Faculty Bios

Jan Yanehiro

Director
School of Multimedia Communications

Jan Yanehiro pioneered the magazine format on television as co-host of “Evening Magazine,” a nightly program in San Francisco that ran for 15 years on KPIX TV-CBS5. Currently she is the Director of the School of MultiMedia Communications at Academy of Art University, San Francisco. She has hosted 6 documentaries on the redress and relocation issues of Japanese Americans during World War II. Jan has won multiple awards including an Emmy and the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award. She is the mother of six (three of her own and three step-children), holds seats on several boards including the Kristi Yamaguchi Always Dream Foundation and The Bank of Marin. Her latest book is titled, This Is Not The Life I Ordered…50 Ways To Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down.

Steve Kotton

Associate Director
School of Multimedia Communications

Steve Kotton has more than 25 years of experience in visual communication productions. He is the co-owner and Director of Production of New Material, Inc., A state of the art digital facility syndicated broadcast and the Web. Under the direction of Steve, New Material, Inc. has produced many notable award-winning projects.

Prior to founding New Material, Inc., Steve was the Director of Digital Education Productions and a Producer and Director at HGTV, The History Channel, and the DIY Network. His prior company, Pacific Video Resources, was a highly successful digital studio that produced corporate and creative broadcasts and webcasts. Steve has produced and directed live satellite broadcasts and webcasts. Steve has directed dozens of live satellite broadcasts and webcasts, live action and VFX for video games, and syndicated series.

John Scott

Online Coordinator
School of Multimedia Communications

John Scott is a journalist, writer, broadcast and digital content producer with 34 years of experience in the industry. He began his career in 1976 in his home state of Iowa, at the time holding the distinction of being the youngest full-time on-air talent in the state. John is a recipient of several awards for journalism from the northern California Radio/TV News Directors Association, and has served as a board member of the organization. He joins AAU having most recently been Program Director and Content manager for green 960 and 910AM radio, green960.com and talk910.com, Operations Manager for Total Traffic Network and a classic rock DJ at 103.7 The Band in San Francisco.