Phoebe Brown — Producer, The Founders
Phoebe Brown is an independent producer and seasoned film and television professional working in both narrative production as an on-set dresser for shows including Sundance’s Rectify, CW’s The Originals and Tyler Perry’sFor Better or Worse and as an Associate Producer for nonfiction programming for Investigation Discovery, Cooking Channel and PBS. Phoebe is co-founder of The Cross Stitch Project, a media production program for teen girls in Kolkata and Atlanta, and awarding winning Producer/Director of short documentaries Grounded by Reality, 99 to 1: Ovarian Cancer and Me and The Culinary Browns. She received her MFA in Digital Filmmaking Arts from Georgia State University. Currently Phoebe is in post production on short narrative film Leaving Charlie and pre-production on several projects including: Osman AKA OZZY, A hybrid doc shooting in April; Black Comedy, an independent romantic comedy feature; and Shuktara, a feature documentary shooting in India in October 2016. Phoebe became a member of the Producers Guild of America in 2015.
Carrie Schrader — Co-Director/Co-Writer/Producer, The Founders
Carrie Schrader is a writer/director whose recent work includes spots for Netflix (BatDad add) and TLC (Say Yes to the Dress) and multiple projects with Mighty Fine Pictures for clients such as Home Depot, the PGA of America, and WE TV. Her short films and screenplays, including Boys and Dogs and Kids Are Weird, Mine andFirst Date, have won film festival audience awards internationally. She won the “New Voices” award at the Seattle International Film Festival, and was labeled one of the “Top Ten Director’s To Watch Out For” by IndieWire.com. She has directed 3 projects with Cherry Films: Don’t Mess With Texas distributed by Wolfe Video, written by Tricia Cooke and Ethan Coen (Where the Girls Are, The Big Lebowski); The Thorny Rose written by Kenneth Hillman; and an animated music video for Hollywood records called Rock & Roll Heaven’s Gate. She has an MFA in film directing from Columbia University.
Christopher Hicks — Director, Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment
On February 24, 2016, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced that Christopher Hicks will serve as the new Director of the Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment. Hicks has lived in Atlanta since 1996 and has led an accomplished career in the entertainment industry, working with some of the most successful national and international artists to come from Atlanta. Hicks has also been an entrepreneur, running his own production and publishing houses based in Atlanta.
Hicks served as the Executive Vice President of Island Def Jam Records, part of Universal Music Group, from 2009 to 2012, splitting his time between Atlanta and New York. In this role, Hicks was part of the team to launch Justin Bieber’s career. He reported directly to the Chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam and was in charge of the creative staff across the record label.
“I am excited to serve Mayor Reed as a member of his administration and the City of Atlanta, where I’ve made my home for the last 20 years,” said Hicks. “The film and entertainment industry is surging in Atlanta, boosting the economy in the city and across our state. I am thrilled to help advance this industry and support this growing talent pool in my new role.”
From 2007 to 2009, Hicks was Senior Vice President and Head of Urban Music at Warner Chappell, part of the Warner Music Group. He was responsible for reinvigorating the urban music division, which had once been a dominant part of the Warner Music Group business.
Hicks also founded and served as CEO of Noontime Music Publishing, and was a managing partner with CONTENT Music Group, where he consulted for Mary J. Blige and Usher Raymond. In 2012, Hicks launched his own production and consulting practice, DSRPT INC., where he advised clients from diverse industries on traditional and non-traditional brand visibility strategies. In his free time, Hicks enjoys volunteering with The First Tee, a youth organization which provides character education and healthy opportunities through golf lessons.
Christopher Hicks succeeds LaRonda Sutton in this role. Sutton was the first director of the Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment and held her post from 2013 through January 2016.
