsorship program. She is also a writer and filmmaker and her short films have screened at Cinequest, New Filmmakers LA and MiraLA, among others. Mall Baby, Anat’s feature-length screenplay was a finalist at the Big Apple Film Festival. Initially from Miami, Anat currently lives in Los Angeles and received her BFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Prior to working at SIMA, Anat worked and volunteered for arts nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles, including Everybody Dance and The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company.
XENIA XU
MEDIA Manager
Xenia Xu has a background in creative visual arts and global social impact. She holds dual Master’s degrees in Global Media and Communications from USC and the London School of Economics, where her dissertation explored Chinese American representations in modern cinema. Xenia earned her Bachelor’s degree in Media in Visual Arts from UC San Diego, cultivating a strong foundation in visual storytelling, specifically in photography and videography.
JENNIFER GEIST
GLOBAL EDUCATION ADVISOR
Jennifer Geist leads Zeitgeist Creations, and is SIMA Academy’s global education advisor. She has worked on the cutting edge of global education since 2005. She develops curriculum and designs programs in collaboration with teachers, schools, NGOs and foundations to engage students in the critical issues of our times. She has taught courses in using film in the classroom to develop global competencies such as self and social awareness, media literacy and collaborative media production. Using the latest digital technologies, she facilitates collaboration and mentors meaningful service learning to support the next generation of sensitive global citizens and well-informed change agents.
EVA S. NELSON
LIASON TO THE UNITED NATIONS
Eva is SIMA’s liaison to the UN and other organizations in Europe and the United States. She has lived and worked in Africa, the US, and Europe. Ms. Nelson graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Mathematics and went on to work with multiple financial institutions on Wall Street. After several years she realized that her calling was in international humanitarian work. She joined the United Nations as a Consultant, where she still works. As an advocate for human rights, child education, peace and anti-slavery, she lends her assistance to organizations dedicated to these causes including Artists4Freedom. Ms. Nelson is also an award-winning author who writes African action-adventure stories on topics like: human-trafficking, war, LRA, espionage, colonialism and corruption. Nelson’s first novel, “Nightmare Along the River Nile” is set in Uganda and Sudan. It is about a student who was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and sold into slavery. “Nightmare Along the River Nile” was listed among the top books on slavery by “The No Project.” Nelson’s second novel, “The Helpers” is an international tale of espionage and corruption, which is set in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Europe and the United States.
KRISTI MANNING
GRASSROOTS PROGRAM OFFICER
For more than 20 years, Kristi has been dedicated to helping maximize humanitarian relief efforts, working as a consultant, field operations manager, project director, and international event organizer for non-profits worldwide. She combines expertise in both institutional aid and grassroots initiatives, providing support in fundraising, planning, implementation and monitoring of local and global development programs. Kristi is the co-founder of The Next Right Thing, a non-profit connecting critically ill or injured children from developing nations with free medical treatment and transport. Her clients have include Dubai Cares, The Starbright Foundation, Carrie-On, Paul Newman’s Painted Turtle Camp, and the Strongheart Fellowship.
OUR BOARD
PROF. DAVID CRAIG
Communications & Media Professor | USC Annenberg
CLAUDIA FLORES
Creative Director, Consultant | HSP
LYNN ELLIOT ESQ.
Entertainment Attorney
ILIAS MORAD
Researcher, Entrepreneur, Investor
SUSI BAHAT
Chair | Human Rights Watch, WRC Los Angeles
LOUIS ARNITZ
Chief Executive Officer | i:FAO AG
TINA KUSHNER ESQ.
Attorney, Kushner & Kushner
ERINN SULLIVAN
Founder & Creative Director, Luna Impact
MILENA JANKOVIC
Vice President, Strategy and Finance at FilmNation Entertainment
TREVOR HALL
President & CEO | Open Roads
ENAT SIDI
Editor, Oscar Nominee
PATRICIA BILLINGS
Publisher | Milet Publishing
ANDREW MCGREGOR
Journalist, Filmmaker, Founder | The Tiziano Project
SHAWN HUMPHREY
Educator, Innovator, Development Consultant
KEELY BADGER
Impact Producer, Marketing Director, Philanthropy Executive
