BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Amber Brooms (she/her)
Board Secretary, Outreach & Engagement Committee Co-Chair
Amber Brooms is an alumni of the University of Buffalo and loves watching and rooting for the Buffalo Bills. She’s a proud Rochesterian and can frequently be found attending local events and establishments.
Amber is also an avid film fan and is interested in films that tell unique, emotional, and inspiring stories but is also a big fan of a sweet, happy ending. Besides checking out new movies, she enjoys crafting, trying new recipes, and spending time with family and friends, including her cat and her fiancée.
Volunteering is important to her and she splits her time between ImageOut and the Rochester LGBTQ+ Together group. Amber has been volunteering with ImageOut since 2019 and is excited to begin this new chapter as a Board member.
Brian Henderson (he/him)
Board Vice Chair, Development Committee Chair
Originally from Cincinnati, Brian moved to Rochester to pursue a graduate degree in Physics from the University of Rochester. After completing his PhD in 2022, Brian leveraged his passion for planetary science and astrophysics to become an optical designer for space-based telescopes. He is currently a group lead for Optical Design and Analysis, managing a team of talented engineers who build the next generation of astronomy tools for contractors such as NASA.
Brian began volunteering for ImageOut in 2023 and officially joined as a board observer after completing the United Way’s Pride Leadership Development Program. He has used his experience in grant writing to lead the Development Committee and pursue the long-term sustainability of the organization through a diverse funding portfolio.
Outside of work and volunteering, Brian enjoys game nights with friends (including tabletop, role-playing, trading card, and video games) or a quiet night of cooking. He is an avid houseplant enthusiast, lives with two cats and a dog, and loves to travel.
Efren Holguin (he/him)
Board Member, Ticketing Committee Co-Chair
Bio coming soon!
Joe McCrank (he/him)
Board Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair
Joe McCrank started volunteering for ImageOut in 2000. He has been a co-chair for Theatre Operations for almost two decades and has served as a board member since 2007. Joe enjoys getting to know so many of the regular ImageOut members and supporters.
Joe had a long career in the banking industry. After leaving banking, he started his own successful interior painting business. Joe has been in the painting business for 18 years.
When there is no snow on the ground you will find Joe enjoying his passion for classic cars with his friends – attending car shows throughout the spring, summer and fall.
Deb Oppenheimer (she/her)
Board Member, Theatre Operations Committee Chair
Bio coming soon!
Rick Porlier (he/him)
Board Chair, Programming Committee Co-Chair, Co-Lead – Narrative Features
Rick Porlier is a returning Board member, who has volunteered for ImageOut’s Programming and Outreach committees since 2008. He is glad to be a assuming the role of Board Vice Chair and is looking forward to helping push ImageOut into the future.
He has worked as a bookseller, GIS analyst, and project manager since moving to Rochester in 2003, but his consistent passion throughout this time has been ImageOut. Since seeing his first movie at the age of five, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Rick has loved movies. That love made attending a festival filled with movies a very easy decision. The one thing that Rick discovered, aside from the films, is the community that supports and appreciates ImageOut.
Outside of the film festival, Rick is a big sports fan and has followed the Buffalo Bills and Sabres since before moving to Rochester. He also enjoys travelling, reading, and playing video games. He also loves to spend time with family and friends.
Ken Porter-Hutton (he/him)
Board Member
Professional with 15+ years experience in ensuring operational efficiency and ethical conduct in human services, including duties involving risk assessment, regulatory compliance, cross-functional leadership, parenting education, job retention, refugee resettlement, DEI, SafeZone, Lean Six Sigma, organizational performance, and community engagement.
Chloe Roach (she/her)
Board Member, Marketing & Publications Committee Co-Chair
Chloe Roach is a Rochester native, SUNY Geneseo graduate, and above all, stoked to bring queer stories to the big screen as an ImageOut board member.
By day, she works in brand and content strategy—a perfect fit for a master of none. Her work has led her to collaborate with powerhouse community partners like The Trevor Project and Brandi Carlile, and has also earned her a Guinness World Record as producer of the world’s longest drag show.
Wander around Rochester enough and you’ll likely find her at The Little catching a movie, sipping an iced dirty chai at Hydra, or continuing her very serious hunt for the best twist ice cream in upstate New York.
Shannon Rosato (she/they)
Board Member, Marketing & Publications Committee Co-Chair
Shannon loves film, being queer, and above all, queer film.
No stranger to the service of queer film, Shannon has sat for the past 3 years on the Board & Emerging Artist Grant Committee for OUT at the Movies, Winston-Salem, NC’s queer film festival. At a time when protecting & uplifting marginalized voices is more important than ever, they are honored to be making the shift to serve their hometown’s fest and continue this work locally with the incredible team at ImageOut.
They are an amateur filmmaker and professional ad-maker, with over a decade experience as an editor & motion graphics designer on campaigns from Crocs to Kamala 2024. Out of the office, Shannon can be found spinning bops as DJ She/They on WAYO 104.3 FM, tooting her French Horn in the Flower City Pride Band, storming castles as a talking rat in her D&D campaign, and spending quality time with her pals & half-cat/half-Muppet Loretta.
Adrian Safar (he/him)
Board Member, Special Events Committee Co-Chair, Volunteer Experience Committee Chair
German-born and American-seasoned, Adrian enjoys shifting perspectives and leaping into adventure. Challenging things require courage, radical honesty, integrity, and trust. Adrian prides himself on curiosity and communication, always seeking alternatives, and not settling for “this is how it has always been done.” Unrivaled priority goes to developing strong and responsive relationships. His approach to everything is simple: energetic and focused, playful yet disciplined, dreamer-like with a solid tether to reality, conventional but rebellious, passionate and objective, and always eager to experience and engage with feedback.
“Always doing something,” most people say. When Adrian isn’t driving his husband or his mother batty, you might find him gallivanting around the globe, enjoying the thrills of some sport, or finding new ways to support his friends.
Michele Thornton (she/her)
Board Member, Special Events Committee Co-Chair
Michele Thornton is a professor, consultant, and healthcare researcher. She and her wife Gillian moved to Rochester from her hometown of Chicago, IL in 2017. At that time, Michele had just completed her PhD in Public Health and came here to join the School of Business graduate faculty at SUNY Oswego. There, she teaches Health Policy, Health Economics and Global Business and Society. Additionally, Michele is the school’s chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
When not obsessing over work and politics, Michele is an avid traveler, movie buff, aspiring gardener and proud mom to her boxers Darwin and Albert. Michele and her wife have been supporters of ImageOut since they moved to New York, and are thrilled to continue working to bring this amazing festival to life each year.
Stephen Weisenreder (he/him)
Board Member, Programming Committee Co-Chair, Co-Lead – Narrative Features
Stephen Weisenreder served as Chair of ImageOut’s Board of Directors from 2018-2023 and has been an ImageOut volunteer for approximately 10 years. Professionally, Steve works as Caseworker in the Monroe County Department of Human Services and previously spent 18 years in non-profit event organization, specializing in outdoor education and youth programming.
In his remaining free time, Steve is a regular film-goer at The Little Theater and Pittsford Cinema and has been a season-ticket holder for the Rochester Americans since 2001.
