PARSON BROWN, Co-Founder
Jarred “Parson Brown” Hill, is a co-founder of The Topless America Project and director of the documentary Topless America. He was born and raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and is passionately proud of his rural Appalachian upbringing.
Parson began pre-production of the documentary film, Topless America, in 2006 when he first heard of the devastating coal mining process known as mountaintop removal. He is now a full time media activist, community organizer, and legislative associate working to build connections between communities which are exploited by coal companies and other abusive industries.
He is a graduate of the Columbia School of Broadcasting in Fairfax, Virginia and has a BA in Film & Video from Columbia College Chicago.
KAT WALLACE, Co-Founder
Kat is a co-founder of The Topless America project and the Assistant Director for the feature documentary, Topless America. She was born in the city of Chicago, but always found a connection to nature, especially mountains. Kat is a film activist dedicated to making the public aware of social and environmental injustices. She has made it her mission to tell the public through her work, that coal is neither clean nor cheap.
Kat graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2009, with a BA film & Video and a minor in arts management. She is a writer, director and production designer. She currently is in pre-production of her first feature film, which she is writing and directing.
AXEL KURTZ, Editor
Axel grew up in southern New Hampshire were he developed his passion for film. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago in 2008, he knew he went into the correct field and furthered his love of editing. He has worked numerous freelance jobs, ranging from TV commercials, to documentaries, to working for a mid-sized Chicago ad agency. He is currently working at New Fangled Studios in Boston as an editor.