Artistic Director and founding member of Kartemquin Films, Gordon Quinn has been making documentaries for over 50 years. Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun Times, called his first film Home for Life (1966) "an extraordinarily moving documentary." With Home for Life Gordon established the direction he would take for the next four decades, making cinéma vérité films that investigate and critique society by documenting the unfolding lives of real people. 

Joanna has worked as a producer, director and a former Director of Development for Kartemquin over the past decade. No matter where life takes her, she will always consider Kartemquin her filmmaking home!

David E. Simpson is a highly-awarded filmmaker who brings to his projects a collaborative spirit, proven storytelling chops and formidable attention to detail. Films he has produced, directed or edited have garnered two Emmys, two DuPont-Columbia batons, a pair of Peabody awards, an Oscar nomination, a Sundance jury prize and best in category at countless festivals. He has worked in close association with Kartemquin Films since 1997.

An Emmy award-winning filmmaker recently named to DOC NYC's "40 Under 40" List, Rachel Pikelny is a sought-after producer whose work has earned accolades and sparked impact, at venues ranging from the Tribeca Film Festival to Capitol Hill.

For over thirty-five years, Jim Morrissette has had extensive experience as both a professional videographer and teacher, supporting his conviction that sharing and access are instrumental to the vitality of the independent production community.

Zak is an Emmy and PGA award-winning documentary filmmaker who has made films for over 15 years.

Currently, Zak is producing several feature films: Chicago Story (working title) with producer/director Steve James; Until the Lion Speaks (working title), for Concordia Studio, with co-directors Bing Liu and Joshua Altman; and Generation Food (working title), a film he is also co-directing/producing with Raj Patel and producer Rachel Wexler.

Nora Gully is a curious and compassionate video editor who specializes in long-form documentary films. She values the opportunity to learn about people's lives and bring their stories to the screen.

Nora was most recently an editor on How to Build a School in Haiti and Unity Dinners, additional editor on Finding Vivian Maier and post production supervisor for Almost There.

From 2008-2015, Justine led Kartemquin Films as Executive Director as well as being an Executive Producer on each new film. She was responsible, in concert with the Board of Directors, for creating and implementing the strategic vision for Kartemquin. Justine successfully transitioned to the ED role in a historic founder-led organization, and made major strides in building a foundation for long-term sustainability.

Yvonne P. Afable was Kartemquin's Director of Finance from 2004-2012, before transitioning to the Board of Directors. A graduate of DePaul University, Yvonne has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting & Finance. She is a Certified Management Accountant with 16 years of accounting experience. She was an auditor for two years before beginning her career in the not-for-profit industry. She monitored the budget and assisted with investments for the American College of Surgeons before becoming the Assistant Accounting Manager.

Jerry Blumenthal, one of the founding partners of Kartemquin Films, was a director, producer, editor and sound recordist with Kartemquin from 1967 until his passing on November 13, 2014. His most recent completed work was as Editor on Kartemquin's 2010 documentary, Prisoner Of Her Past.

Tim Horsburgh is Kartemquin’s Director of Communications and Distribution. Since 2009, he has driven marketing, audience engagement, public relations, and social media for Kartemquin and all their films. In March 2014 he began overseeing Kartemquin's distribution strategy. He is also responsible for assessing and managing potential new Kartemquin documentary projects.

Dinesh Sabu made his first feature documentary Unbroken Glass with Kartemquin. It played at numerous film festivals and was broadcast on America ReFramed’s 5th Season in May 2017. Dinesh was awarded “Best Director” at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in 2017 for his debut feature.

Leslie Simmer is Kartemquin's Director of Editing as well as Senior Editor on staff.

Matt Lauterbach is a documentary filmmaker and editor, an educational media developer, and an advocate for accessible media. He crafts engaging non-fiction content for classrooms, museums, and the big screen.

Shuling Yong is a Singapore-born, Chicago-based documentary filmmaker, sound recordist and DP with a passion for social change. She has worked on films like Radical Grace (Hot Docs, 2015, dir. Rebecca Parrish), America to Me (Sundance, 2018, dir. Steve James), and And She Could Be Next (dir. Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia).