Susan MacLaury

Co-Founder and Senior Adviser

Susan MacLaury served as Executive Director of Shine Global from 2005 – 2024.  She executive produced the Emmy Award®-winning, Academy Award®-nominated documentary War/Dance, as well as The Harvest (La Cosecha), the Academy Award® Winner Inocente, 1 Way Up in 3D, The Eagle Huntress, Liyana, Tre Maison Dasan, Through Our Eyes: Homefront, and Home Is Somewhere Else.. She is also the producer of The Wrong Light and Virtually Free. Susan is dually degreed in social work administration and health education and was associate professor of health education at Kean University from 1994 through 2013.

Albie Hecht

Co-Founder and Chair of the Board

ALBIE HECHT is a Co-Founder of Shine Global and an award-winning producer. As president of Nickelodeon, he oversaw the development and production of “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Dora the Explorer,” “Blue’s Clues,” and “All That,” co-created and executive produced “The Kids Choice Awards,” and produced the Oscar-nominated movie “Jimmy Neutron.” Hecht became creator and President of Spike TV and General Manager of CNN’s Headline News Network before joining pocket.watch as Chief Content Officer, where he created and executive produced Emmy nominated “Ryan’s Mystery Playdate.” Hecht produced the Oscar nominee and Emmy Award winner “War/Dance,” and Oscar-winning documentary short, “Inocente.”

Alexandra Blaney

Co-CEO, Creative Director

Alexandra Blaney is Co-CEO and Creative Director of Shine Global, where she leads content development and impact storytelling to advance children’s rights worldwide. Since joining Shine Global in 2009, she has helped shape the organization’s creative vision and produced award-winning films and campaigns that raise awareness, drive action, and inspire change for children facing injustice.

Her credits include producing the Oscar®-nominated live-action short Anuja, The Business of Trouble, Through Our Eyes: Homefront with Sesame Workshop for HBO Max, Virtually Free about youth incarceration, and episodes of the Webby-nominated digital series The Election Effect. She has also executive produced the documentary From This Small Place about the Rohingya refugee crisis and Comedy Against the Odds, co-produced the Ariel Award–winning Home Is Somewhere Else, and served as associate producer on the Academy Award®–winning short documentary Inocente, among other films.

In addition to film production, Alexandra designs and implements impact campaigns in partnership with filmmakers, advocates, and communities around the world. She is also the creator and leader of Shine Global’s Resilience Awards Initiative, which honors and supports filmmakers whose work centers the strength, creativity, and resilience of children. She is a co-chair of the Documentary Producers Alliance Ethics Committee, and a member of the IDA and PGA. Alexandra graduated from Pomona College, where she studied International Relations and History. 

Francile Albright Mullen

Co-CEO, Executive Director

Francile Albright Mullen’s diverse career spans across the arts, education, and nonprofit leadership. Before joining Shine Global, she served as Director of Education at The Picture House Regional Film Center in Pelham, a community just outside of the Bronx, pioneering film education curriculum and expanding programs into under-funded schools across Westchester County. In 2021, she took on the role of Deputy Executive Director, contributing to the organization’s significant growth and impact. Just before joining Shine Global, Francile served as the Director of Development for LMC Media, guiding fundraising efforts for their 40^th Anniversary year.  She volunteers extensively and is a dedicated advocate for arts education, as well as women’s and children’s issues. She currently serves as an appointed member of the Westchester Women’s Advisory Board and chairs the Village of Pelham Council on the Arts Francile holds a Master of Fine Arts degree, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Washington in Seattle.