James Levin
Executive Artistic Director
E: james(at)ingenuitycleveland.org

Community Activist, Arts Advocate, Festival Director, Stage Director and Producer, Playwright, Lyricist, and Impresario, James Levin co-founded Ingenuity, the Cleveland Festival of Art + Technology, in 2004, and since then has led fundraising and programming efforts, and directed this event which annually transforms downtown Cleveland into a wonderland of performance, exhibits and high tech installations. Prior to Ingenuity, Mr. Levin launched the Gordon Square Arts District restoration project in Cleveland's Near West side, and served as its founding director. As the Founding Director of Cleveland Public Theatre, Mr. Levin produced most of the work at CPT since its inception until 2004 and launched such projects as: Performance Art Festival, New Plays Festival, Festival of Sound, African American Performance Series, Vaudeville 80s and 90s, American Indian Festival, LatinArts Festival ("Cafe Teatro"), and DanceWorks (still the primary venue of contemporary modern dance in Northeast Ohio). As a theatre artist, Mr. Levin has been recognized repeatedly for his work as a playwright (two Ohio Arts Council Fellowships) as a director, and as a producer (multiple Northern Ohio Live "Best" Awards). As a lyricist, his songs have been included in several theatrical works, including "Let the Knowing Speak," a jazz cantata featuring Phil Wilson and Jon Hendricks. As a community activist, Mr. Levin has launched several programs providing exposure to "expression and creativity," in instances where resources were otherwise unavailable. Among those programs launched over the last twenty years at CPT under his direction: Y Haven Theatre group (annual new work developed by resident men in recovery), STEP (now a year round ensemble of inner city teens who receive summer jobs for creating new work), Brick City (ongoing year round training at CMHA estates), and Elyria Y Project (creative dramatics at Women's Shelter). Mr. Levin is also an experienced trial attorney (clients have included Northeast Ohio Greens, American Indian Movement, and the Northeast Ohio Homeless Coalition), and lives in Ohio City with his wife Jill, a prominent local actress and teacher, and their three children. In 2007, Mr. Levin was awarded by the Ohio Arts Council the "Governor's Award" for his career work in community development and activism.

Paula Grooms
Managing Director
E: paula(at)ingenuitycleveland.org

A former member of the Ingenuity Board of Directors, Paula Grooms joined the 2008 Ingenuity Festival staff with the vision of managing and implementing Ingenuity’s aggressive marketing and sponsorship campaign, bringing to it more than 30 years of creative and marketing experience as a respected marketing expert and experienced manager of multi-functional teams for both corporate and non-profit clients. Paula is a seasoned manager of print production, media planning, media sales, video, film and multimedia production, public relations, marketing, account servicing, corporate communications and web marketing. As Senior Vice President at IMG, Ms. Grooms spearheaded IMG's creative business communications worldwide as head of IMG Creative, where she managed corporate communications projects, collaborated routinely with IMG's top executives, created the company's corporate communications materials, and managed the rollouts of two new branding initiatives. Before IMG, Paula was the President and Executive Producer for Craft's College Previews, and also owned and operated her own graphic design, film, video and multi-media production company for nine years. Ms. Grooms currently sits on the Board of Directors and is Marketing Chair for MOCA Cleveland (Museum of Contemporary Art), and is the founding president of the Cleveland Chapter of WISE, Women in Sports and Events. Paula is an active mentor with the Cleveland Foundation's Civic Innovation Lab, and has served on the local organizing and marketing committees for several major events in Cleveland over the years, including the Intel Science and Engineering Fair, The International Children's Games, the Ingenuity Festival of Art + Technology, and the NCAA Women's Final Four of Basketball. Ms. Grooms completed undergraduate work at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with graduate studies at the University of Iowa and Case Western Reserve University.

Jared Earley
Administrative Director
E: jared(at)ingenuitycleveland.org

Having grown up in Northeast Ohio with an early inclination towards nonprofit arts management (as a seasonal Cleveland International Film Festival staff member since 1998), Jared Earley marks his recent return to Cleveland by joining the 2008 Ingenuity Festival staff full-time – bringing with him a reputation for strong organizational and administrative leadership, as Ingenuity's film and video coordinator and facilitator of general operational assistance. Most recently, Jared served as Managing Director of the Philadelphia Film Festival and Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, where he oversaw general management, marketing, and event logistics for the city's two premiere film events. As a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Jared previously served as the award-winning Program Director and General Manager of The Oaks Theater, a historic neighborhood cinema in Pittsburgh which, during his tenure, spearheaded a one-of-a-kind programming and marketing strategy that drew regional media acclaim, propelled the venue's iconic status as an entertainment destination, and welcomed dozens of national celebrity appearances and exhibitions within the course of five years. Jared also owned and co-managed a commercial suburban multiplex cinema in Pittsburgh, as well as serving on the Board of the Pittsburgh International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival and freelancing as a film series coordinator for The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Mr. Earley is currently active as a neighborhood volunteer, a contributing writer to such publications as EarthWatch Ohio and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and an annual staff assistant to the Cleveland and Provincetown International Film Festivals.