Production Team

MacDara King, Executive ProducerIMG_9426 copy

MacDara King serves as the Executive Producer of Great Decisions on Public Television & Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Foreign Policy Association. As an Emmy Award Nominated producer, he has led the development of over one hundred programs for broadcast on public television in the U.S. and around the world. In his capacity as CIO, he is responsible for the communications, marketing, and IT infrastructure which underpin FPA’s national operations. MacDara specializes in the intersection of U.S. foreign policy, media, and technology.

image003Robert Nolan, Producer

Robert Nolan is a producer with more than a decade or experience in global affairs media.  He serves as editor in chief of new media at the Foreign Policy Association and is producer of the Great Decisions in Foreign Policy television series on public television.  A contributing writer for U.S. News and World Report, Robert manages ForeignPolicyBlogs.com, the largest network of blogs on international affairs on the Web.  He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zimbabwe and has written extensively on African music and politics. Robert is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the National Peace Corps Association and holds a Master’s Degree from the Medill School of Journalism in Chicago.

Richardo Lopes, Director/Producerimage005

As a producer and director of The Lopes Picture Company and XXL Media, Rick has produced and edited an eclectic range of award winning work:  over 2000 commercials, branded content, webisodes/internet content, documentaries,  four off-off Broadway plays and a PBS foreign policy series, “Great Decisions” produced with the Foreign Policy Association.   Rick has garnered over a hundred industry awards, including:  an Emmy, AICP – MOMA Show Award, Andy, ADDY, Clio, Cannes Film Festival, Telly, Davey, Pixie, New York Festival, and TV Guide’s “Top 10 Super Bowl Spots.”  Rick has the pleasure of serving on the following boards, committees, organizations and award shows: AICP East Board; Beverage Dynamics Advertising Awards Judge; DGA-CQL Commercial Contract Administration Trust Trustee; New York Production Alliance board member – Educational Chair; Foreign Policy Association Fellow; and Vice-Chair of the National Maritime Historical Society.

David Heidelberger HeadshotDavid Heidelberger, Editor

A graduate of Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, David Heidelberger has been editing for XXL Media for the past seven years. He’s edited television programs and commercials that have been seen across the United States and internationally. For six years, he has been the editor of the PBS television program “Great Decisions in Foreign Policy,” including an award-winning on-location episode about Egypt, where he sometimes doubled as a cameraman. He has also worked in London for the BBC, where he edited the critically-acclaimed documentary, “Charging for Alexander,” about filming Oliver Stone’s Alexander the Great biopic in Morocco. He was also the editor of “The Legends Behind the Comic Books,” directed by Chip Cronkite, an award-winning documentary about the founding fathers of modern comic books. His editorial work on corporate films has helped raise funds and rebrand clients ranging from an Ivy League university to a corporate jet company. In the beauty world, he has edited television and viral campaigns for companies including Olay and Nordstrom. He has edited music videos for artists including singer-songwriter Ben Folds. He also writes software for video professionals.

Alessandro Lopez

Alessandro Lopes, Director of Photography

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Alessandro Lopes attended Savannah College of Art and Design for Film and Television. Alessandro’s media experience expands from various aspects, from set-dressing for Local 52 working on Award-Winning “Orange is the New Black,” to camera operating shorts, documentaries, and editing and camera operating an Award-Winning P.B.S. television show “Great Decisions.”