Robert M. Johnson

The President of The Johnson Group is a producer and director with over 30 years experience in broadcasting, event production, and communications. One of Mr. Johnson's first productions, "Proudly They Came," was chosen as a Fourth of July special by both ABC and NBC. Later, he produced "The Great Family Awards," a television special hosted by Nancy Reagan and featuring Willard Scott.

Two recent projects, "Living with Hope," a broadcast documentary about teens with HIV/AIDS, and "SAFE!," an educational video about the problem of domestic violence, have won CINE Golden Eagle awards for excellence. The Johnson Group was also recognized with a 2000 Silver Catalyst Award for video excellence and innovation. Other projects have earned Mr. Johnson the Washington D.C. Emmy Award, Chris Film Award, and the San Francisco Film Festival Award. His film for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, "A Gift of Time," is featured in the Walt Disney educational film library. Recent productions include a series of TV spots for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in New York, and another series of PSAs commemorating the Smithsonian's 150th Anniversary.

He also served as producer of “Paper Clips,” a documentary that has won 14 major awards, was featured on HBO in November, and is now available in video stores for home viewers. “Paper Clips” was also recognized by the Board of National Review as one of the top five documentaries of 2004.

Joe Fab

The Vice President of The Johnson Group is an award-winning producer and writer with more than 30 years experience in film and video production, media and communications, event production and the live presentation of plays and music. He served as lead producer, writer and co-director of the feature documentary Paper Clips, which enjoyed extensive theatrical release nationwide, is now appearing in theatres internationally and on HBO, and will soon be in wide release on home video. Paper Clips has been acclaimed by critics and received numerous film festival awards, both from juries and audiences. It was named one of the top five documentaries of 2004 by the National Board of Review, and received the Jewish Image Award in recognition of its promotion of cross cultural communication. Mr. Fab is particularly proud to have written half of the lyrics sung by bluegrass artist Alison Krauss on the soundtrack of Paper Clips.

His career has brought him the privilege of working with Presidents Clinton, Carter and Bush (both George H. W. and George W), as well as an array of other political figures, from Sam Nunn to Orrin Hatch. He recently produced the premiere presentation of a new poem by Dr. Maya Angelou, performed by the author herself. He has written for such diverse actors as Gregory Peck, Mary Steenburgen, Shirley Jones, Robert Prosky and Alan Alda, and personalities like Mary Matalin, James Carville, Willard Scott and Al Roker - to name but a few. As a producer, he has presented literally scores of entertainers, including such artists as Tony Bennett, Tina Turner, Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Cher, Charlotte Church, Marty Stuart, Wayne Newton, Boy George and Culture Club, Jose Feliciano, LeAnn Rimes, Karen Akers and many, many more.

Each year, he produces and writes the opening ceremonies for the annual Christmas Pageant of Peace, featuring an hour of entertainment by internationally known performers and the lighting of the national Christmas tree by the president of the United States - this event is broadcast live via satellite and seen around the world. Recent television productions include programs for the Discovery Channel and the History Channel, as well as the NBA-focused documentary Crossover, which he executive produced in conjunction with Penny Marshall and Magic Johnson for Showtime.

Paula Sweeney

Paula attended the University of Maryland on a teacher's opera scholarship and subsequently spent 21 years in Manhattan as a singer/actress. While performing off-broadway, in national tours, on commericals , soap operas and ABC Afterschool Specials, she embarked on a parallel career as a writer/producer. Paula, along with fellow writer, James Pirone, received an Emmy nod and a “Stop, Look and Listen Award” from the Coalition for Children’s Programming for their ABC Afterschool Special, Daddy Can’t Read. Paula has written and produced numerous television spots for NETworks Productions of Broadway tours including, Cabaret, The Civil War, Cinderella, Jekyll & Hyde and Victor/Victoria. She is the author of a young adult series of novels entitled, Jake Montana. Paula co-wrote the 2006 Pageant of Peace with Joe Fab. Paula is also The Johnson Group’s marketing and development specialist.

Amy D. Jones

Amy D. Jones is our staff associate producer and all-around support.  Upon graduating from James Madison University in 2000, Ms. Jones headed to the West Coast to explore the business, working for one of the world’s largest non-profit organizations. During the next five years she drew on her love of film and new media as a writer, creative director and producer of Internet, CD-Rom, and DVD projects.

In 2001, Ms. Jones signed on as a media specialist and founding participant in the launch of the Damah Film Festival. She is proud of having made significant contributions to what is now widely recognized as a unique and pioneering festival.
With The Johnson Group, Ms. Jones’ credits include Bedford: The Town They Left Behind, the company’s 2008 feature documentary that has been an official selection in the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Sonoma Film Festival, and the GI Film Festival, with more on the horizon.

In addition to her associate producing role at The Johnson Group, Ms. Jones is also the co-producer of the company’s production of the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree Opening Ceremonies, and over the years, has helped to book and coordinate appearances by Dr. Maya Angelou, Sara Evans, Ricky Skaggs, The Whites, Phil Vassar, and CeCe Winans and many others.

Elliot Berlin

The Johnson Group’s Senior Producer is a multi-award winning filmmaker. He brings over 20 years experience to Johnson Group productions as producer, director, editor, cameraman, and writer. Elliot’s creative imprint is found in most Johnson Group video and film productions, and he is the company’s resident expert in the varied processes of filmmaking.

Mr. Berlin’s recent Johnson Group projects include the Miramax feature documentary, Paper Clips, to which he contributed as director, co-producer, second cameraman, and post-production supervisor. Along with Joe Fab, he recently received the Jury Award for Best American Director for Paper Clips at the Rome International Film Festival. Elliot recently traveled to India to film a broadcast documentary.

He is lead producer/director of Musical Wizards, a long-form documentary about the inventors of new musical instruments, for which completion is anticipated in 2006. As a supervising producer, Elliot oversaw production of HALO - Freefall Warriors, produced for the Discovery Channel, and of a commissioned pilot for Inside the Great Battles, a proposed series for the History Channel.

Mr. Berlin has several additional projects in development. He was recently awarded an R&D grant from The National Endowment for the Humanities in support of one of his dream projects, a film about the classic 11th century Japanese novel, The Tale of Genji. Another explores the professional music world from the unique point of view of a session player - valued above all for his musicianship, allied to a willingness to yield the spotlight to others.

Before becoming active in broadcast and theatrical documentary production, Mr. Berlin spent 11 years crafting high-end corporate and institutional videos for a variety of private clients. He still enjoys taking on such projects, which he feels complement his work in documentary filmmaking.