Jeffrey A. Okun, VES, is an award-winning Visual Effects Supervisor, who is a Fellow of the VES and the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences as well as the American Society of Cinematographers, and the Television Academy. He has served as the chair and first vice chair of the VES, and the chair of the LA Section. Jeff created the VES awards program and show along with Tim McGovern, VES and Kim Lavery, VES. Okun created visual effects tracking and bidding software in 1992 that is still in wide use within the industry today, as well as the visual effects techniques dubbed the "PeriWinkle Effect" and the "Pencil Effect". Susan Zwerman, VES, has been a member of the VES since 1998. She is a highly respected Visual Effects Producer who has been producing visual effects for more than 25 years. Zwerman is also a well-known seminar leader and author. As chair of the DGA's UPM/AD VFX Digital Technology Committee, Susan emphasizes the importance of the visual effects teams to DGA members at visual effects seminars organized under her guidance. In 2013, Susan received the Frank Capra Achievement Award in recognition of career achievement and service to the industry and the Directors Guild of America. She is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Producers Guild of America, Directors Guild of America, and a member and Fellow of the VES. Susan Thurmond O'Neal joined the VES in 1997 and has been deeply involved ever since. She has served on the global Executive Committee in multiple roles, including Treasurer in 2016, second Vice Chair in 2022 and 2023, and first Vice Chair in 2024 and 2025. Over the years, she has chaired the legacy global Education Committee, currently leads the Membership Committee, and in 2019, was honored with the VES Founders Award for meritorious service to the Society. By day, O'Neal is a recruiter for BLT Recruiting, Inc., where she connects top-tier talent with the right opportunities. Her career has spanned roles as Operations Manager at The Mill, Operations Director at Escape Studios LA, and Account Manager at SideFX Software. She got her start in visual effects at Digital Domain in 1993, working in finance and operations before transitioning into production.
