Leonard Manzo, longtime director of production and safety at Emerson, will no longer serve in the position as of Jan. 27, according to a Thursday evening email to the Visual and Media Arts department.

Manzo, whose tenure began in Dec. 2011, will be replaced by Homa Sarabi-Daunais, an affiliated instructor in the visual and media arts department since May 2021. Sarabi-Daunais will hold the position while the college conducts a search for a permanent director of production and safety, according to the email by Visual and Media Arts Department Chair Cristina Kotz Cornejo.

Sarabi-Daunais holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film/Cinema/Video Studies from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and a Bachelor of Arts degree in photography from the University of Tehran. She worked as an associate producer at WBUR before becoming a film location coordinator at Emerson in Nov. 2018. 

Kotz Cornejo noted that any and all safety issues should be directed to Sarabi-Daunais’ email, as the department is in the process of securing a new safety hotline phone number.

The email did not indicate a reason for Manzo’s departure. It is unclear if he will continue with the college in another capacity.