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Production Team

Retirement Revolution Series® is a Co-Production of James L. Schlagheck and WTTW National Productions

WTTW National Productions

WTTW National Productions is a premier producer and presenter of original, high-quality television programs for both public and commercial television broadcast. WTTW National Productions is a division of Window to the World Communications, Inc., the parent company of WTTW11 Chicago, the nation's most-watched public television station. For more than 50 years, WTTW11 and WTTW National Productions have introduced a wide array of ground-breaking television programming – reflecting the world's rich and diverse arts and entertainment scene as well as education, politics, public affairs, business, and religion – to a national audience. Its landmark innovative series and original productions include the critically-acclaimed performance showcases Soundstage and Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis; Grannies on Safari; CEO Exchange; David Broza at Masada: The Sunrise Concert; MEXICO – One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless; and WordWorld, the first of four children's properties to come from the Ready to Learn Partnership, a creative consortium that includes WTTW National Productions and Word World, LLC. WTTW is a pioneer in high definition television (HDTV) and in 1988 became the first television station in the country to produce a program in HDTV.

James L. Schlagheck

A graduate of Georgetown University and the Wharton School, Jim has more than twenty-five years of experience in banking and wealth management. He spent 18 years with American Express Bank, serving as Regional Manager for the Sub-Continent, Regional Manager for Europe, and a Director of American Express's private bank in Switzerland. He subsequently headed the Canadian and U.S. office of Bank Julius Baer, the Swiss private bank, from New York. Jim also headed UBS's Financial Planning and Wealth Management Division in North America, and recently headed the Private Bank division of TAIB Bank B.S.C.© based in Bahrain. Jim has written numerous articles on investing for TheStreet.com and his own blog entitled Show Me The Money! at www.invest-blog.com. He is the author of Cash-Rich Retirement, the companion book to the Retirement Revolution Series®.

Parke Richeson: Executive in Charge

Parke Richeson is Executive in Charge of National Programming for Window to the World Communications. She leads the National Television business which includes ongoing popular series Soundstage, Mexico-One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless, Word World, CEO Exchange, Grannies on Safari, McLaughlin Group and Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis as well as critically-acclaimed television specials such as David Broza at Masada and The South Beach Heart Program.

With over 15 years experience in various media, Parke has served in key positions including financial management of television and radio stations WTTW 11 & 98.7WFMT, leadership of business affairs for the Chicago Production Center, and as publisher of the weekly regional magazine, CityTalk. Prior to joining WWCI, Parke managed investment accounts at Bank of America and developed marketing strategies for TV/radio station KQED in San Francisco. Parke holds a Masters of Management degree from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. While at Kellogg, she was named the Ardis Krainik Scholar. Parke holds a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from the University of Virginia, where she was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Frances Harth: Executive Producer

Frances J. Harth is Vice President, Program Development and Syndication for National Productions at Window To The World Communications, Inc. (WTTW/Chicago). She develops programming for National Public Television and is the Executive Producer of David Broza at Masada and the Documentary series, Retirement Revolution Series®. She is the creator and Executive Producer of the national PBS series, The Americas' Family Kitchen with Vertamae Grosvenor, and also MindBody Connection with Les Brown. She published two companion books with The Americas' Family Kitchen With Vertamae Grosvenor and holds the copyright for these books. Ms. Harth also is responsible for the syndication of all national WTTW programs.

Prior to her employment at Channel 11, Ms. Harth served as Associate Producer for the nationally syndicated It's Academic television quiz show produced by Channel 5 (NBC) in Chicago. When the series was picked up by Channel 2 (CBS), she continued with the series and also worked on various specials at WBBM Channel 2. Harth began her career as an editor for IBM in Endicott, N.Y. "Fran" Harth holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from DePaul University, Chicago, with semester study at the University of Mexico in Mexico City. She also holds a Radio and Television Journalism degree from Columbia College of Communications.

