PRODUCTION CREW
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/CREATOR
Nicole Mendez
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR
Joe Camareno
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Stephanie Wiand
PRODUCER/UPM
Laura Buckles
PRODUCER
Patrick Phillips
DIRECTOR
Regina Ainsworth
SCREENWRITER
Nicole J. Butler
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Daniel Button
SERIES EDITOR
Paul Millet
SCORE
Andy Georges
POST-PRODUCTION SOUND
Dean Robaina
Production Company
Official Website
Made Possible by a Generous Grant From the UniHealth Foundation
Official Website
Nicole Mendez - Executive Producer/Creator
Nicole Mendez, MA, MFT, is the Executive Director of the Mendez National Institute of Transplantation Foundation (MNITF), and the creator and Executive Producer of Fixing Paco. As a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with a background in the psychosocial issues of chronically ill patients, Nicole quickly recognized that the needs of End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and kidney transplant recipients were not being met, primarily in accessing transplantation, comprehending transplantation as treatment option, and successfully living with a kidney transplant. In response, Nicole created the Community & Patient Education Department at MNITF, which included creating, developing, and overseeing the Community End-Stage Renal Disease Program, the One-on-One Kidney Transplant Program, and the MNITF Mentor Program. A frequent guest speaker, she is called upon to give educational talks on the importance of comprehensive education for ESRD patients and kidney transplant recipients, and using the program model of peers as educators.
Joe Camareno - Executive Producer/Director
Joe Camareno is an American entertainment professional who hails from Los Angeles. He is also a multi-award-winning producer, writer, director, and producing partner and co-owner of Celtino Entertainment Group (CEG). He was nominated for a 2019 Imagen Award in the Best Actor category for Tin Holiday, alongside Antonio Banderas, Andy Garcia, and Anthony Ramos.
A true New Media pioneer, Joe took Best Audio Recording honors for his comedic narrative podcast Virgin Falls (2006 Parsec Award), one of the first podcasts of its day. Most recently, he was the series director for the web series Sister President, as well as the educational web series Fixing Paco, starring Paul Rodriguez. Joe’s work on “Paco” lead to him taking Best Director honors at the 2012 Reel Rasquache Film and Art Festival, and the series went on to receive a 2013 People’s Telly Silver Award for Best Program or Webisode, in addition to several 2013 and 2014 Imagen Award nominations, Joe was also the series director and producer for the 2010 Imagen Award-winning web series Ylse.
With a solid background in theater and live show production, Joe has produced and directed a number of original plays at theater companies across Los Angeles, including the critically acclaimed Lost Angeles at the Lillian Theater in Hollywood. As a writer of educational children’s shows, Joe co-wrote The Environmental Defenders, produced by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LACDPW), as a touring production for the Los Angeles County elementary schools from 1995 to 2005. Praised for its merits by educators and a fast favorite among students, The Environmental Defenders won numerous awards, including the 1999 Productivity & Quality Award of Los Angeles County; the 1999 PRSA Prism Award; a 2001 Telly Award; the 2000 National Association of Counties Achievement Award; and the 2000 Association of Visual Communicators Award of Distinction.
As an actor, Joe has a career spanning over 25 years in front of the camera, having performed in more than 400 TV commercials and over 600 radio spots. He has been a campaign actor for Farmers Insurance and AT&T, as well as the campaign voice for Homeland Security, White Castle, Burger King, Taco Bell, Citre Shine Shampoo, and most recently, NutriBullet Rx. He has guest-starred on many hit television shows, including memorable recurring roles on The Shield and Unfabulous. Film roles include Expired, Tin Holiday, and Edith & Harvey.
His latest feature film Tin Holiday has garnered multiple nominations and wins including Best Director, Best Comedy, and Best Story all across the globe. It also just got picked up for distribution on Here Media's Here TV network!
Stephanie Wiand - Executive Producer
Stephanie Wiand is an award-winning producer and screenwriter, a producing partner and co-owner of CEG, and a marketing executive with more than 15 years of experience in brand development, creative direction, and copywriting. Currently, she is Director of Communications for MouseTrap Films/Film Festival Flix, a Los Angeles-based film distribution company and theatrical event series that takes award-winning independent films from festivals around the world, directly to U.S. theaters each month. Previously, she led marketing and sales efforts as Vice President of a national cosmetics manufacturing company, where she successfully branded and launched two new product lines, while securing major accounts including, Whole Foods Market and Drugstore.com.
As a copywriter and creative consultant, Stephanie has been a valued asset for both boutique-sized and national reach companies, and her winning approach to marketing has been successfully tapped by major studios and companies including, SOAPnet/Disney Channel, Universal Studios, and Toyota. While creating web content for celebrity comedian talent agency, Parallel Entertainment in 2005, Stephanie also wrote promotional copy for the “Blue Collar Comedy Channel,” produced with SIRIUS Satellite Radio, for A-list comics, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, and Larry the Cable Guy.
