John S. Johnson III

Founder
Eyebeam founder and Chair of its Board of Directors from 1997 to 2008, filmmaker John S. Johnson III studied Mathematics and Philosophy at St. John's College and Film at New York University. John Johnson is the founder and chairperson of the Pacific Foundation, which funds innovation in the arts, environment and social justice. He is the chairperson and co-founder of buzzfeed.com, a startup company that detects and accelerates on-line buzz about interesting topics.

In addition to founding Eyebeam, John’s background in the non-profit sector includes conceiving of and founding such well regarded institutions as the Filmmakers Collaborative (the venerable indie film non-profit that has been reborn as a film fund), the Screenwriters Colony, and May68. He serves and has served in various capacities at arts and science organizations including:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution - Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Technology Committee; Nantucket Film Festival - Board of Directors, Film Selection Committee; Taos Film Festival - Board of Advisors; Rockport Film School - Lecturer. Mr. Johnson is the Writer, Director, Co-Producer of two films, Without a Trace, June 10, 1979, 16mm film, 1991 and RATCHET, 35mm feature film, 1996.

Recently, John and his wife Susan Short, also an artist, documentarian and naturalist, purchased and renovated an old hotel in Nosara, Costa Rica in an effort to save it from being purchased and developed into a major international commercial-chain facility.