Shannon Castleman

Shannon is the founder and executive director of Oakwood Arts. She was an arts educator who taught at universities from 2004- 2017. She is also an artist/photographer, who has been published in many national syndicated publications and has exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. At the start of her career as a photographer, she supplemented her income by working a variety of productions jobs, in a host of different positions. In 1998 she was an On-Set PA on Denzel Washington’s film Remember the Titans. For the last 14 years, she has been married to a Prop Master who has been working in the industry for more than 25 years. This has given her a front-row seat to the inner workings of some of the largest productions filmed in Virginia. Prior to founding Oakwood Arts, she and her husband formed an LLC that assisted production with a variety of matters. That company helped her to make connections and form relationships with industry professionals who are still assisting OA JET’s programs today.

Jasmine Elmore

OA JET Coordinator

Jasmine joined the OAJet program in October of 2021 and has continued working with Oakwood Arts as a mentor following her graduation. In May of 2022, she officially began working with Oakwood as a Production Coordinator and OAJet Program Coordinator. Jasmine is a multimedia installation artist, filmmaker, and curator who has a passion for advocating for marginalized peoples. She obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Photo/Film from VCUarts, her concentration being film. Outside of her degree, Jasmine’s work extends to an eclectic range of mediums including: photography, soundscape development, paint, sculpture, writing, and craft studies. Jasmine’s love for film and video production derive from the ability to blend a range of art forms into one. In addition to her own practice, Jasmine enjoys volunteering within the local community and hopes to become a Director of Photography and educator as she gains more experience in the film industry.