| As we look ahead to an extraordinary milestone year, I’m thrilled to share some exciting news: we are expanding the San Diego Film Foundation Board of Directors. This growth reflects our commitment to bold leadership, creative vision, and meaningful community impact. It is my great pleasure to welcome Sandra Maas, Lisé Markham, and David Salzberg to the Board. Each brings an exceptional record of leadership in storytelling, media, philanthropy, and advocacy, along with a deep passion for film. Their collective experience and energy will be invaluable as we celebrate our 25th anniversary and continue to elevate the Festival and Foundation for years to come. |
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“Film is one of our most powerful tools for change. Through authentic storytelling, we can challenge inequity, inspire empathy, and move society forward. I’m proud to support a festival that understands the responsibility—and the promise—of that power.”
Sandra Maas is an Emmy Award–winning broadcast journalist whose career has been shaped by a belief in the power of storytelling to inform, challenge, and inspire change. For decades, she has engaged television and radio audiences across San Diego while championing pay equity and women’s rights. A trustee of the San Diego History Center, Sandra is a driving force behind the creation of the new Center for Women’s History Gallery in Balboa Park—ensuring that women’s stories are not only preserved, but seen, heard, and valued.
“With a lifelong love of film, I joined the Board of the San Diego International Film Festival to champion powerful storytelling and the artists shaping the world, as well as making forever friendships in the process”.
| Lisé Markham is an entrepreneur, civic leader, tech-health investor, media executive, and philanthropist who has shaped San Diego’s nonprofit, arts, and women’s leadership communities for more than 25 years. As CEO of Fueled Consults, she advises startups following a pioneering broadcast career that included launching networks for FOX, The WB, and The CW, becoming the youngest and first female TV station general manager in the U.S. A former President of the California Broadcasters Association, she founded the KSWB Cares for Kids Fund, raising over $8 million for children’s charities. She also helped launch via free airtime nationwide, the first postal Breast Cancer Stamp in 1997 along with Senator Dianne Feinstein. |
“I’m honored to serve with such a distinguished group of community leaders. I am a long time supporter of The San Diego International Film Festival. It is an honor to contribute to the growth and mission of this organization to support filmmakers, the arts, and the community”.
| David Salzberg is an award-winning director, producer, and media executive with more than 25 years of experience across film, television, and digital media. A founding principal of Highroad Studios and former President of Mandalay Sports Action Entertainment and Mandalay Integrated Media Entertainment under Peter Guber, he has produced and directed some of the most successful non-scripted films of all time, including The Hornet’s Nest, Citizen Soldier, and Danger Close, with works enshrined at the Smithsonian, the Navy Memorial, and the National Infantry Museum. His credits also include Running the Sahara (executive produced and narrated by Matt Damon), the WCW Superstar Series, and the hit television movie First Daughter which was ranked as the #1 Basic Cable Film when it premiered. |
Posted February 5, 2026. Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on all the latest news!