.webp){kind=icon}
Meet the Board of Directors
Our board members bring a wealth of experience, passion, and leadership to the screenwriting community.
Lynelle Souleiel
President
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Lynelle has been a storyteller her entire life from fantasies with garden creatures, to penning children’s stories and poetry. Later taking to the stage as an actor and gifted dancer, she received a theatre scholarship to California State University Northridge. This led to multiple jobs on Hollywood sets, working on both sides of the camera. Feeling a yearning for more, she spent years traveling, dancing & making magic.
After writing her YA novel, Children of the Unndis Sedna, Lynelle added screenwriting to her repertoire. She has been a finalist in the Seattle Film Summit, Portland Screenplay Awards, & Bigfoot Script Challenge. A semi-finalist in the Pitch & Feature Screenplay competition at the Seattle Film Summit, as well as a semi-finalist at the Screenplay Festival in L.A. and a quarter-finalist in additional competitions.
Mike Johnston
Vice President
After starting his career at MTV in New York, Mike Johnston has written and directed commercials for some of the largest brands in the world, earning him Emmys, Tellys, ADDYs, and the EPA Campaign of the Year twice. Plus, Mike has served as president of three advertising agencies, directed a documentary about the legendary band Alice in Chains, and executive produced the podcast Mind Wide Open, hosted by Lily Cornell Silver. Currently, he works with partners, like Apple, Google, Samsung, MLS, and MLB, as a senior writer at T-Mobile.
The Nicholl Fellowship, Austin Film Festival, and ScreenCraft regularly shortlist Mike's screenplays and television pilots. And he has won gold and silver Remi Awards from the WorldFest-Houston Film Festival.
Scott Strauss
Treasurer
A native New Yorker, Scott David Strauss moved to Seattle over 30 years ago to attend the University of Washington Screenwriting Program… and never left. He has written six features, several television specs, and two pilots, and he is also a story consultant.
In addition to being a founding member of The Seattle Film Network, he is also in a group dedicated to developing film projects in the Pacific Northwest.
George W. Laws
Secretary
George is an ardent independent filmmaker hailing from the dynamic Seattle landscape, with a particular focus on fostering community connections. As a dedicated member of the Northwest Screenwriters Guild, he presently serves as Secretary. His writing prowess extends to a noteworthy community project under the aegis of the Seattle Film Summit. Currently, George is in the throes of bringing a feature film to life. For a deeper insight, including an enticing proof of concept trailer, explore here: Fool’s Fantasy Film.
Aviva Peltin
Social Media Manager
After working as an intern and later production assistant on a variety of Seattle independent films, Aviva Peltin graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor’s in English (emphasis in creative writing) from the University of Washington. These days she’s focused on writing sparkly female-driven romcoms that you’d rewatch at sleepovers. Her scripts have placed in the ScreenCraft Comedy Competition, Female Voices Rock, Launch Pad, Bigfoot, and more. Her comedy feature, TWINSIES, scored a 7 on The Black List. In 2023, she signed her first shopping agreement. Aviva is also the co-host of When Isabel Met Aviva, a podcast all about romcoms, female-driven screenwriting, and breaking into the entertainment industry. Her favorite film of all time is SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE.
Martin Bard
Membership Coordinator
Martin has been involved in screenwriting since retirement as an academic at Indiana-Purdue University in Indianapolis. Screenwriting was not on his horizon as a geneticist but that’s not to say he was not involved in writing reviewed research publications. Since his post-retirement writing career started, he has placed as a top 100 finalist for a feature and top 25 finalists for a comedy short for the 2020 Table Read My Screenplay Contest. He enjoys writing in multiple genres – comedy, drama, and action. When not writing, he hikes, volunteers in the kitchen at the Lacey Senior Center, also at a Medical Surplus Recovery Organization (which sends medical supplies to third-world countries), and makes time for the grandkids.
Brian Beesley
Newsletter Editor
After forty years as a journalist, Beesley wanted a new challenge, so he turned to drugs. Well, drugs and screenwriting. He is currently sailing into retirement as an employee of the city of Lewiston, Idaho, where he fields inquiries from all over the city (as well as stray phone calls from other Lewistons in America) posed by citizens who are curious about their plumbing, HVAC, building codes, zoning, and taxation without representation. In his precious spare time, he grows hot peppers, tomatoes, and all manner of plant life; listens to an eclectic variety of music; and dabbles in both fiction and nonfiction writing. His top five favorite films are, in no particular order (and always subject to change): "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Paper," "Little Big Man," "Used Cars," and "The Martian."
Jeff Harman
Webmaster
Jeff is an aspiring web developer and screenwriter. In screenwriting, he specializes in horror, sci-fi, and action. In web development, he specializes in HTML, CSS, and Javascript.