STAFF
Carol Sauvion
Executive Director
Executive Producer
Director
Carol is the creator, Executive Producer and Director of Craft in America, the documentary series celebrating American craft and the artists who bring it to life. She is also the Executive Director of the Craft in America non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and advance original handcrafted work through educational programs in all media. Craft is Sauvion’s lifelong passion. For the past thirty years she has been the director of Freehand, her Los Angeles gallery specializing in functional craft.
Patricia Bischetti
Executive Producer
Director
Patricia has produced the Craft in America series since its beginning in 2007. She has produced and supervised documentaries for PBS, Discovery, National Geographic, TBS, TNT, TCM, CNN, Lifetime, Starz, and Showtime. Her work includes the Emmy Award-winning American Masters Mel Brooks Make a Noise, American Experience Last Days in Vietnam featured at the Sundance Film Festival, Peabody Award-winning Black Sky: The Race for Space, Code Black winner of the LA Film Festival, and PBS primetime series Tavis Smiley Reports. As Executive Producer at Big Buddha Baba Productions, she produced interactive media and experience design projects.
Denise Kang
Associate Producer
Denise has worked on every aspect of the Craft in America project since she joined the organization in 2006. Denise works on pre-production shoot planning, assists the crew and director at all on-location shoots, and is involved in post production including archival research, archival licensing, image retouching, on-screen text, and digital deliverables. In addition, Denise also works on in-house graphic design and branding, manages website content and social media. Denise also produces the filming of the Craft in America Center talks as well as the digital-only content. Denise graduated from the University of Southern California with a BFA in ceramics, printmaking, and graphic design, and continues to make pottery today.
Emilia Shaffer-Del Valle
Production Associate
Emilia Shaffer-Del Valle has worked as production coordinator for Craft in America since 2019. She has also independently curated exhibitions, organized educational programs, and written essays, always approaching the arts as a critical tool for education and change. Shaffer-Del Valle graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in English and Art History.
Michelle Starks
Production Controller
Michelle has worked as the Production Controller for Craft in America since 2019. Having studied Art, Design and Architecture, she graduated from California State University, Northridge with a B.A. in Art and also holds a Certificate in Set Design. Having worked with Designers and an Art handling service throughout the years, she is passionate about all forms of creativity and persists in her oil painting and restoring antiques and furniture.
Terry de Castro
Communications
Terry became involved with Craft in America in 2011 while working at Freehand Gallery, a retail store specializing in fine American craft. In 2012, she started curating a series of concerts at the Craft in America Center, which has hosted more than 40 concerts. A musician herself, she performed in and co-coordinated Craft in America’s 10th anniversary music festival at Olvera Street in Downtown LA in 2018. She took over the role of Communications in 2019.
Alejandro Nam
Website Manager
Alejandro joined Craft in America in 2019. He manages the website along with providing IT and all around support in the studio. He has been involved in the Arts, Crafts and Design industry for over 20 years across the globe. Originally from Sydney, Australia he is an accomplished designer who has also instructed Product and Furniture Design at The University of Technology Sydney (his alma mater).
Emily Zaiden
Craft in America Center Director & Curator
Emily is Director and lead curator of the Craft in America Center, where she has curated over forty exhibitions for the Center and partner venues since 2010. In addition to overseeing public and educational programming, she publishes catalogues and writes for journals including Archives of American Art Journal, American Tapestry Alliance, and Metalsmith. She has served as juror and lectured widely. Emily has an M.A. from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, and she was a Research Associate to the Decorative Arts department at LACMA and research editor for Architectural Digest prior to joining the organization.