Board
Eastern Oregon Film Festival is a 501C3 Non Profit and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. This mighty group of community (both local and at large) members helps guide our organization with strategies to enact our mission and bring to form our vision.
Christopher Jennings – Board President
Christopher Jennings is an API Integration Specialist at Eventive. With a background in self-driven ventures and creative media development, Jennings has explored film production and is deeply passionate about fostering community through the arts—particularly by sparking conversations around film. He is also the co-owner of HQ, a creative mixed-use media space and venue in La Grande, Oregon.
Kathy O’Neil – Secretary
Kathy O’Neil, a Purdue University Liberal Arts graduate, currently works as a Sales Support Representative for Humana Medicare. She loves the arts, community involvement, and helping others. Her interests include reading, gardening, and traveling. Her volunteer roles include Secretary for the local Habitat for Humanity Task Force, Secretary for her church trustees, and EEO Specialist for a local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees. She is excited to join the board of the Eastern Oregon Film Festival and looks forward to its impact on the local community.
Rikke Finbraten – Treasurer
Rikke Finbraten retired from 20 years in the tech industry a few years back. With a passion for film from early childhood that she shared with her dad, she has seen nearly every tentpole movie (except Horror and Animation) since 1982. She stores far too much trivial information about all things film & actors in her brain.
B. E. Grey – Vice President
B. E. Grey is a film critic currently finishing her Bachelor of Arts at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande while writing for Go! Eastern Oregon. She ran a podcast network from 2021-2022, entitled The Screen’s Margins, dedicated to covering queer and arthouse cinema with a variety of co-hosts. She has also written for MovieBabble.
Heather Tomlinson – Board Member
Heather is a Theatre Arts Professor at Eastern Oregon University with her focus being in costume design, construction and stage makeup. She also spends much of her time creating fiber artwork in a lovely room in her home with lots of windows.
Aaron Thornburg – Board Member
Aaron Thornburg is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Eastern Oregon University. Dr. Thornburg’s research on Irish-Gaelic-language (Gaeilge) use and the utilization of Gaeilge-language television media in Gaeilge courses led him to explore digital storytelling and film’s potential use in both teaching anthropology and ethnographic research. As a result, Dr. Thornburg continued to develop his interests in film, helping to develop a Film Studies minor at EOU and volunteering with EOFF for three years before joining the Board.
H. Nelson Tracey – Board Member
H. Nelson Tracey is a filmmaker based out of Los Angeles, most known for his feature directorial debut, Breakup Season, which was developed through the EOFF Residency program, filmed entirely in La Grande, and produced with EOFF as its non-profit fiscal sponsor. The film played at 36 film festivals in 2024, including EOFF, where it was met with a sold out standing ovation at EOU’s McKenzie Theater. Breakup Season is now available to watch at home after an 18 city theatrical release. Nelson attended EOFF for the very first time in 2019 with a short documentary he had directed called Picture Jasper and had no idea that this would become a life-changing film festival.
Sarah Wherle (Bio coming soon)
Kay Kellogg
Kay Kellogg is an Art and Theatre Arts student at Eastern Oregon University who is interested in growing a larger performance arts community in La Grande. While live theatre is her passion, she appreciates film, music, dance, comedy, etc; and believes that the best way forward is by working together to build a strong creative collective where various performance art interests can be realized.