Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy announces new board members

They come from fields of film production, public relations firms, institutional community relations

June 25, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Che Chisholm, the founder and producer of Automatic Studios. Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy

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The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy has announced the election of Che Chisholm, Alex Stanton, and Antonia Yuille to the organization’s Board of Directors. The election took place at the Conservancy’s June 23 Board Meeting.

“It is an exciting moment with the start of summer, the easing of COVID restrictions, and a substantial return of the Conservancy’s public programming in Brooklyn Bridge Park. We are honored to welcome three new members to our Board of Directors today — Che Chisholm, Alex Stanton, and Antonia Yuille Williams,” said Chris Coffey, Conservancy board chairman.

Che Chisholm, the founder and producer of Automatic Studios Inc, is a producer with more than 25 years’ experience creating original stories and interactive content for audiences of all ages, specializing in media programming, arts education and production design.

Automatic Studios is a technical movie-making program designed for students 8-15 years old. Each workshop program gives kids the opportunity to be part of a creative team and experience working on a real movie set, as well as learning the skills of scriptwriting, preproduction planning, on-set job roles, studio and location shooting, and editing.

Alex Stanton, founder and CEO of Stanton Public Relations and Marketing. Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy

Che is a Parent Council member of the Ghetto Film School (ghettofilm.org) and serves on the Board of Chicago’s Lilian Marcie Theatre and AAMPA (African American Museum of Performing Arts) as education program director.

Born in Manhattan and raised in Washington, D.C., Che holds a B.F.A. in Film/Theatre from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Media Studies from The New School and an A.A.S. in Interior Design from F.I.T. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and teenage son and daughter.

“It is such an honor to join the Board of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. My journey in DUMBO began the hot summer of 1996, working on an indie film set at Akiva Studios, a small film studio on Washington Street. Since 2014, I’ve had the pleasure of coming full circle back to DUMBO, fostering the next generation of independent filmmakers and using Brooklyn Bridge Park as a backlot for over 200 short films made by our eager young storytellers,” she says.

Alex Stanton is founder and CEO of Stanton Public Relations and Marketing, a full-service national communications agency with offices in New York and California that represents organizations ranging from start-ups and mid-size businesses to national and international leaders across a wide spectrum of industry sectors.

Antonia (Toni) Yuille Williams, director of Regional and Community Affairs/Corporate Affairs for Con Edison. Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy

A hands-on practitioner who spends most of his time working directly with clients, Stanton brings a combination of business experience, media savvy, critical thinking and networking to help organizations seize opportunities, manage challenges, and compete aggressively in a fast-moving environment.

Prior to founding Stanton, Alex started and successfully scaled several communications firms including Dorf & Stanton Communications, a national PR agency that was sold to a unit of the Interpublic Group, and Stanton Crenshaw Communications, which quickly emerged as a market leader and was named “Mid-Size PR Agency of the Year” by PRWeek magazine.

Alex has developed and managed high-impact public relations and marketing programs that have earned more than 30 communications industry awards. He has been an instructor in Columbia University’s Graduate Program of Strategic Communications and is a frequent speaker on business strategy and the role of marketing communications in driving business success.

Alex previously served as president of the Public Relations Society of America in New York, where he received an award for mentoring, and as a board member of The Joyce Theater Foundation, YPO, Brooklyn Heights Association, and Tanenbaum Center. A Brooklyn Heights native, he recently returned to the neighborhood with his wife and enjoys walking and running in the park.

“I am grateful for the hard and smart work the dedicated staff and current and past board members of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy have done to create a community-focused, world-class urban oasis on the waterfront, and to bring it to life every day,” he said.

Antonia (Toni) Yuille Williams is the director of Regional and Community Affairs/Corporate Affairs for Con Edison. In this capacity, she develops the strategic direction for the Brooklyn Regional and Community Affairs Department. Her responsibilities include government relations, corporate community relations, strategic giving, media relations, employee communications, volunteerism and special events.

Toni is the creator, on-air personality and executive producer of Brooklyn Savvy, a talk show that airs three times a week on NYClife Channel 25. NYC Media is the official TV, radio, and online network of New York City — informing, educating, and entertaining New Yorkers about the City’s diverse people, and neighborhoods, government, services, attractions, and activities.

Brooklyn Savvy is an award-winning television show that explores topical and social justice issues related to women and people of color living in an urban environment. She has created a library of content of over 250 episodes, and has a very active social media presence. The show is currently on Amazon Prime and is available for viewing.

As a result of this work, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Commission of Women’s Issues honored Toni at its Annual Women’s History Month Program for her part in shaping the dialogue around women’s issues. Her videos were screened in NYC taxicab fleets. Toni also received a Telly Award for excellence in community programming for her work on the Brooklyn Reporter Roundtable.

Toni is involved in many community activities. Currently, she is the chair of the Brooklyn Arts Council and the chair of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FWPA). She is also on the boards of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, BRIC Art Media Brooklyn and the New York City Technical College Foundation Board.

“I’m happy to serve on the Board of Directors of Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy; this Park is the best front yard ever for Brooklyn. It’s a great mix of all the assets and engaging Conservancy programming that make urban parks an exciting destination for families,” she said.