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Faculty |
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Jeffrey Gardner, Educational Entertainment Specialist
With over 15 years experience as a children’s entertainer, Jeffrey is sure
to please both teachers and students alike with his high-octane performances.
Jeffrey has toured nationally as a cast member of “The Ronald McDonald Show”
and “Bob The Builder LIVE!“ He also hosted the internationally popular children’s
show “So You Want To Be…” for The Discovery Channel and most recently was
host of the multiple Emmy nominated “Houston Zooperstars Challenge” for CBS
TV.
You will LOVE having Jeffrey bring high quality entertainment balanced with
a high quality message to your young readers.
Roland Ruiz, Bilingual Educational Entertainment Specialist
(actually he's TRI-lingual)
A graduate of The University of Houston's School of Theatre,
Roland is fluent in English, Spanish, and Italian. His
performance experience at Houston Grand Opera, The Alley
Theater, and three years of weekly shows with The Bridge Fellowship's
Children's Theater production of "Kid Jam!" have given him the chance to
apply in the real world what he learned at UH. Now he is preparing to take
that to the next level with our company as he delivers top-notch educational
entertainment in English and/or Spanish (or Italian if you need it!).
Paul Amerson, Educational Entertainment Specialist
Paul is a long-time performer who took a few years to
discover his hidden talents. Like many of us he spent many
years toiling at a job that paid the bills and honed his
skills, but never really ignited his passion. Then, almost
by fate, he caught a glimpse of a Library Rat Production
that was being presented in his area. He approached the
presenter and began talking about the show. After a
year-long audition process, Paul was accepted into the fold
and is now one of our top presenters. In addition to being a
fantastic performer, he also has the experience that results
in the tweaks and changes that seem little on the surface,
but make a huge difference when it comes to the impact of
the programs we deliver.
Julian Franklin, Writer, Director of Marketing & Strategic Planning
Julian began performing magic shows and puppet shows at a very early age.
While teaching (8 years in the private sector and 8 years as a public school
teacher in Texas) he continued his performing in faculty plays and as a semi-professional
dancer with The Woodlands Civic Ballet. It wasn't until 2001 that he decided
to combine his love of performing with his passion for education and thus
Julian Franklin Productions was born. Today, Julian helps write the educational
and motivational programs with the help of the incredible faculty he's assembled
as well as the occasional help of other consultants hired for specific projects.
Andrea Pugh, MA, Executive Director
Three time recipient of Houston ISD's "Teacher of the Year" award, Andrea
uses her years of classroom management experience to keep our operations
running smoothly. Having earned a Bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology
and a Master's in Museum Science, Andrea is extremely attentive to detail.
If it happens at Julian Franklin Productions, it is because Andrea made sure
it happened. She handles everything from managing schedules, sending contracts,
and printing and distributing posters and teacher guidelines to maximize
the effectiveness of every program you book. Hers is the pleasant voice you
hear when you call us and if you ever have a problem she is the one who will
solve it to your satisfaction before you hang up the phone.
Jill C. Veatch, Literary Director
Jill earned her BA in Secondary Education in 1974 from The University of
Houston with certifications in English and Geography. She continued her education
at the University of Houston Clear Lake where she completed Master's level
coursework in education and library science. She worked for 4 years as a
classroom curriculum teacher in Texas Public schools before becoming a middle
school Librarian and Media Specialist where she worked for the next 19 years.
Her insights into the literary needs and wants of children is unsurpassed.
Jill is our Literary Director and helps select books that are relevant, appropriate,
and alluring to our audiences.
Nathan E. Veatch, MS, Educational Director
We were ecstatic when we were able to recruit Nathan out of retirement to
serve as our Educational Director and to sit on our board of directors at
Julian Franklin Productions. Nathan has Master's of Science degrees in Marine
Biology, Biology, and Wildlife Management from Texas A&M University.
He is also a certified Master Naturalist with 36 years of classroom teaching
experience. He helps ensure that our programs are not only academically accurate
but also educationally significant and age and grade level appropriate.
Roosevelt Rat, David Hopperfield, and a host of other fun puppets, animals
and characters.
These guys are a riot. They even went out and got their OWN web site. You'll
have to visit it to fully appreciate it. If you click this link you can check
it out while keeping this window open.
Madeleine Parker Pugh, Head Puppet Trainer, Crayon Artist, Team Cheerleader,
and Corporate Raison d'ętre
Madeleine wears many hats at Julian Franklin Productions. She is our chief
humor critic, watching every program often as many as 50 or 60 times each.
If she still laughs after that many viewings, then we may keep the show among
our offerings. Her dedication to this business is matched only by her insight
into what children find funny and memorable. This is probably because she
is a child herself, being born around the same time as the debut of the very
first Julian Franklin Productions program in May of 2002.
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© 1999-2009 Library Rat Productions, Inc. All rights reserved
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