Organization

Michael is the Executive Creative Director of Arnell Group, an Advertising, Marketing and Branding Agency in NYC.  Prior to being named ECD in 2011, he served as the Creative Director of Brand Development, a unique position that was created specifically for him when he worked at DDB New York. Working with both the creative and strategy departments, Michael developed brand visions and creative platforms for various clients that inform and drive every facet of communications, product innovation and corporate culture. For seven years, he was Global Creative Director on Jose Cuervo International, working with local agencies around the world to implement global campaigns for JCI’s extensive portfolio of tequilas. He has tackled a diverse range of creative and strategic challenges for Belvedere Vodka, Samsung, Martha Stewart, Chanel, Playboy, Tommy Hilfiger, Almay/Revlon, LVMH, Lipton Tea, Hersheys, Knorr, Philips, Pepsi, Naked Juices, Sobe Lifewater, GNC, Mars/Masterfoods, Post-it, several watch brands, a variety of luxury hotel properties and The Guggenheim Museum. Michael has led several brand creation and product innovation initiatives, including Rbk for Reebok and directed AG’s pro-bono redesign of The Trevor Project’s visual identity.  Michael has also lent his marketing expertise, time and energy to the Empire State Pride Agenda, Stockings With Care, First Day New York, Special Olympics, NYPD, FDNY, NewFest and The Dramatists Guild. 

 Christian is an attorney admitted to the State Bar of California. He currently serves as Legal Director of Global Brand & IP Litigation at Yahoo! Inc. As a member of Yahoo!’s Intellectual Property Asset Management team, Christian’s role is a global one, in which he is responsible for managing a heavy litigation docket as well as focusing on Yahoo!’s anti-phishing and anti-spam efforts, and managing Yahoo!’s consumer facing portfolio of brands, including Yahoo!, Flickr, and Maktoob.

Prior to joining Yahoo!, Christian was at the firm of Keats McFarland & Wilson LLP in Beverly Hills, California. While at KMW, Christian enjoyed the distinct opportunity to work with some of the world’s most recognizable brands and intellectual property content providers, including major motion picture studios, multi-platinum Grammy award-winning artists, and leading video game producers. Christian handled intellectual property licensing deals and high-tech commercial litigation matters in both state and federal court, which included defending Yahoo! in multiple class action cases.

Prior to practicing law, Christian’s career in the field of electronic commerce led him to work for companies such as LowerMyBills.com, where he held the position of E-Commerce Sales Manager, establishing leading-edge cost-per-acquisition business deals with consumer services vendors in the growing online marketplace.

Christian regularly speaks on topics relating to online brand enforcement and IP litigation, as well as LGBT rights issues. He is an ardent proponent of inclusive corporate workplace environments and has been awarded the Out and Proud Corporate Counsel Award by the National LGBT Bar Association.

