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avatar for Calia Brencsons-Van Dyk

Calia Brencsons-Van Dyk

Award-Winning Producer, Event and Production Manager, Performer and Speaker 

Calia Brencsons-Van Dyk is the founder and President of Caliativity Communications and a partner at Sandbox Creative, LLP.   
Calia has three Daytime Emmy nominations and one win and has been nominated three times for the James Beard Award with two wins.   She has worked in the entertainment industry for the past two decades in many capacities ranging from performer to writer and producer and has a unique understanding of the creative and financial perspectives of turning concept to reality.  
Fifteen years ago, Calia created Caliativity Communications, during that time she has cultivated and assisted many projects and talented individuals in their quest to realize their dream projects.  Two years ago, she created Sandbox Creative with two partners in the industry to develop and create her own projects, in that short time, one idea has been picked up for a multi-platform distribution project and another documentary film is in development and they are currently working on a web-based weekly lifestyle and food concept.  
Ms. Brencsons-Van Dyk started her career in the Entertainment Industry as a participant in the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Program in Germany, completing a full-year apprenticeship program in Event Planning, Marketing and Public Relations at the Cologne Trade Fair and Convention Authority.  Following this apprenticeship, she returned to Las Vegas where she worked in live events for several years.  
Her work in theatre and on Broadway started at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center where she worked in the President's Office as his Program Coordinator and later as the Associate Director for Devleopment.  During her tenure there, she had the good fortune of working with playwrights August Wilson, Herman D. Farrell, III and Joe DiPietro and was a coordinator for the 30th Anniversary celebration of the Center.  Shortly, thereafter, Calia became the assistant to Jacques d’Amboise at National Dance Institute, where she was involved in all facets of production ranging from fundraising, to writing, performing and teaching and was the tour manager for the Company's 50th Anniversary Celebration tour in Geneva, Switzerland.  
Ms. Van Dyk briefly left the entertainment industry to work at the International consulting firm of McKinsey and Company and later in the President’s office of The French Petroleum Institute where she oversaw the merger of HRI International and IFP and later was a part of the transition to Axens, USA.  Shortly thereafter, Calia returned to theatre production, joining the team at Richard Frankel Productions in New York City, where they were developing and funding the ill-fated Broadway Hall of Fame and later became the assistant to writer, Trish Vradenburg on Surviving Grace.  For the past nine years, she has been a part of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's production team where she worked on the seven-time Emmy-award winning The Martha Stewart Show rising from Production Coordinator to Acting Executive-in-Charge of Production.  While at MSLO, she managed and was a producer on a number of television programs including: Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn (Hallmark Channel), Emeril's Table with Chef Emeril Lagasse (Hallmark Channel), Martha Stewart's Apprentice Finale (NBC), Martha Stewart’s Cooking School (PBS), Martha Bakes (PBS), The Live Finale of the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-off (Hallmark Channel) , Whatever, Martha! (Fine Living) and Whatever, You're Wrong (Hallmark Channel) as well as seven television specials (Hallmark Channel)along withl ad campaigns, print projects, web specials, applications and other programing.  As an actor, Ms. Van Dyk continues to appear on stage and do voiceover work.  She recently produced, translated and completed the voice over a project for The Home Depot in Canada an has acted in many plays in the New York city area.  Her one-woman cabaret show at the Duplex under the tutelage of Shirley Callaway and Erv Raible reflected her French-American heritage and was well received.  Calia has appeared in several plays written by Catherine Ladnier notably at The Smithsonian institute and across the country.

 

Ms. Van Dyk has a Certificate of Commercial French from the Paris Chamber of Commerce and German from The Carl Duisberg Society and is also certified in Danish.  She is a State Department Alumna and a member of the Producers Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA and NATAS.  Calia has been a guest speaker at NYU, New York Women in Film and Television, St. John's University and the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program for Young Professionals.  She is a graduate of Mills College where she was honored last year for her distinguished achievement in the Arts and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts where she was the President of the Alumni Association and a member of the Academic Council.  She is currently an alumni- mentor for Cultural Vistas, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Producers’ Guild and an Emmy voter.