Our Team

Executive Producers

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Alex Moreno

Alex Moreno, MPH has served in the HIV/AIDS community for the past twenty years. He was one of the executive producers for “Two Similar Strangers.”Having “graduated” from producing theater in NYC with She Knows Productions, and a brief stint as a director of rock videos (Natural Causes & Diane Ward) Alex is currently in development with Absurd Film Productions on his pilot: Disposable People and attempts to keep up being a single dad.

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David Frankel

David Frankel is our American director, screenwriter, and executive producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for his 1996 short film Dear Diary and an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the pilot episode of Entourage. He is also a producer and director, known for The Devil  Wears Prada (2006), One  Chance (2013), and Band of  Brothers (2001).

 

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS

 

NIKKI WHEELER

Nikki Wheeler is the author of See.Spot.Run. A Media Relations Playbook for getting coverage faster. She has a passion for fiction and has been a finalist in a number of screenwriting competitions.

 

 

Steve grabell

Steve Grabell is an emerging screenwriter and award-winning composer. He has a passion for telling diverse stories and bringing a new level of properly represented queer perspective to the industry.

 

 

 

Aneesha Puppala

Aneesha is a writer specializing in drama and comedy screenwriting. She is currently working as an intern at GIMx where she helps in promoting activities and media for the website.

 

Our Writers

 

 

Grace Hannoy

Grace Hannoy is an award-winning queer, female actor/writer/producer. She received her B.F.A. in Drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, from which she graduated with honors. She produced, wrote, and acted in her feature film, When We Grow Up, which has traveled to eight film festivals throughout the United States, and is now available on Amazon’s Prime Video. Grace made When We Grow Up with an entirely female crew and is dedicated to creating opportunities for women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community in all of her work. Recently, she was named a finalist for the Tangerine Entertainment Fellowship and was a participant in the 2020 Stowe Writers Retreat with her current supernatural thriller TV pilot. She has produced and consulted on several short films, web series, and theater.

 

 

Sharon Curcio

Sharon began her paid writing career as a New York City Ad Agency copywriter but essentially has always written, winning her first essay contest in third grade.  One of her lyric plays “The Diary of Joseph” was produced and the other, “Contemplating Fire”  will be produced as an opera in 2022.

As a screenwriter Sharon has written “Resonance” (teen as a hero, climate change plot); LBE (Load Bearing Equipment, an Army Intel Analyst leaves the Army to recover the body of a fellow soldier), and “Cowboy Poet” with co-writer Diana Saenz, based on the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, NV. Sharon has had two military white papers published in “Military Review.” 

In 2020 one of Sharon’s short films directed toward teenage mental health was identified for production in 2021.  Sharon’s presence in differing writing worlds, from the poetic to the technology is quite unusual. Still, it accurately reflects the worlds she has lived in, private and public sector, i.e. corporate, military, and educational environments.

 

 

 

Cherie Grant

Cherie left school at 16. She has a background in hands-on types of jobs from working in kitchens to horse racing stables to house cleaning. She started writing screenplays many years ago on and off, now more seriously. I write Comedy/Sci-Fiction Tv Pilots and Horror Features. Cherie runs a screenwriting page on Facebook and a ‘Creating Horror’ room weekly on Clubhouse. I also used to host an in-person writer’s group monthly in the city (Melbourne, Australia) until the pandemic.

 

 

 

Steve Grabell

Steve Grabell is an emerging Canadian screenwriter and filmmaker. Recently graduated from Sheridan College with a bachelor’s in Film and Television, Steve has already begun working on a TV pilot for NBC Universal. Steve has a passion for telling diverse stories and bringing a new level of properly represented queer perspective to the industry.

 

Lily Kerrigan

Lily Kerrigan is a writer, comic, and actor whose work has been produced in New York, D.C., Atlanta, and on the great big internet. Find more of her at https://lilykerriganpresents.com/.

 

 

Diana Saenz

Diana Saenz is a writer of 15 plays, 1 novel, 3 film scripts, and 5 books of poetry. She is the Founder of Boston Poet Magazine & Calendar, and Boston Poet Publishing, Artistic Director of Sangre Theatre in SF.

