Personal Biography Tobias M. Shapiro Tobias Shapiro develops properties in new markets for the Elite Destination Homes division of Real Estate Equities, a St. Paul real estate firm founded in 1971. His background includes experience in the film, hospitality and publishing industries. Mr. Shapiro created Shoot In Minnesota, a film industry trade association in 2005. Mr. Shapiro attended high school at The Dalton School in New York City. He attended Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he majored in Comparative Literature. While a student at Washington University he promoted film festivals, including retrospectives of the work of Werner Herzog, Rainier Werner Fassbinder and Akira Kurosawa. From 1980 to 1985 Mr. Shapiro was a freelance production manager and location scout on commercials for Murray Bruce Productions in New York City, and Sunlight Pictures in New York and Los Angeles. Mr. Shapiro’s credits include several feature and independent films including “Bachelor Party”, “In The Shadow of Kilimanjaro”, and “Justice.” Mr. Shapiro left the film industry to develop new properties and design training programs for Tony Roma’s Corporation in Hawaii and Japan. He continued his career in the hospitality industry serving as manager of training and organization development for Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation. In 1992, he opened Woods Restaurant in St. Louis, Missouri, which he owned and operated until 1995. In 1995 Mr. Shapiro sold Woods and relocated to Saint Paul where he served as Marketing Manager for Hazelden Publishing and then as Marketing Director for Llewellyn Worldwide Publishing, Ltd. From 2003 to 2005, he was a marketing consultant and freelanced as a location scout for Healy Locations. Mr. Shapiro serves as an advisor to the Development Committee for Womens’ Advocates in St. Paul, the oldest shelter for battered women in the United States. His accomplishments include climbing Mt. Kenya in 1985.
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