CREW
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Nicole Mendez
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Anthony J. Rickert Epstein
PRODUCER / DIRECTOR
Joe Camareno
SCREENWRITER
Gabriela Lopez de Dennis
PRODUCER
Stephanie Wiand
SCREENWRITER
Sorel Kaire
Production Company
Official Website
Production Company
Official Website
Made Possible by a Generous Grant From the UniHealth Foundation
Official Website
Nicole Mendez - Executive Producer
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 a 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 - 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 - 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.