Stephanie’s entertainment career began as an actor and live show host for Nickelodeon’s Game Lab, and she performed in regional theater, numerous television commercials, TV soaps, and voiceover before transitioning into writing and producing. She has been involved in a number of highly successful Web/New Media projects, including being a part of the writing staff and cast of the 2006 PARSEC Award-winning podcast, Virgin Falls; a producer on the 2010 IMAGEN Award-winning Web series, Ylse; and a producer on the multi-award winning edutainment series, Fixing Paco, starring Paul Rodriguez; Fixing Paco awards and nominations include People’s Telly Silver Winner 2013, Program or Webisode; IMAGEN Awards 2013 Nominee, Best Web Series; and 2012 Reel Rasquache Best Webisode. CEG’s short-form documentary and companion piece to the Fixing Paco series, Fixing Paco: Changing Lives, was an Official Selection, Short Form Documentary at the 2013 Reel Rasquache Film Festival, with Stephanie serving as the off-camera interviewer, as well as writer and producer. She also voiced characters on Electric Farm Entertainment’s hit, animated Web series, Afterworld, which was a 2008 TV Guide Online Video Award Nominee for Best Animated Series, and a 12th Annual Webby Awards Nominee for Drama: Series. As a playwright, Stephanie’s original play for women, Scenes Through The Bathroom Window, was work-shopped Off-Off-Broadway before its critically acclaimed World Premiere in Los Angeles in 2000, and she was a screenwriter, producer, and lead actor in CEG’s 2011 Reel Rasquache Best Feature Award-winning cult comedy, Revenge of the Bimbot Zombie Killers, which was recently acquired for distribution by MouseTrap Films.
Regina Ainsworth - Director
Regina Ainsworth's passion for amplifying authentic experiences that can inspire positive social change is what drives her activism in both her leadership and cinematic worlds. Born of the theatre as an actress, dancer, writer, and director, Ainsworth spent a year amongst West End productions in London, and upon returning stateside, began directing regional theatre. Warner Bros. Television was her film school, as she worked with and observed over 120 productions, including Arrow, The Leftovers, Blindspot, Pretty Little Liars, and Westworld. It was after auditing the Television Director’s Workshop (a program she helped launch) that she made the transition into freelance directing full-time.
Regina’s most recent credits include two episodes of the indie dramedy Linked by Love, award-winning short films in Recombined (YA sci-fi), Perchance to Dream (supernatural horror), and proof of concepts Unveiled (magical realism), and Stay (drama). When not actively filming you can find her dub directing for Netflix and Walt Disney Studios.
Regina is a two-time DGA Latino Committee Co-Chair and co-founder of Los Directores, a Guild-level collective of Latin Directors and Director’s team members who are dedicated to making the invisible visible, via equitable employment.
Nicole J. Butler - Screenwriter
Nicole J. Butler, Chicago-raised, Hawk Eye-educated actress, and content creator moved to Hollywood with $200. She got stuck on a carousel of inflexible day jobs that she hated, spent money on bad headshots, gave terrible auditions, quit acting, got burned out, went completely broke, and had to move to THAT neighborhood (oh, you know the one)... and after years of doing it wrong, she finally started getting it right.
In the past 20 years, Nicole has worked consistently, in front of- and behind the camera, on stage, and at the voice over mic. She has appeared in over 100 commercials, television shows, and independent projects, combined, and her varied experiences have given her a well-rounded perspective of the entertainment industry. Press coverage of Nicole includes HuffPost, CNN, Insider.com, The Hollywood Reporter, The Chicago Sun-Times, FOX LA, WGN Radio, and actors’ trade publication, Backstage.
Nicole is best known as “She Shed Cheryl” from State Farm’s viral “She Shed” commercial. She also wrote, produced, and starred in Sister President, a dramedy series distributed by GenreTV. Linked By Love is her most-recent completed project, and she has several other projects in various stages of development.
You can find her at NicoleJButler.com or on social media at @NicoleJButler.
Andy Georges - Score
Andy Georges is an award-winning film composer/songwriter and record producer based in Los Angeles California. A multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, he's known for composing as well as playing all the instruments in his film scores and songs. The musical knowledge and experience he's acquired through his career allow him to incorporate a huge range of styles and sounds into his projects. From an intimate small ensemble of instruments, some that he builds himself, to full orchestral and electronic compositions. He's had songs placed in films such as Run Fatboy Run starring Simon Pegg, My Life in Ruins, starring Nia Vardalos, Letters to Juliet, starring Amanda Seyfried, and most recently composed additional music on the hit TV series Criminal Minds.
Dean Robaina - Post-Production Sound
Dean Robaina is an award-winning director, composer, and post audio sound designer/mixer based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He most recently created the sound design and provided the post audio mix for the 2 time Sun Coast Regional Emmy winning film, Hero Of A Thousand Faces. He currently has his 5.1 surround mix for award-winning feature film, Marcus being streamed on the curated hit movie platform, Starz. He is the owner & creative director of D5 Media Group, LLC in South Florida, which provides full post audio productions for local & regional film makers. His studio is well equipped with the latest audio hardware and software and provides ADR recording, music recording/production, dialogue/music editing as well as complete post audio mixes in stereo & 5.1 surround for commercials, shorts, and feature length films.