Staff

Dominique Lasseur – Executive Director

 Dominique Lasseur is a producer of film and television, and a partner with his wife Catherine Tatge in Global Village Media.  With numerous productions in the U.S. and abroad, his work has embraced performance, performance documentaries, biographical profiles, news and public affairs, and informational programming. From Holo Mai Pele—a dance/performance special on PBS’ Great Performances —and a series entitled Dances of Life, he also produced Breaking the Silence: Journeys of Hope, a PBS special on domestic violence, as well as special programming for the Pew Charitable Trust, Harvard Business School, and Fred Friendly Seminars. Other projects include Breaking the Silence: Children’s Stories and The Question of God: C.S. Lewis & Sigmund Freud.

He recently produced a series on Ethics in America for the Fred Friendly Seminars, featuring many notable participants, including Justice Scalia and O'Connor.

Catherine Tatge is a producer and director of film and television. For over 25 years, her work has encompassed many genres, from public affairs, performance and dance, to biographies and the world of ideas. She influenced American television as producer and director of Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers, for which she received an Emmy Award. Ms. Tatge’s close working relationship with Bill Moyers led to many projects: the ten-hour Genesis: A Living Conversation; the two-hour special Fooling with Words and the series Sounds of Poetry, both documenting the largest poetry event in the United States; the special What Can We Do About Violence; three programs on the nature of hate—Beyond Hate, Facing Hate with Elie Wiesel, and Hate on Trial; and numerous interviews on Moyers: A World of Ideas. Her most recent work for PBS' American Masters series, John Muir in the New World, aired on April 18, 2011. In her career, she has tackled important and controversial public affairs issues, as she does in Breaking the Silence: Children’s Stories. Her talent for translating intellectual material to the screen includes numerous works about spirit and the human condition – including her series, The Question of God: Sigmund Freud & C.S. Lewis, and The Creative Spirit for PBS.

Gretchen Babarovic – Project Coordinator

Gretchen Babarovic was Executive Assistant to ABC News anchor Peter Jennings from 1983 to his death in 2005. As his right hand, she was involved in every aspect of his professional life from the gathering of the nightly news to his documentary productions. She did the administration for his second book In Search of America and researched material for his speaking engagements. Traveling the world with the broadcast allowed her to experience a front row seat to history which fueled her curiosity and allowed her to develop a unique perspective of the world and deep appreciation for the democratic process. In 2007, she was asked by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to produce an inaugural dinner for their Center of Excellence's new Oral History Department. The following year, she became Project Director for The Connecticut Project For the Constitution - a center for education and dialogue seeking to educate Americans about the importance of the Constitution's intersection with every day lives. .

Ms. Babarovic is a graduate of Cornell University. Both her daughter and son in law are journalists

Edward Kaufman – Academic Consultant

Edward Kaufman has been a long time certified history and social studies teacher in the State of Connecticut, serving in that capacity at Weston High School for over 30 years.  He is also certified with the College Board to teach Advanced Placement European History and is an adjunct faculty member of the University of Connecticut with the Early College Experience.  Mr. Kaufman has degrees, both undergraduate and graduate, from Brown, Columbia and Wesleyan with a number of additional graduate courses beyond these levels as well.  Particularly germane to the Civic Life Project is his work with Robert A. Taft Program in American Government with which Mr. Kaufman was involved at Connecticut College.

Douglas Branson – Video Production and Technical Instructor

Douglas Branson is a graphic designer, photographer, filmmaker, editor, and performer and has worked in Philadelphia, NYC, and Connecticut producing multimedia since 1984.  A graduate of The Art Institute of Philadelphia Branson started his career in advertising and publishing.  He then worked in Audio and Video Production and built his own professional home recording studio.  Douglas has designed and built sets, operated cameras, done on location sound, produced short promotional films and commercials. His Photoshop image preparation and formatting skills are used by other production companies in Commercials, Documentaries, and Films.  He loves the process of teaching digital fluency and enhancing skill sets in both young and old, especially helping with use of social media and the Internet for promoting the arts, people, products, services, and ideas.