Shine Board Member Profile: Dario Spina

As part of a new series, we want to introduce you to the Shine Global family and especially our outstanding and hard working board members who help move Shine forward.

Dario Spina - Shine Global Board of DirectorsName: Dario Spina
Joined Shine Board: November, 2011
Title: Executive Vice President, Viacom Velocity Integrated Marketing
Current Role at Shine: Member of the Board of Directors, Chair of the Marketing Committee

I’ve been born and bred in Essex County, New Jersey – living in several different towns growing up in this county and now living with my wife and raising my three children in Verona, NJ.  So, you can say I’m a very provincial Jersey boy.  I currently work at Viacom as the EVP of Marketing for an internal branded entertainment agency group called Viacom Velocity.  I’ve been at Viacom for sixteen years and before I was working in the branded entertainment side of the business, I was the head of marketing for Spike TV.  Prior to that, I’ve had stints in the digital division of MTV Networks, running my own promotions agency, working at two different ad agencies and also spending some time in the record business.

Why did you join Shine’s board and why have you stayed on for several years?

I joined Shine’s board as I personally knew Shine’s founders, Albie Hecht and Susan MacLaury.  I truly love and respect them both personally and professionally and I believed in their mission of telling global stories around issues affecting children through film.  They’re passionate storytellers and I was intrigued by the notion that quality filmmaking can truly shine a light on important subject matters and drive change through awareness.

What’s a favorite Shine moment for you?

A favorite Shine moment for me was having the honor of attending the ten-year anniversary party for several reasons.  The first reason was that I couldn’t believe this organization grew up that quickly.  The second reason was seeing the children that were featured in several of our earlier films, grow up to become such vibrant and conscientious adults.  That evolution and transformation of their lives was truly impactful for me.

How do you use your specific skill set in your work as a Shine board member?

I use my skill set as a marketer in both the consumer and Madison avenue space to help guide growth and change for the organization around their positioning, focus and messaging direction.  I also run a marketing committee that meets fairly often to help prioritize media, press and marketing work for the organization overall.

What is a Shine challenge that you feel supporters should know about?

One of the biggest challenges that Shine faces as a prosocial organization is of course resources and funding.  Shine does an amazing job at finding and then telling interesting stories primarily through quality and theatrically-driven documentary films.  But the challenge is that it takes a lot of resources and funding to then get those films completed; on the doc film festival circuit; sold to distribution partners; and then marketed properly to trade and consumer constituents. The amount of resources that it takes to do all of the above and then also provide outreach to the educational community, other donors, potential corporate partners and local prosocial organizations that can provide direct impact on the issue that’s being highlighted, requires a lot of man power and funding.

 

See the full list of Shine’s Board of Directors Members and Board of Governors Members here.

Upcoming Festival Screenings for The Wrong Light – Atlanta, Louisiana, Montclair

The Wrong Light - Cleveland Atl Lousiana Montclair

From the Shine Global production team and first time feature directors Josie Swantek Heitz and Dave Adams, The Wrong Light unfolds as a mystery while exploring the dark side of child advocacy through the story of a charismatic “activist,” Mickey Choothesa, who claims to rescue at-risk Thai girls, but is instead exposed as having misrepresented them for his own gain.  Shine’s latest documentary premiered this past weekend at the 40th Cleveland International Film Festival to great success and new festival screenings have just been announced.

Upcoming festival screenings have just been announced

Atlanta Film Festival
Wednesday, April 6, 2016 at 9:15 PM
7 Stages Theatre, Atlanta, GA
*Directors Josie Swantek Heitz and Dave Adams and Producer Susan MacLaury in attendance for the Q&A
Tickets

Louisiana International Film Festival
Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 2:30 PM
Cinemark 4, Baton Rouge, LA
Tickets

Montclair Film Festival
Saturday, May 7, 2016 at 11:30 AM
Clairidge Cinema, Montclair, NJ

Sunday, May 8, 2016 at 12:00 PM
Clairidge Cinema, Montclair, NJ
*Directors Josie Swantek Heitz and Dave Adams and Producer Susan MacLaury in attendance for the Q&A
Tickets