Susan Ruskin

Dean, AFI Conservatory/Executive Vice President, American Film Institute

Susan Ruskin came to the AFI Conservatory from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), where she has served as Dean of the School of Filmmaking since 2013, bringing a wealth of experience in engaging filmmakers and faculty in new storytelling technology. During her tenure, she founded a Media and Emerging Technology Lab; led the completion of a 30,000-square-foot New Media Building; and organized UNCSA’s first Future of Reality Summit to initiate cross-field discussion surrounding emerging technologies. Previously, she served as Chair of UNCSA’s Producing Faculty before becoming Interim Dean in 2012. Ruskin’s professional experience includes producing credits on such films as ANACONDA and HAUNTED HONEYMOON; as well as serving as President of Production at Middle Fork Pictures/Cinema Line and Gene Wilder’s Pal-Mel Productions, and as a Creative Executive at Lucasfilm Ltd. She holds a BA from New York University, and an MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts from UC Riverside.

Yvette Jusseaume

Vice Dean, Administration

Yvette Jusseaume has been the AFI Conservatory Vice Dean of Administration since 2019. Jusseaume’s track record in higher education includes expertise in directing operations, financial management and technology implementations. Her contributions impacted programs at Harvard University, Columbia University, Boston University and Berklee College of Music. She was a founding member of the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine in Pasadena, where she established the Office of Faculty Affairs and contributed to the school’s preliminary accreditation in 2018. As an academic administrator, she has collaborated with faculty in the delivery of programs, international education, student recruitment and managing faculty contracts and services. Yvette is a trilingual global and pursued all her schooling at American and British schools around the world until attending university in the U.S. where she obtained her B.S. in Communications. She continued with graduate level studies in Theatre Arts, with an emphasis on technical design and writing for film.

Stephen Lighthill (ASC)

Discipline Head, Cinematography

Lighthill has served as cinematographer on many documentaries including GIMME SHELTER and BERKELEY IN THE ’60s. His cinematography credits for independent features include OVER-UNDER, SIDEWAYS-DOWN, HOT SUMMER WINDS and SHIMMER, all produced for PBS’ American Playhouse. Lighthill served as Director of Photography on the TV series VIETNAM WAR STORY, EARTH 2 and NASH BRIDGES. He returned to documentaries as the cinematographer on BOFFO! TINSELTOWN’S BOMBS AND BLOCKBUSTERS and THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT: CAREGIVERS, both for HBO.

Adam Salky

Discipline Head, Directing

Adam Salky’s most recent feature film, I SMILE BACK, stars Sarah Silverman in her first dramatic leading role, alongside Josh Charles and Tommy Sadoski. Silverman’s award-winning performance received widespread critical acclaim, and was nominated for a 2016 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. The film premiered in dramatic competition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, before screening at the Toronto and Deauville film festivals.

Salky made his feature directorial debut with DARE, a Grand Jury Prize nominee of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. DARE was acquired by Image Entertainment, released theatrically that year, and distributed in dozens of international markets. It features Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, Alan Cumming and Sandra Bernhard, as well as the first starring role of Academy Award®-nominee Rooney Mara.

Salky was selected for the 2016 Warner Bros. Television Directors’ Workshop. He has since directed three episodes of NBC’s hit show BLINDSPOT, including the 2017 midseason return, “Hot Burning Flames,” which was their biggest-budget episode ever, and filmed in part in Morocco.

Salky has served as an advisor at the Sundance Labs, guest-lectured on directing at Columbia University and various high schools, and taught directing at USC’s Graduate School of Cinematic Arts. He graduated magna cum laude from Emory University, and completed his MFA at Columbia University’s Graduate School of the Arts Film Division.

Rebecca Green

Discipline Head, Producing

Rebecca Green has made an impact across many facets of the industry, most notably as a champion for producers and advocate for their vital role. Her newsletter “Dear Producer” is a key resource for independent producers and a reflection on the state of the industry. Her work with Producers United, Sundance Institute and Film Independent, along with her producing background, speaks to the depth of her experience. Her credits include IT FOLLOWS, I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS, ALL THAT WE LOVE and DOWNTOWN OWL. She also produced 44 PAGES and the Amazon pilot HOT PINK. Green previously held executive roles at Sundance Institute, Lynda Obst Productions and Lionsgate, and has taught at several universities. A Women at Sundance Fellow, she’s been named one of Variety’s “10 Producers to Watch.” As founder of “Dear Producer,” she brings a unique platform for mentorship that aligns with AFI’s mission and will benefit the next generation of storytellers.

Victoria Paul

Discipline Head, Production Design

Victoria Paul is a production designer for film and television with more than 30 years of experience designing distinctive visual worlds across a wide range of formats, including features, one-hour dramas, commercials, music videos and variety programming.

She has designed projects for major studios, network television, streaming platforms and independent films, bringing the same creative vision, craftsmanship and collaborative leadership to productions of every scale. Her credits include the beloved feature film MY COUSIN VINNY and the long-running hit series NCIS: NEW ORLEANS. More recent projects include COUNTDOWN, HYSTERIA!, TWISTED METAL, and A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN.

She earned her MFA in Stage Design from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. In 2003, she joined the faculty of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she began an Introduction to Production Design course and started a graduate thesis track in production design.

Now serving as Discipline Head of Production Design at AFI, Paul is eager to help shape and support a community of emerging film artists to navigate and define the future of film and television.

Kevin Kennedy

Discipline Head, Screenwriting

Kevin Kennedy is a writer and producer with diverse experience in studio and independent film, as well as cable and network television. His principal credits include THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON and the television series THE DEFENDERS, which he co-created and executive produced.

In addition to his work as a writer and producer, Kennedy helped educate and to develop the work of scores of novelists, playwrights and screenwriters in his capacity as founder and workshop director of the Writer’s Film Project, a film writing fellowship program sponsored by Amblin Entertainment and Universal Pictures.

Kennedy is a graduate of the English/Creative Writing program at Stanford University, after which he attended the MFA screenwriting program at the UCLA School of Film and Television.