A longtime motion picture production and marketing executive, Ricky Strauss joined The Walt Disney Studios as President of Marketing in January 2012. He oversees the Studios’ global marketing strategy encompassing creative, media, digital, promotions, publicity, research and synergy across all distribution channels for motion pictures released under the Walt Disney Pictures (including Walt Disney Animation and Pixar Animation), Marvel Studios, and Touchstone Pictures banners, which includes DreamWorks Studios films released via Touchstone. The Studios’ slate of 2012-13 films includes “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Disney•Pixar’s “Brave,” Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie,” Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Wreck-It Ralph,” Sam Raimi’s “Oz The Great And Powerful,” Marvel’s “Iron Man 3,” and Disney’s “The Lone Ranger,” starring Johnny Depp. Ricky previously served as President of Participant Media for seven years, presiding over all feature film production, acquisition and marketing efforts, as well as television and publishing activities. Among the acclaimed films that Participant produced under his tenure are the Academy Award®-winning 2011 blockbuster “The Help,” “Contagion,” “Good Night and Good Luck,” “Syriana,” “The Kite Runner,” “North Country,” “The Visitor,” the Academy Award®-winning documentaries “An Inconvenient Truth” and “The Cove,” “Food Inc.,” “Waiting for ‘Superman,’ ” and “PAGE ONE: Inside the New York Times.” Participant’s companion books for “Food, Inc.” and “Waiting for ‘Superman,’ ” published by PublicAffairs, are both New York Times best-sellers. Prior to joining Participant, Ricky ran his own film and television production company, Ricochet Entertainment, where he executive produced “The Sweetest Thing,” starring Cameron Diaz, among other projects. Before Ricochet, Ricky served as Senior Vice President of Production at Sony, where he developed and supervised film projects for the studio. From 1988 to 1997, he served as an advertising executive at Columbia Pictures, creating award winning ad campaigns for many feature films. A longtime supporter of social issues and community service, Ricky served on the Board of Directors for Project Angel Food, the Los Angeles-based non-profit organization that delivers hot meals to homebound persons with AIDS and other serious illnesses. He is currently the Chair Emeritus of The Trevor Project Board of Directors, which operates the only 24 hour national suicide lifeline for troubled gay youth, and is a filmmaker mentor for Project: Involved, a fellowship program sponsored by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping independent filmmakers. Ricky attended the University of Vermont, graduating Phi Beta Kappa (cum laude) with a BA in English.

Lisa Brende was born and raised in Woodland Hills, California, and currently resides in Los Feliz. She has been a realtor with Coldwell Banker since 2002, and specializes in the sale of residential real estate in the Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, Silver Lake and West Hollywood. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Studies from UC Santa Barbara. Lisa has been actively involved in other charitable organizations over the past several years, and participated as a cyclist in the California Aids Ride in 2003. Lisa has been volunteering with the Trevor Project as a Helpline Counselor since February 2008, and joined the Board of Directors in March 2009.

Andre Caraco serves as Executive Vice President of Motion Picture Publicity for Sony Pictures Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, where he develops and oversees the key domestic publicity strategies on all feature films released by Columbia Pictures.

Since his promotion to his current role in 2006, Caraco has been directly responsible for devising, developing, and executing the press strategies for 25  #1 films and such box office hits as The Amazing Spider-Man, Men in Black 3, 21 Jump Street, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Spider-Man 3, Quantum of Solace, Angels & Demons, The Social Network, The Other Guys, Eat Pray Love, Salt, Grown Ups, The Karate Kid, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, Sony Pictures Animation’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 2012, Zombieland, Julie & Julia, The Ugly Truth, District 9, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Superbad, Step Brothers, Hancock, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Pineapple Express, 21, Ghost Rider, and The Pursuit of Happyness, among others.  He is currently overseeing the publicity campaigns for Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond adventure, starring Daniel Craig; the animated family comedy Hotel Transylvania; Zero Dark Thirty, directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal; Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Paul Greengrass; and After Earth, starring Jaden Smith and Will Smith, among many other films.

Caraco began his career at sister company TriStar Pictures 1989, rising from a junior publicist in the field department at TriStar to Vice President of National Publicity at Columbia within a five-year period.  He was later promoted to Senior Vice President of Publicity, and in that role he created and executed national publicity campaigns for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, The Da Vinci Code, both Charlie's Angels films, Maid in Manhattan, Big Fish, The Pink Panther, and Casino Royale, among dozens of others.

Caraco has been a volunteer with the Trevor Project for the past 11 years.  Most recently, he has worked with the Communications Committee team to help guide Trevor’s annual events, celebrity outreach, and corporate initiatives.

