OUR TEAM
JANET CRAIG, Director
Having directed numerous theatre productions and over a dozen short films, Janet Craig stepped into the roles of director, co-writer, and actress for WAKE UP. Studying at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, Janet acquired her degree in Theatre while playing on the nationally-ranked women’s tennis team. After earning world rankings in both singles and doubles as a professional tennis player, Janet moved to Los Angeles to further pursue her acting career. With experience performing in a wide variety of roles on network television, film, and in theatre, Janet embodies a versatile set of skills, all of which were utilized in the creation of WAKE UP.
WAKE UP was inspired by Janet’s personal experience as a foster parent and her passion to do all she can to bring freedom, hope, and healing to trafficked youth. She is currently in development on a television series.
MARK DAVID, Producer, Cinematographer
Mark David is an award-winning Writer, Director and Cinematographer. David's third independent feature film,"American Cowslip" (2010) starred Diane Ladd, Rip Torn, Cloris Leachman, Bruce Dern, Val Kilmer, Peter Falk and Lin Shaye. The film was released in North America through Warner Bros. and E1. American Cowslip, in which David directed the legendary Peter Falk in his last big screen appearance took out top honors at the 2010 Albuquerque Film Festival. David's work as a filmmaker often showcases his multi-faceted abilities as a director, cinematographer, editor and producer. A musician since childhood, Houston-born David's work in the visual medium began when he directed a music video for his former rock band "The Agency", while living in Austin, TX. The video caught the attention of the festival circuit, premiered in competition at the SXSW Film Festival.
BILL MENDIETA, Producer
Bill adds WAKE UP to his long list of credits. Bill is an accomplished director with projects for the Mattel Corporation, the international tour of Tango del Cielo and the world premiere of Pray to Ball at the Skylight Theatre. It is now being developed into a feature film. Other producing credits include the short films, Pop, Exhale and Water as well as commercials, corporate videos and short films for WSR Creative and Fiction Films. Bill is best known for playing Ricky Ricardo in “I Love Lucy Live On Stage” in Los Angeles, Chicago and the 1st national tour. He earned the Broadway World Award for Best Actor. He played a leading role in the award-winning films Soldier of God, Dead Border and She’s Out of His Mind. He’s also appeared on NBC’s Days of Our Lives and in the web series, The Sanctum and The Nevermore Chronicles.
DOUG GROSSMAN, Producer
Doug Grossman has a studio background having worked over two decades at Disney and most recently 20th Century FOX where he was the Sr. Vice President of the Operations and Supply Chain at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. In this role, he oversaw the manufacturing, distribution and retail execution for all of Fox’s physical media business in the US and Canada, including major retail customers (Walmart, Target, Amazon, Best Buy). Doug has been a foster and adoptive parent for over a decade.
MIKE WISE, Producer
Mike is the owner/operator of Capstone, a direct mortgage financing company, and Oaks Reality. He is a father of four biological kids, plus a foster parent to many others. He has a heart for foster kids and their vulnerability. He has been repeatedly frustrated by the foster system and hopes this movie will show others some of the realities that foster youth face. Mike is also on the board of RaisingHOPE. Mike and Kristen have been married for over 25 years.
KRISTEN WISE, Producer
Kristen knows first hand the challenges for foster children and their families and jumped in as a producer, production designer and had a variety of other jobs on WAKE UP. Her willingness to work hard, learn new things, and get things done with a smile helped the whole team. She has a degree in Child Development/Psychology. Kristen directed child care centers and taught at a local California college. She also graduated from culinary school and worked with Wolfgang Puck in several settings including the Oscars and the Grammys. She has had opportunities to serve locally and in many foreign countries. A mother of four biological children and many foster kids. Kristen is on the board of RaisingHOPE, raisinghope.org.
JOAQUIN CAMILO, Producer
Joaquin Camilo is an actor and a producer with fifteen years experience in the entertainment industry. He is the CEO and head of production at Calor Humano. Calor Humano explores stories that deal with human connection and how we juggle staying connected in an increasingly technological world. For the past five years, Joaquin has collaborated with Into the Forest creating eye popping commercial content. He is also a producer at Team Mayday, a boutique ad agency which specializes in branding and addressable marketing. Joaquin’s interests expand beyond commercial, acting and film. He has worked with the ACT nonprofit, helping create a proof of concept program titled ELEVATE, that brings acting, writing, and SEL to underserved communities. He was also an acting teacher for two years inside Eastlake Juvenile Detention Center in Los Angeles, bringing the arts to a community of youths that needed it the most.
TAMI BARNETT / RaisingHOPE, Producer
Tami grew up with a passion for helping families become whole and for protecting vulnerable children. She has bachelor degrees in political science and sociology from Pepperdine University and a Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine School of Law. Tami spent 9 years at the Children’s Law Center of California as a staff attorney for children and as the director of the attorney conflict panel. While at CLC Tami lead the initial efforts for the firm regarding child sex trafficking identification and prevention. She also opened a private adoption law practice in 2008 where she has helped families with independent adoptions, international re-adoptions and adult adoptions. She engages the community through trainings and public speaking on the topics of foster care, adoption, reunification and child welfare law. Currently the executive director of a nonprofit that she co-founded called Raising HOPE, Inc. that provides awareness, funds, mentoring and advocacy for children who are or were in the foster care system.