Also known as: jimmy
***Last Updated January 2010***Jonathan Willbanks is a film producer, activist, entrepreneur, consultant, fundraiser, organizer, and student in Los Angeles, CA.Film ProductionHe is the CEO of New North Entertainment, a film production startup he cofounded in 2009 with Gillian Sagansky, daughter of producer Jeff Sagansky. Education and Campus InvolvementJonathan attends the University of Southern California where he is pursuing a joint degree in Business and Cinematic Arts (BCA) and serves as President of the BCA student cohort. In 2007, he founded the Southern California Business Film Festival (SCBFF) at USC, and secured co-sponsorship from USC’s Marshall School of Business, School of Cinematic Arts, and Center for Investment Studies. As Executive Director, Jonathan managed a staff of over 40 paid and part time student workers to plan and execute the event.From 2007-2009, he raised over $80,000 in funding for the SCBFF, which has attracted over 3,000 students, as well as the participation of some of Hollywood’s top talent.Jonathan retired from the SCBFF in 2009, but as Executive Director Emeritus has remained closely involved with key staff members in a mentoring and advisory capacity throughout its third year of exponential growth. BackgroundA proud Oklahoma native, Jonathan owned and operated an online media export business with over $200,000 in sales and clients in more than a dozen countries while in high school. He served as State President of Oklahoma DECA, an association of marketing students, from 2006-2007. ActivismJonathan sits on the Board of Advisors for International Green Shield, a non-profit organization that implements disaster mitigation technologies into local infrastructures that are vulnerable to natural disasters. He is currently developing Invisible Nation, a documentary about the often unspoken epidemic of homelessness in America. ProfessionalJonathan has worked for companies such as Apple, Disney Channel, and The USC Marshall School of Business, and currently works at the Moving Picture Institute as Producer's Representative for the film 2081, an adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron.Through their production company New North Entertainment, Jonathan and his business partner Gillian Sagansky produced the independent feature film comedy The Frankenstein Brothers from World's Fair Pictures throughout its pre-production cycle. Jonathan has played a key role in the development of several New North properties, most notably as creator of the documentary series America: Preserving the Dream (currently in development), a cutting-edge documentary series that takes a non-partisan approach to exploring some of the biggest problems facing America - and more importantly, examines possible solutions to these problems from across the political spectrum. He is also the co-creator of the New North-developed series The Golden Age (currently in development), a 1940's period drama about Hollywood - and the glitz, glamor, and scandal that defined its most legendary era. Jonathan is a marketing consultant and has provided services for companies such as Yahoo! TV and JustHearIt.com. He frequently volunteers marketing consultation and services to various non-profit organizations, and has provided consultation in technology and digital media integration for the USC School of International Relations.MediaIn 2008, Jonathan was interviewed in a feature article for TheStreet.com, in which he provided stock commentary that was widely syndicated on Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money and Google Finance. Jonathan is a frequent guest commentator on the politics and current events nights of the roundtable talk show, Platforum. OtherJonathan is the recipient of numerous regional and international marketing and entrepreneurial awards, most notably from International DECA, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the Sales and Marketing Executives of Oklahoma. He is an Oklahoma City Community Foundation and Bill Booth Memorial Scholar. He is also the recipient of: the National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneur Scholarship, Coca-Cola Community Scholarship, Otis Spunkmeyer International DECA Marketing Scholarship, Sales and Marketing Executives of Oklahoma Scholarship, Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma City Bill Booth Memorial Scholarship, and the Bill Stewart Award. He is a member of the Kairos Society.
