Lincoln, Neb.--The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts welcomes the following new faculty members this fall.
Daniel Junge is assistant professor of emerging media arts (film production). An Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, television showrunner and educator, his work has screened at Sundance, Telluride, Toronto, Tribeca and SXSW. He won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short for “Saving Face” and earned a second Academy Award nomination for “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner.” His feature credits include “Chiefs,” “They Killed Sister Dorothy,” “Being Evel” and “A Lego Brickumentary.” His most recent feature, “I Was Born This Way,” co-directed with Sam Pollard, premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival.
Junge has also served as showrunner for the AMC series “Secret History of Comics” and the Netflix series “Challenger: The Final Flight.” He has taught at USC, UCLA and Loyola Marymount and holds an M.F.A. in screenwriting from the University of Georgia.
Matt London is assistant professor of emerging media arts (storytelling). A narrative designer, writer and creative director, he has worked across video games, film, television and publishing. He holds degrees from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program with additional training at the Clarion Writers Workshop.
London wrote, directed and produced the feature film “Archipelago,” authored “The 8th Continent” series from Razorbill/Penguin Random House, and most recently served as senior narrative designer at Lightspeed LA and associate narrative director at Blizzard Entertainment.
Andy Shaw is assistant professor of art (ceramics). He previously taught at East Carolina University and Louisiana State University. His work focuses on functional dinnerware and production methods.
Shaw has completed artist residencies at the Royal Danish Academy, NSCAD, SÍM in Iceland, The Clay Studio, the Archie Bray Foundation and other institutions. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
Nolan Tredway is assistant professor of practice in emerging media arts (experience design). An artist and designer whose work spans painting, sculpture, animation and immersive installation, he is a contributing artist to Meow Wolf’s “Convergence Station” in Denver. His work has been featured at the Currents New Media Festival, Denver Digerati Emergent Media Festival and KANEKO’s “Museum of Alternative History.”
A University of Nebraska–Lincoln graduate, Tredway is also co-director and curator of Tugboat Gallery in Lincoln, where he has helped present more than 600 artists across disciplines. Earlier, as creative director and director of motion at Firespring, he led video and animation teams across integrated cross-media campaigns.
Carlos Vilchis is assistant professor of practice in emerging media arts (animation and rigging). An educator, researcher and virtual production specialist, he has more than 14 years of experience teaching and developing academic programs in digital media, animation, motion capture and real-time production. He has taught at Tecnológico de Monterrey, the University of the Fraser Valley and Humber College.
Through his company HCG Tech, Vilchis has represented Vicon across 14 countries and supported more than 50 universities in motion capture and virtual production initiatives. He is also founder of the Virtual Production Academy and a member of the Visual Effects Society.
Daniel T. Simons joins the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film as the interim technical director. Simons has spent more than a decade with Cirque du Soleil, serving as an automation technician, interim head of automation and international trainer on resident and touring productions, including “Michael Jackson ONE,” “The Beatles LOVE,” “Totem,” “Volta,” “Joya” and “Mystère.”
Melissa Peterson joins the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film as Director of Production. Most recently, she led scenery production at TTS Studios for Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including “Schmigadoon!,” this year’s Tony Award winner for Best Musical. Prior to that, she held leadership positions at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.
In addition, the Glenn Korff School of Music welcomes the following lecturers:
Millie Heckler, dance. Heckler is a dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter and movement guide who explores the body as a site of devotion and multidimensionality. She has taught at the University of Vermont and University of Texas at Austin.
Adella Hotchkiss, cello. Hotchkiss earned her Bachelor of Music in Education from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and master’s degrees in cello performance and string pedagogy from the University of Louisville.
Tom Kelly, trumpet. Kelly earned degrees from Winona State University and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He serves as principal trumpet of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and principal trumpet and manager of The Plymouth Brass at First Plymouth Church in Lincoln.
Šarka Stehnová, piano. Originally from the Czech Republic, Stehnová holds degrees from the Conservatory in Teplice, Northern State University, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Brenna Sherman, flute. Sherman earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln last May and also holds degrees from Penn State and Luther College.
Gabriel Forero Villamizar, viola. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Villamizar is an active solo, chamber, orchestral and baroque performer.
Lindsay Wiley, oboe. Wiley holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, along with performance certificates from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and DePaul University.
