Bruce Johnson,
President/Chief Executive Officer
Email: bjohnson@porchlight.com
Bruce Johnson is recognized as a prolific creative talent, with numerous producing credits for feature films, television movies, series, specials, and documentaries. A multiple Emmy Award winner, Johnson co-founded PorchLight Entertainment in 1995 with the entire family as its target audience.
From a start-up company in 1995, PorchLight has emerged as one of the world’s leading independent family entertainment companies, distributing a library of more than 1500 episodes of children’s programming and nearly 200 movies. The Company’s divisions include Children’s Programming and Prime Time Entertainment, Worldwide Program Sales, DVD Distribution, Educational Media, Licensing & Merchandising and Digital Media.
Johnson’s recent executive producing credits include Tutenstein, the multiple Emmy-Award winning animated series for Discovery Kids; Secret Saturdays for Cartoon Network; and six best-selling LeapFrog DVDS including A Tad of Christmas Cheer. He also created and executive produced the award winning Adventures from The Book of Virtues. Under Johnson’s leadership, the company has produced nearly 400 episodes of animation and over 40 movies, delivering programming to a wide variety of U.S. networks including PBS, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, ABC Family, Disney Channel, Lifetime, Showtime, HBO, History Channel, Discovery, Animal Planet, Sci Fi Channel and others.
Prior to forming PorchLight, Johnson was Executive Vice President and General Manager of Hanna-Barbera Entertainment Co. He was involved with the development and launch of the Cartoon Networks worldwide for Turner Entertainment, following Turner’s acquisition of Hanna-Barbera in 1991.
Johnson is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Morris, with a B.A. degree in English. In 2002, he was named a Distinguished Graduate of the university. He also received Master's and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University. He’s married, has one child and is an avid weekend tennis player.
Don Mirisch,
Senior Vice President
Email: dmirisch@PorchLight.com
Don Mirisch brings to PorchLight over twenty-five years of entertainment industry experience. He founded and served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of MGM Animation, producing and distributing theatrical and direct-to-video features and television series including “All Dogs Go to Heaven 2”, “The Pebble and the Penguin”, “The Pink Panther” and “Babes in Toyland”. Previously, he was Senior Vice President of MGM’s Entertainment Business Group, with responsibility for corporate business affairs, including feature and television production, acquisition and distribution, music, merchandising and licensing.
Earlier, Don headed business affairs for such companies as Hanna-Barbera, Embassy Home Entertainment and PolyGram Pictures. His varied career includes stints at Twentieth-Century Fox and Universal. He is a cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brandeis University, a cum laude graduate of the Harvard Law School, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the State Bar of California.
Shea Fontana,
Vice President Children’s Programming
Email: sfontana@porchlight.com
Shea Fontana manages the development, production, and acquisitions of PorchLight’s Children’s Programming department. Ms. Fontana joined PorchLight in 2006 and has been deeply involved in the production of PorchLight’s animated programming slate including THE SECRET SATURDAYS (Cartoon Network), TUTENTSTEIN (Discovery Kids) and LeapFrog’s A TAD OF CHRISTMAS CHEER. Ms. Fontana’s industry experience apart from PorchLight includes producing a short film adaptation of the DEAD@17 comic book, writing for SUSHI PACK (CBS), and production work for The Jim Henson Company, where she worked with the innovative Henson digital puppetry animation system.
Herb Dorfman,
General Manager, Home Entertainment
Email: hdorfman@porchlight.com
Herb Dorfman joined PorchLight with a career of twenty years in the home entertainment business. He was President of Passport home video where he developed their sales and marketing strategies for licensed and proprietary content including shows like the iconic “Abbott and Costello Television Show,” and Shemp Howard: A Toast to the Original Stooge.
He founded and was President and CEO of Steeplechase Entertainment Corporation, providing consulting services to domestic and international producers and distributors including companies such as Image Entertainment, Overseas Film Group and others.
Herb joined Orion Home Video at the inception of their company as a Regional Manager. Thereafter he was promoted to Divisional Manager, Senior Vice President culminating as President of Orion Home Video and Executive Vice President of Orion Home Entertainment. During his senior management tenure he oversaw the very successful home video release of the Oscar winning“ Dances With Wolves”, “Silence Of The Lambs”, “Blue Sky” and many others. Herb is a graduate of Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.
