Program Highlights
BONUS EVENT
Thursday, January 16th, 2020
A Coming Home Bonus Event
Lunch & Learn: CAREER WORKSHOP featuring
Ryan Zervakos, Relationship Manager, LinkedIn
Victor Williams Founder/President, Resume Scribes
The LinkedIn workshop will provide opportunities for how you can create a sustainable life and work where you thrive. Learn about resources and gain tips for an effective job search, including how to create a winning resume, prepare for a successful interview, and use networking to your full advantage.
Bring your Resume and receive a FREE Review/Assessment.
Resume Scribes is a premier full-service employment & career services company that provides jobseekers with end-to-end professional support, services and building blocks designed to ensure your Employment and Career Wellness in the Digital Age.
Friday, January 17th at 9:15am
TELLING A BETTER STORY
A Creative Seminar and Lab for Mythic Storytellers of Every Medium
Guide: John Bucher
Length: 90 minutes
As human beings, we have turned to storytelling for millennia in order to make sense of the world in which we live. Understanding why we tell stories is as important as understanding how we tell stories. Certain mythic motifs and archetypal characters have remained relevant through the ages and reappear time-and-again in various cultures around the world. Regardless of the medium you write in, these motifs and characters are key to compelling stories. Join John Bucher in this lab-based seminar focused on developing an emotionally resonant story, complete with characters to support it.
John is the author of numerous books on storytelling. He has also sold screenplays and consulted on stories in Hollywood for more than a decade, working with companies including HBO, DC Comics, The History Channel, and A24 Films.
TOPICS Covered
• What makes a story powerful
• Crafting your own archetypal character
• Understanding your character’s ghost and their scar
• Crafting a simple mythic narrative
• The importance of the ending
• Drawing the boundaries of biographical material within your story
John Bucher is a writer, strategist, and communicator based out of Hollywood, California. Disruptor named him one of the top 25 influencers in Virtual Reality in 2018. He is the author of six books, including the best-selling Storytelling for Virtual Reality, named by Book Authority as one of the best storytelling books of all time.
Friday, January 17th at 11:00am
Designing the Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni Association Film Festival and Conference
Guides: Corinne Bourdeau and Will Linn
PGIAA is excited to announce the Pacifica Film festival and Conference in 2020 – a film festival that will explore aspects of myth, depth psychology, and cinema. The festival and conference will offer a unique blend of film screenings, filmmaker Q&A’s, panels, and presentations that will highlight a wide range of topics in entertainment and mythology, sure to interest film lovers and academics alike! In this engaging session, Corinne Bourdeau and William Linn invite Pacifica alumni to join in a roundtable discussion as we design the ideal conference/festival for Pacifica. We will explore a variety of elements and themes for the 2020 Pacifica Film Conference & Festival (and beyond!). Potential topics themes and topics:
TOPICS Covered
• The Enchanted Screen: Exploring fairy tales and film
• The Mythic Filmmaker: From Guillermo Del Toro to George Lucas, filmmakers who weave myth throughout their films.
• Cinema and The Underworld
• What dreams may come: Exploring the dream world in cinema
• The Mythic Hero: The role of the superhero from a mythic perspective.
• Eco Imagination: Films that celebrate nature and environmental social change.
While there will be a formal presentation, this session is also highly collaborative in nature, as we will ask attendees to brainstorm, contribute feedback, and offer ideas for the festival. We will engage in a spirited and insightful dialogue around myth, cinema, film, and what a dynamic and engaging film festival and conference will offer the Pacifica Community.
Corinne Bourdeau (MA Engaged Humanities 2010), is the founder and president of 360 Degree Communications, a boutique entertainment marketing company dedicated to social change films.
Dr. Will Linn holds a Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California; a BA in philosophy from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee; and a CORe credential from Harvard Business School.
Friday, January 17th at 1:30pm
“The Stories We Tell” Writers Panel
Moderated by Pacifica Alumnus: Craig Titley
Craig Titley is a film and television writer/producer who began his film career in the Hollywood trenches as a production assistant. After a brief stint as an executive for Nickelodeon’s feature film division, he went on to become a successful writer of family films including the live-action Scooby-Doo, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Mr. Titley’s films have grossed nearly a billion dollars in worldwide box office.
Steven Melching is a television writer whose work includes numerous episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, Star Wars Rebels television series, and Star Wars Resistance television series. He has also written thousands of lines of dialogue for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes video games, as well as several issues of Dark Horse Comic’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars comic book series.
Jeffrey Bell is an American writer/producer best known for his work on television. He is a co-showrunner and an executive producer of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and an executive producer on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot. Mr. Bell was promoted to co-executive producer and new head writer on Angel (1999) after David Simkins left the show, and was also slated to be a showrunner of Most Wanted.