 

 

Julian Martin

Writer of several screenplays, a novel, and assorted poetry, rarely sticking to one genre, Julian Martin lives in the Midwest with his wife, a nurse, and his son, who will be a better writer than him when he grows up.  His website www.julianmartinwriter.com showcases samples of his work and praise for his horror script Death’s Brother. He can be reached at jmartinauthor242@gmail.com

 

 

 

Kieron j. Anthony

Kieron J. Anthony is a theatre/film New York City-based actor born in Brooklyn, then raised in the sunny twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago. An Atlantic Acting School Alum, Kieron also represented Trinidad and Tobago on the world stage for track and field as a teenager. During his collegiate years as a student-athlete at the University of Miami, FL he studied Biology/Kinesiology. Kieron is also a teaching artist at Atlantic Theater Co.

 

Our Youth Advisory Board

Jordan Patrick

Jordan Patrick is a senior majoring in both Biochemistry and Global Health Studies with two minors in Chemistry and Psychology at UM. He is passionate about a variety of different topics including infectious diseases (particularly HIV/AIDS). Since working with Promote2Prevent, he is now aware of the dire need for STD/sexual health awareness in Miami, especially amongst minority groups. Jordan also works as a Research Assistant working with the SHINE [Strengthening Health with Innovation and Engagement] research team where we examine the mental health effects that HIV has on Black women.

 

 

Gretchen Gutierrez

Gretchen has worked with ACTS for several years focusing on research-based community interventions through Connect to Protect. She partnered with grass-roots youth programs, BFREE, to promote safer sex behavior changes in high-risk youth. She also served as the first HIV+ linkage to care coordinator for adolescents in Miami-Dade County. After leaving the Divison, she joined the UM OB/GYN Department as a clinical care coordinator for survivors of human trafficking. She was also a part of the UM Gastroenterology team at the Crohns and Colitis Center.

 

 

Carly Coombs

Carly is a junior pre-medical student at the University of Miami majoring in Public Health with a minor in Chemistry. She started a Nonprofit called, Project Patient INC. The mission of the Nonprofit is to provide equitable care for the most vulnerable in her community. Carly is a part of the ACTS team. She is dedicated to testing, educating, and connecting the community with resources for HIV and STDs. Carly is passionate about health care and improving the individuals lives in her community, one patient at a time.

 

 

 

Joe Recker

Joe Recker is a Senior at the University of Miami double-majoring in marine science and biology. He currently serves as the president and founder of oSTEM at the University of Miami, social media chair of Rho Rho Rho marine honor society, and chair on Dean of Students disciplinary board. He has completed independent research in DNA genomics and coral restoration. He has interned at Shedd Aquarium, Frost Science Museum, Mote Marine Laboratory, DNA Labs International, and National Consortium for the Study and Prevention of Terrorism. He was a semifinalist for the National Point Foundation Scholarship and Vivian Giller Impact Award. He has a passion for diversity and inclusion for underrepresented individuals in STEM fields.

 

Jack Graham

Jack Graham was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He has a background in theater and acting, which greatly influences his work with the YAB. Currently working to become an HIV tester and sexual health counselor, amongst other things, Jack hopes to continue doing social justice work in the Miami community.

 

 

Aubrey Hill

Aubrey is a native of Las Vegas Nevada. She has received countless academic awards in her career.She is a member of the Junior National Young Leaders and has been nominated for a seat on the Nevada Junior Legislation. She enjoys speaking to issues that affect teens and creating Legislation to help. Aubrey is on a championship Softball team and is currently studying Japanese Animation in preparation for her trip abroad. Most recently she received the President’s Award for Excellence in Academics.

 

 

Sarah Bronnberg

Sarah Bronnberg is a new employee of ACTS. She is going into her junior year at the University of Miami. She is majoring in Health Sciences on the pre-med track, with minors in Public Health, Chemistry, and Psychology. She plans to go to medical school after she graduates to continue her path of becoming a doctor. Sarah is a first-generation American since both of her parents were born in Russia. Russian happens to be her first language!

 

 

 

Anne Jean Baptiste

Anne Jean Baptiste is a senior at the University of Miami pursuing a dual degree in public health and international studies with minors in gender studies and health management. Anne began working at ACTS in January of 2020. During her time at ACTS she has participated in a number of outreach events and have led an independent initiative to bring HIV/STD testing to the comfort of college students’ homes. She plans to begin graduate school studies in the fall of 2022 and continue her studies in public health.