Brian Boyer: Executive Producer

Founder and President of Boyer Productions, Ltd. since l977, Brian Boyer is a creator of television documentaries for public broadcasting, novelist and former investigative reporter for major American newspapers. Television production awards include three Emmy Awards for Best Production (Chicago); the Golden Apple from the National Educational Video Festival for Best Program; Best Editing, Chicago Film Festival; the Bronze Medal for Creative Excellence from the International Film and Video Festival; two San Francisco State Awards for Best Production; two Ohio State Awards for Best Production; and a shared national Peabody Award for Best Program with WBBMChicago and Bill Kurtis for the Agent Orange documentaries.

Author of six published books, he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction for Cities Destroyed by Cash (published by Henry Regnery Books). His other books include Prince of Thieves (Follett Books, New York City) and four Headhunter books, a series of hard-boiled detective stories, with John Wiseman, for Pinnacle Books, New York. Boyer was the first Assistant Director of the Illinois Arts Council and Assistant to the Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance. He served as chief speech writer for the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington from 1983-1985. In recent years, Boyer has been a media consultant for the campaigns of numerous Democratic and Republican candidates in Illinois.

Dan Deters: Editor

Dan Deters started working with Boyer Productions in 1999, helping design, edit, and animate an hour long classical music video; a natural outgrowth of his background in music as a performer, opera conducer, and orchestral arranger. He has since designed, edited, and engineered a wide range of projects with Boyer Productions including the award-winning documentaries, Harold Washington – The Life and Times and Marriage – Just a Piece of Paper? that won the Chicago International Film Award for Special Achievement in Editing.

Deters' academic background in music culminated in his research in the physics and psychology of auditory perception, variables and principles that apply in other forms of art.

Active in civic organizations, he is currently a board member of a McHenry County advocacy group and, as a former member of the Board of Trustees, Village of Richmond, Ill. His steadfast fight for smart growth principles and first amendment rights helped inspire the unanimous passage of anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) legislation in the State of Illinois.

Ami Burns: Producer

Ami Burns joined the WTTW team in 2007 where she was Associate Producer of season 5 of CEO Exchange, and Production Coordinator for David Broza at Masada. Ami's association with PBS began in 1999 at WGBH where she spent four seasons with ZOOM, most recently as an Associate Producer. Prior to her career in public television, Ami worked for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Walt Disney Feature Animation, and Telepictures. She is also a Telly Award winning independent video producer. Ami holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication with a concentration in Television Production from Emerson College. She lives with her family in Chicago.

Eli Samler: Producer

For over 10 years, Eli Samler has successfully written and produced content for TV and Film. Most recently, Eli managed Clayton Entertainment, an Emmy nominated TV and Film Production Company where he produced all the original content for EPIC Sports TV, the first cable channel dedicated to extreme sports and one of the first mobile phone channels. He has also produced original content for The Smithsonian Institute and for Clear Channel Broadcasting. Eli has also written two screenplays for a family-themed production company and has adapted a novel and an autobiography into feature screenplays.

Crystal Carlson: Assistant Producer

Crystal Carlson recently graduated from the University of Chicago which she attended on full academic scholarship. During her academic career, Ms. Carlson was a research assistant for the university's Psychology Department and interned as field producer for WGN-TV's 9pm newscast. She is currently a freelance writer and has reported for Chicago's Daily Southtown and Chicago Gazette. Retirement Revolution Series® is Ms. Carlson's first national television broadcast.

Dan Kolen: Assistant Producer

Assistant producer Dan Kolen is an honors graduate from Lake Forest College where he served as editor-in-chief of the school's newspaper, The Stentor. While still a student he worked on two documentaries, The War Tapes and Reel Paradise, for the noted documentarian Steve James. He is producer-director of a new documentary investigating illegal immigration, Deportee. The film will premier this March at the Lake County Film Festival. Retirement Revolution Series® is Kolen's first work for national public television.

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