Joel Flatow is General Manager, West Coast Operations and Senior Vice President, Artist and Industry Relations for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the trade association which represents the major U.S. recording companies. Flatow is the lead contact for all RIAA functions and operations on the west coast, including leading RIAA’s state relations, politics and policy for California and serving as its voice in the State Legislature in Sacramento, in addition to being the chief liaison to entertainment and political figures in Los Angeles. Flatow created (and currently heads) the RIAA’s artist relations program, building relationships directly with individual recording artists and producing major music events on Capitol Hill, as well as for Presidential Conventions and Inaugurals. He also created and heads the industry relations department, for which he was termed in a recent L.A. Times profile (July 14, 2008) as “The RIAA’s Musical Diplomat.” He previously served as Legislative Director of the Congressional Arts Caucus, advocating for Federal support for the arts within Congress, and also served as Special Assistant to the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He is a graduate of Yale University, as well as Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music Pre-Colleges and serves on the Board of AIDs Project Los Angeles (APLA). He’s proud to have served as Co-Chair of Trevor’s 2008 and 2009 NYC Gala.

James Lecesne has been telling stories for over twenty-five years. He created several one-person shows including WORD OF MOUTH, which won the NY Drama Desk Award and The NY Outer Critics Circle Award.  TREVOR, which started out as a piece he performed in WORD OF MOUTH, was later turned into a short film and went on to receive the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short .  TREVOR also inspired THE TREVOR PROJECT.  He created THE ROAD HOME: Stories of Children of War, which was presented at the Asia Society in NYC as well as at the International Peace Initiative at the Hague.  For TV, he adapted Armistead Maupin’s FURTHER TALES OF THE CITY and has written for the popular TV show WILL & GRACE.  James also founded The After The Storm Foundation, a non profit arts organization designed to benefit the youth of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and he is the executive producer of the award winning documentary film, AFTER THE STORM, which inspired high school drama clubs and community theaters around the country to get involved in the movement to revive New Orleans.  He has written three novels for young adults, and he is the editor of an anthology entitled THE LETTER Q, a collection of letters written by queer writers to their younger selves.  As an actor, James has appeared on stage and in TV and film. Favorites include Sex & The City, Home for the Holidays, the original off-Broadway production of Caryl Churchill’s CLOUD 9, the 30th anniversary production of BOYS IN THE BAND, EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES, written and directed by Eve Ensler, Doug Wright’s, I AM MY OWN WIFE and the 2012 Broadway revival of Gore Vidal's THE BEST MAN on Broadway. He teaches Story & Structure at the New York Film Academy. 

Scott A. McPhail was born and raised in Wichita, KS., where upon graduating from the University of Kansas in 1994, he moved to Los Angeles to begin working in the entertainment industry. In 1996, Scott began at DreamWorks Studios working in the art department within the animation division. In 1998, Scott became a founding board member of the Kansas Connection, inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the communication and education between the heartland and the entertainment industry in Hollywood. In 1999 Scott produced the award-winning short film, The Good Things. In 2000, Mr. McPhail left DreamWorks Studios to produce his second film, Nice Guys Finish Last. After touring the film festival circuit, Scott was named head of Business Development for Without a Box, the online film festival submission service. In 2002, Scott returned to DreamWorks Animation where he helped develop and build the Animation Marketing and Production Services department, where he currently serves as Sr. Manager within the Department. Within the Trevor Project organization, Scott has served as co-chair of Cracked Xmas 8, 9 and 10. In addition, Scott currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Board Development Committee for the organization.

Ruben Ramirez is a Contributing Correspondent and National Assignment Editor for PBS' Nightly Business Report.  In addition to his current duties, Ramirez writes a weekly blog for NBR.com.  He is based in New York.  Prior to joining NBR, Ramirez was a Reporter and Producer at Reuters Television covering business and financial news. Ramirez reported and produced for Reuters Television around the world and played a key role in the coverage of Hurricane Katrina. Prior to joining Reuters, Ramirez was a producer at CNN and CNN Financial News.

While at CNN, Ramirez was part of the network`s Emmy-Award winning coverage of 9/11. Ramirez began his career at ABC News in New York working for Good Morning America and World News Tonight Weekend. Ruben Ramirez studied Finance and Broadcast Journalism at Boston University.

Ramirez holds memberships in various professional organizations including NATAS, NAHJ and NLGJA. Ramirez is a native of Austin, Texas.

In his spare time he enjoys downhill skiing, running, live music and cheering for the Tennessee Titans.