Anita Ondine

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Anita Ondine Smith
Born March 16, 1974
Sydney, Australia
Nationality Australian, British
Occupation Writer, Producer, Director
Website
www.anitaondine.com

Anita Ondine Smith (born March 16, 1974) is a Australian-British filmmaker, lawyer, activist and former Senior Vice President at Lehman Brothers, the global investment bank.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Born in Sydney, Australia, Anita is the daughter of Anka Makovec, a Slovene artist and Albert Arthur Smith, an Australian carpenter.

After a short period living in the former Yugoslavia Anita and her mother moved to Tasmania, where they became deeply involved in the largest environmental battle in Australian history - the battle to save the Franklin River from being dammed. [1]

The Tasmanian Dam Case (Commonwealth v Tasmania), was a landmark decision in Australian constitutional law. After years of protests and grass roots action lead by Dr Bob Brown (now Senator Brown, leader of the Australian Greens), the High Court of Australia decided that the federal law protecting the Franklin River was valid, 4 votes to 3.[2] This landmark decision lead Anita to study law as a way to leverage existing social systems to effect social change.

Anita spent most of her childhood on the road with her mother, including hitch hiking through California at the age of 9 and living in the Outback with Aborigines and archaeologists who were searching for and cataloging indigenous rock art. It was during this time that an Aboriginal tribal elder gave Anita the name "Myarr", meaning Colors of the Rainbow. Her mother's bohemian lifestyle brought Anita into contact with many great Australian artists and writers including Judith Wright and Oodgeroo Noonuccal. [3]

Anita attended Devonport High School, where she was elected to the of the students' governing body and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" at her high school graduation. [4] [5] Anita also studied at the The Don College, where she represented Tasmania at the national Model United Nations conference [6] [7] and won the title of "Australian Champion" public speaker for a speech entitled "Youth's Commitment to World Peace" [8] [9], as well as earning top rate academic results. [10] [11] Anita was named the City of Devonport Junior Citizen of the Year in the 1992 Australia Day honors. [12] [13] [14]

Anita spent her gap year on Kibbutz Ma'abarot in Israel, where she studied Hebrew and was involved in a variety of activities including training monkeys and teaching aerobics as well as spending a week in the Israeli Army. Anita qualified as an aerobics instructor upon her return to Australia and taught aerobics classes for five years while attending university. [15]

When Anita was at university in the mid-nineties the internet was gaining momentum and Anita began to realize the potential for technology to connect people and ideas, while at the same time challenging the very foundations of intellectual property law. Anita graduated with Honors in Law from the Australian National University, where she specialized in intellectual property, technology and international law. Her graduating thesis was entitled Lex Cybertoria: International Law and Copyright on the Internet. [16]

Anita also studied Political Science, Russian and Italian and has an ongoing interest in language learning. Anita worked for the law firm Freehill, Hollingdale & Page before joining Advantra, a technology network services provider and subsidiary of IBM, Telstra and Lend Lease, as in-house counsel. In 1998 Anita wrote a book called The Millennium Bomb Disposal Kit [17] about the impact of technology on business and for several years was a frequent speaker at international conferences such as TTI/Vanguard [18], on the intersection of law and technology. [19] [20] [21]

Anita served as Chair of the Australian Information Industry Association Legal Committee, and is a member of the Australian Computer Society Economic, Legal and Social Implications Committee and a Committee Member of the NSW Society for Computers and the Law. [22] Anita represented the Australian Computer Society on the International Federation for Information Processing Technical Committee 9 (TC9) which relates to 'The relationship between Computers and Society'. [23]

In 1999, Anita moved to London, England where she helped establish the first London office of the American law firm Shaw Pittman (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman), which at the time was entirely dedicated to technology advisory services with a particular focus on outsourcing. From 2000 to 2006 Anita worked for Lehman Brothers, the global investment bank, where she performed a number of legal, operational risk management and executive administration functions and held the position of Senior Vice President. Anita was actively involved in a range of diversity initiatives including directing a short film entitled Disability Diversity at Lehman Brothers. [24]

After a decade in law and business management, Anita moved into filmmaking full time in 2006.[25]

Anita is a frequent visitor to New Paltz in Upstate New York, where she enjoys time with her sister, Mia Smith, her niece, Camryn Ashleigh Tobias and her nephew, Harrison Crosbie Tobias.

Despite living abroad for many years, Anita still identifies as being "from Tasmania" and likes to retreat there from time to time.

Anita was married to Tom Bartos from 1999 to 2008.

[edit] Current Work

Anita is currently busy writing, producing and consulting via her company, Touch Light Media. John Perry Barlow, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and former lyricist for the Grateful Dead is a member of the Touch Light Media Advisory Board. [26]

Anita's slate includes several film projects in various stages of production. The unifying element in Anita's films is a strong interest in technology, the environment and women’s stories. [27] The first feature-length film directed by Anita (Sunset Rising - unreleased) stars American singer and performance artist Rodleen Getsic and former Miss Canada and television host Juliette Powell. [28]

Anita currently serves as a Founding Board Member of BlueGlobe, a technology platform for gathering and distributing environmental stories and information. Anita is a member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and supports various collaborative culture initiatives, including the Creative Commons.

[edit] References

  1. ^ History of the Franklin River Campaign
  2. ^ Commonwealth v. Tasmania (The Tasmanian Dam Case)
  3. ^ Great Hardship in Life Can be Turned into a Great Learning Experience!, Makovec, 2006
  4. ^ The Advocate, "Devonport High's Student Leaders", March 3, 1989, p11
  5. ^ Sunday Examiner, "Student Leaders 1989", July 9, 1989, p46
  6. ^ Devonport City News, "Anita's a Tenacious Teenager", October 23, 1991
  7. ^ The Advocate, "Anita's Aiming to Talk Her Way to the Top", August 23, 1991, p7
  8. ^ The Advocate, "Devonport Student Takes National Speaking Competition", October 8, 1991, p2
  9. ^ The Sunday Tasmanian, "Anita Speaks up for Herself", August 25, 1991, p12
  10. ^ The Advocate, "Anita's Credits Put World at her Feet", January 16, 1992, p 2
  11. ^ Devonport City News, "Hard Work Pays Off", January 22, 1992
  12. ^ The Advocate, "Coasters Celebrate Nation's Birthday", January 27, 1992, p1
  13. ^ The Advocate, "Devonport Honours Local Young Citizen", January 27, 1992, p2
  14. ^ The Examiner, "MPs Take a Back Seat on Coast", January 27, 1992, p1
  15. ^ The Sunday Tasmanian, "Whatever Happened to Series: Anita Smith", May 15, 1994, p23
  16. ^ Lex Cybertoria: International Law and Copyright on the Internet, Australian National University School of Law Honors Thesis, 1997
  17. ^ The Millenium Bomb Disposal Kit on Amazon
  18. ^ Being Connected Symposium, September 23-25, 1998, Washington, DC
  19. ^ Australian Computer Society 1998 Information Industry Outlook Conference, November 7 1998, Canberra, Australia
  20. ^ Identification & Privacy Protection Conference, Stockholm, 14-15 June 1999
  21. ^ 12th Bled Electronic Commerce Conference, June 1999
  22. ^ Australian Computer Society Economic, Legal and Social Implications Committee (ELSIC)
  23. ^ IFIP Working Group 9.2: Computers and Social Accountability
  24. ^ Disability Diversity at Lehman Brothers Webcast November 2005
  25. ^ John Turturro Gala
  26. ^ Touch Light Media Advisory Board
  27. ^ From Touch Light (Website)
  28. ^ Rodleen Getsic Home Page

[edit] External links