Mary Lou Chlipala is the program coordinator in the Department of Screen Arts & Cultures since 1998. Mary Lou started her professional career as a high school Drama and Physical Education teacher in Michigan and Colorado before moving into the university educational system. She spent 17 years working at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama where she was director of marketing and ticket sales plus managing director of CMU Drama's Showcase of New Plays. What attracted Mary Lou to the U-M was the University's commitment to writers, especially in Screen Arts & Cultures' Screenwriting program, the James Gindin Visiting Artist Series, and the opportunity to be co-founder and co-producer of the U-M Festival of New Works, a developmental workshop that staged a new play, musical, and a screenplay.