Mark Swift and his writing partner Damian Shannon wrote the box office hits Friday the 13th (Feb 2009) and Freddy vs. Jason, and was the first writer on the animated hit Shark Tale. They are currently working on an original horror project for New Line Cinema, an as yet untitled sci-fi project for Skydance productions, and are co-producing O’Lucky Day, a comedy for Paramount Pictures starring Peter Dinklage.
Saturday, January 18th at 10:00am
Cultivating Community at the Fates and Graces Mythologium
Guides: The Fates and Graces (Joanna Gardner, Rachel Lugn, and Stephanie Zajchowski)
Pacifica Graduate Institute provides a unique education. As alumnae, we know the value of an academic community, and we know the value of a soulful community–one that shares stories. It is in this spirit that we founded the Fates and Graces Mythologium, a two-and-a-half-day conference and retreat for scholars of mythology to share their work and spark inspiration through panels, presentations, and social gatherings. During this presentation, Joanna, Rachel, and Stephanie, all Mythological Studies alumnae, will discuss the inception of the Mythologium. We will demonstrate the unique value of bringing together mythologists to explore their scholarly work, both individually and collectively. It is vitally important to cultivate and care for our communities, and we find that each of us, as alumni, can aid in this endeavor.
Joanna Gardner, Ph.D., is a writer, mythologist, and magical realist. Her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have appeared in a variety of venues. Her recent research focuses on creation myth and the creative process.
Rachel Lugn, Ph.D. is a mythologist and textile artist. She holds a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her dissertation focuses on the interweaving of textile creation and fairy tales.
Stephanie Zajchowski, Ph.D., is a cultural mythologist and certified Spiritual Director. Stephanie is a co-founder of the Fates and Graces Mythologium, a conference for mythologists, and enjoys connecting and collaborating with this community.
Sunday, January 19th at 10:30am
“The Beloved Community”
A Society Based on Justice, Equal Opportunity, and love Of One’s Fellow Human Being
Community Panel Moderated by Patricia Wilson
Patricia Wilson, a five-time Daytime Emmy nominee, is Executive Producer and Showrunner for Entertainment Studios; she coordinates its signature court shows and their 24-hour legal network – Justice Central, including America’s Court with Judge Ross, We the People with Gloria Allred, Justice For All with Cristina Perez, Supreme Justice with Judge Karen, Justice with Judge Mablean and The Verdict with Judge Hatchett.
Jordan Killebrew is a Santa Barbara local who has an abnormal love of community. His work and current role at the Santa Barbara Foundation, in the capacity of Director of Communications, resembles his passion for strategy, public relations, and relationship building. As a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, he revels in the pride of being a Gaucho and the opportunity to serve his community volunteering with local nonprofits and organizations.
Harry Grammer is an artist, activist, and educator. He founded the community-based organization New Earth in 2004 and is an integral part of reforming juvenile justice in Los Angeles. In 2017, Harry was honored as a CNN Hero, and in 2018 was selected one of 20 inaugural Obama Foundation Fellows from over 20,000 applicants in 191 countries.
James Joyce III currently serves as District Director for State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (who represents nearly 1 million constituents within the 19th Senate District of California) and has served on various advisory boards in the area including Impact Hub Santa Barbara, the Ventura County Leadership Academy, and the Santa Barbara Young Black Professionals.
Darius Simpson is a spoken word artist, educator, writer, and social justice advocate born in Akron, Ohio. He received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Eastern Michigan University. He is currently a candidate for his MFA in Creative Writing through Mills College in Oakland, CA. He utilizes poetry as a tool with which to engage, inform, and connect with his audiences. His work has been featured in Huffington Post, Mic, TEDx, and Button Poetry.
Brandyn Costa is currently pursuing his Juris Doctorate and Masters of Business Administration at the University of Akron’s McDowell Law Center and School of Business. He also serves as Board Member and Group Facilitator with Alchemy Inc. Brandyn recently began working with the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation as the organization seeks to expand their property portfolio.
Paul C. Hudson is a Partner and co-founder of SEED collaborative, where he co-leads the economic development practice. Paul focuses on nonprofit collaborations, mergers, partnerships and other strategic alliances, and with development and implementation of financial sustainability initiatives and plans.
Jeremy Scruggs is a Mississippi native who completed his academic trajectory through the Holly Springs Public School System and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Personel at The University of Mississippi, Ole Miss.
Originally from San Francisco California, Aaron Jones attended UCSB as an undergraduate, majoring in Black Studies and Political Science. While an undergraduate, Aaron was deeply involved in activism, politics and was elected Associated Students (AS) President.