About

Dennis Aig

Senior Executive Producer

Dennis Aig has produced and/or directed both documentary and dramatic productions for the Walt Disney Company, National Geographic Television, PBS, Lifetime Television, the Outside Channel, the History Channel, and the Independent Television Service (ITVS). His projects have ranged from a documentary about bone marrow transplant patients at UCLA Medical Center to two behind-the-scenes specials about feature films directed by Robert Redford. His major works include Shadow Casting: The Making of “A River Runs Through It,” Visions of Grace: Robert Redford and “The Horse Whisperer,” Guide Season, Sacred Journey of the Nez Perce, Test Pilots of the Body, and America’s Outdoor Heritage.

Aig’s works have won over 100 awards since 1993, including three regional Emmys, a Gold Hugo from the Chicago Film Festival, 12 Tellys, and the Gold Medal from the New York Festivals. A PhD from The Ohio State University with advanced work in English and film, Aig is also a tenured Professor of Media and Theatre Arts at Montana State University-Bozeman.

Gianna Savoie

Executive Producer

Gianna Savoie is an award-winning Natural History filmmaker with a passion for the environment that drives her to sink her teeth into some of the most critical conservation issues on the planet. Holding a Master’s degree in Environmental Biology, she pairs her love of science with the art of filmmaking to craft stories that she hopes not only inform, but inspire. Her work has been featured on PBS, National Geographic, Discovery, the BBC, and Animal Planet.

In 2010, Gianna wrote and produced, Wolverine: Chasing the Phantom for the PBS series, NATURE which was nominated for an Emmy for “Outstanding Nature Program.” She is currently writing and story-producing, a theatrical feature documentary about the Pacific Ocean, called Our Blue Canoe, due for release in 2013.

And in her quest to “pay it forward,” Gianna teaches in the MFA program for Science and Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University, Bozeman. For her, the opportunity to mentor this superbly talented generation of environmental storytellers is not only an honor, but truly a gift.

Emily Narrow

Senior Producer

Emily Narrow grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, and had a love for wildlife and the outdoors at an early age. She attended Oberlin College, where she double-majored in Biology and Cinema Studies. After graduation she became a producer at a video production company in Washington DC. Here she worked on video projects for environmental groups and non-profit organizations such as Environmental Defense Action Fund, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Union of Concerned Scientists, and many more. She has also worked independently as a video producer for the National Park Service. She currently is pursuing an MFA in Science and Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University. Her goal is to make nature films that are both informative and entertaining – and which ultimately inspire viewers to strengthen their own relationship with the natural world.

Taylor Johnson

Senior Producer

Taylor is originally from California but also grew up in Australia and Canada. At Whitman College he majored in Geology and twin minored in Environmental Studies and Film Studies. Following undergrad, Taylor spent a few years working as a exploration geologist for the Canadian mining industry where he continued to travel around the world. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in the Science and Natural History Filmmaking program at Montana State University, where he can combine his passions of science and film. Taylor tends to favor a quirky and humorous approach in his films, but he’s certainly serious about making information accessible and enjoyable to all.

Annie White

Producer

Annie earned a BA in Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology from the University of Colorado where she specialized in animal behavior and conservation biology. Her thesis work focused on wild wolf behavior in Yellowstone National Park. After graduation, Annie worked as the biologist, education director and wolf caretaker for a captive wolf refuge. She traveled with their Ambassador Wolf Program, bringing live wolves into classrooms and museums across the country. She’s also worked as a wildlife photographer, dog trainer, web designer, and nature writer.

Annie is currently pursuing an MFA degree in Science and Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University. She’s worked on projects for National Geographic, Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center, Yellowstone Wolf Project, Humane Society and other non-profit groups. Annie’s goal is to create films that explore complex scientific ideas and promote wildlife conservation through telling the stories of individual animals.

Boni Roberts

Producer

After a nomadic lifestyle for the past decade, Boni has returned to what she considers her second hometown of Bozeman and Montana State University. Raised deep in the Beartooth Mountains, she grew up enjoying and appreciating all the natural wonders and wildlife of the Rocky Mountains. Her travels have taken her from the rain forests of Alaska, to the sands and beaches of North Africa, to the peaks of the Austrian Alps. She joins the TERRA team with a MFA in Digital Filmmaking from the University of Montana and a deep love of exploring the workings everything outdoors and sharing them with the global community. She currently is working on a Ph.D in American Studies, focusing on the media images of the Native American, and these images’ influence of perception on how and what it is to be a modern “Indian”.

Roshan Patel

Producer

Roshan is a candidate for MSU’s MFA Program in Science and Natural History Filmmaking. He grew up in Virginia and earned a degree in Biology from the College of William & Mary. After graduating, he worked for several non-profits, including Conservation International, the National Environmental Education Foundation, the International Union of the Conservation of Nature. He later moved on to work as an AmeriCorps VISTA and eventually transitioned into freelance photography, working for a variety of museums and scientific researchers. He is currently a producer for the Element Film Festival and is in pre-production for a film exploring the relationship between rural Indians and the endangered Asiatic Lions that inhabit their ecosystem.

Christi Cooper-Kuhn

Contributing Producer

Christi grew up in Boulder, Colorado, where she was fortunate to be surrounded by people that nurtured and helped her to develop a strong connection to nature and the outdoors. She obtained a M.S. in Microbiology from Colorado State University and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Regensburg, Germany. Christi spent significant time working in basic research and teaching neurobiology to medical students at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

After having spent years in research, Christi finally made the decision to pursue her dream of science and nature filmmaking at Montana State University. In addition to communicating sometimes very complex issues through storytelling and visual narrative, her primary goals are to combine her research skills and in-depth knowledge of science with her desire to create compelling narratives focused on raising awareness about sociopolitical issues.

Jeff Reed

Contributing Producer – Website Design

Although he will always call Oklahoma home, Jeff is a current MFA candidate in the Science and Natural History Filmmaking program at Montana State University. He earned a degree in Zoology from Oklahoma State University and took some time to study chemistry, ecology and spanish as well. After school, he spent some time doing marine biology research in British Columbia and working abroad in New Zealand. He spends his free time shooting photos, designing websites and woodworking. He has produced several short films with an emphasis on human-nature interactions. His 2012 film, Restoring an Icon, won best student documentary at the Montana CINE International Film Festival. Jeff is currently filming the work of the Gorongosa Lion Project in Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park.

Jason Clark

Web Guru

Jason A. Clark is Head of Digital Access and Web Services at Montana State University Libraries where he builds digital library applications and sets digital content strategies. He writes and presents on a broad range of topics including mobile design & development, web services & mashups, metadata & digitization, Javascript, interface design, and application development. Before coming to MSU in 2005, Jason became interested in the intersection between libraries and technology while working as a web developer for the Division of Information Technology at the University of Wisconsin. After two years, he moved on to the web services department at Williams College Libraries.

When he doesn’t have metadata on the brain, Jason likes to hike the mountains of Montana with his wife, Jennifer, his daughter, Piper, and their dog, Oakley. You can find Jason online by following him on twitter, catching up with him on Facebook, or checking out his occasional thoughts and code samples on his site.