Founder Biographies

Megan Williams

Ms. Williams is a former television journalist who was an avid volunteer. She produced Language Says It All, a film for parents and educators of deaf children. The film describes the impact of deafness upon young children and their families, and was nominated for an Academy Award in th Documentary Short Subject category. Ms. Williams was named 1984 "Woman of the Year" by the Greater Los Angeles Council on Deafness, and received the "Lee Katz Award", the highest honor bestowed by the American Society for Deaf Children. 

Michael Shamberg

Mr. Shamberg is an independent motion picture producer whose credits include "A Fish Called Wanda", "The Big Chill", and "Club Paradise". Along with his wife, Megan Williams at the time, Mr. Shamberg has been actively involved in TRIPOD's fundraising and financial affairs. 

Trice Koopman 

Trice Koopman served on the board of Tripod for 10 years, serving as president and vice president. She is the mother of twins, one of whom is hearing and one of whom is deaf. Her background in the entertainment field spans over 21 years where she has worked as both a talent agent and talent manager. She is the founder/owner of Koopman Management, which opened its doors in 1998 representing actors in Los Angeles and New York.  

Mark Freund- Husband of Trice Koopman. Bio not available at this time. 

Barbara Montan

Barbara Montan served on the Tripod Board in 1991 as its Vice President. She is also the founder of TRIPOD Captioned Films, a public service of TRIPOD, which offers first-run open-captioned movies to the Deaf Community across the nation. Her son, Spencer was a student at TRIPOD's Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten program. 

Chris Montan

Chris Montan is a veteran music executive for the Walt Disney Studios, a songwriter, recording artist, and record producer. During his 15-year association with Disney, including eight years as vice president and senior vice president of music for the film division, Chris has helped the studio win an unprecedented eleven musical Oscars over a seven year period. During the same time, Chris' most important work was going on at home where he faced the challenges that come with raising his deaf son, Spencer. Coming to TRIPOD in 1991, Chris and his family found a program where deaf children could go to school with hearing children and benefit from the same quality of education. As a beneficiary of the TRIPOD Program and President of the Board of Directors, Chris has worked to financially secure the TRIPOD Model Program, not only for families in Southern California, but for the many families throughout the country who face similar challenges raising their deaf and hard of hearing children. 

Jim DeCaro (Interviewer)

Dr. James DeCaro has been working at NTID since 1971. He was the first faculty member in NTID's Civil Engineering Technology Program. Since that time he has served NTID as a staff chairperson, instructional developer, department chair, and division director. To see more, click-  https://ritpedia.rit.edu and enter DeCaro in the search box.