When MaryAnn Grasso (now Anderson) was hired by the NATO in 1988, she became the organization's first new Executive Director in more than three decades. In 1996, she was promoted to Vice President.
Born in New York and raised in California, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in Art History from the University of California Riverside in 1973 and earned a Master's Degree in Library Science from the University of Oregon in 1974.
Her career in the entertainment industry began with an 11-year stint as Director of the Warner Research Collection, a specialized production research service designed to assist writers, directors, producers, scenic artists and designers with background research. In 1985, she joined the CBS television network as the Manager of its docudrama department, a post she maintained until joining NATO as Executive Director in 1988.
As Vice-President and Executive Director of NATO Anderson has been responsible for the administration and management of the national trade association which included establishing both an LA and DC office of operation. Among her accomplishments she includes the publication of the centennial tribute to exhibition, "America Goes to the Movies"; coordination of the NATO benefit day at the movies in memory of the victims of 9/11; and assisting in the development of the "Spirit of America" trailer directed by Chuck Workman which played nationwide.
She retired from her position as Vice-President and Executive Director of NATO in 2007 and continues to serve as a consultant to the organization.
In addition to her duties with NATO, Mrs. Anderson is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and on the Executive Committee of Intersociety. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Will Rogers Motion Pictures Pioneers and has served as lecturer for the American Film Institute and the UCLA and USC Theatre Arts Extension programs. In 2002, she was awarded the Dolby Laboratories STACE Award and honored in 1999 by Tripod Captioned Films for her work in promoting access to deaf and hard of hearing audiences. She was awarded the Ken Mason Inter-Society Award in 2004. She was the recipient of the Award of Commendation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (2007) for her work on the industry wide conversion to cyan dye track. Also in 2007, she was named ShoWester 2007 alongside her husband Wayne -- the first time in the convention's history to name a couple as the recipient of the industry's highest honor.
Academy Award of Commendation 2006: For their contributions to the environmentally responsible industry conversion from silver-based to cyan dye analog soundtracks. (w. Ioan R. Allen, J. Wayne Anderson, Ted Costas, Paul R. Goldberg, Shawn Jones, Tom Kuhn, Dr. Alan Masson, Colin Mossman, Martin Richards, Frank Ricotta and Richard C. Sehlin - Winners presented Special Awards)
1 Scientific/Technical Award