Susan MacLaury

Co-Founder

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, and Liyana. She is also the producer of The Wrong Light and Virtually Free and Co-Producer of Tre Maison Dasan. Susan is in charge of the educational outreach and social advocacy efforts for all of Shine’s films. She 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

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 joined Shine Global in 2009 and now serves as Co-CEO, Creative Director. Her passion is to use media and the arts, especially film, to promote social justice. Alex produced Shine Global’s most recent film Through Our Eyes: Homefront with Sesame Workshop for HBOMax as well as the documentary Virtually Free about youth incarceration, and episodes of the Webby-nominated digital series “The Election Effect,” which looked at the effect of the 2016 election on teens. She also Executive Produced the documentary From This Small Place about the Rohingya refugee crisis and the short documentary Comedy Against the Odds, co-produced the Ariel Award-winning Home Is Somewhere Else, The Wrong Light and 1 Way Up in 3D, and served as Associate Producer on the Academy Award® winning short documentary film Inocente. She also develops and manages the outreach and engagement programs for Shine Global’s films. Alex also created Shine Global’s Resilience Awards which honor the preeminent filmmakers who masterfully highlight and celebrate the inspiring strength, creativity, and power of children across the world in their work.  Alex 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. 

Jada Bethea

Executive Assistant

Jada Bethea joined Shine Global in January 2024 after graduating with a BFA in Film & Television from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in May 2023. As an independent writer, director, and producer, she premiered her award-winning NYU senior thesis film, “Flour Girl,” in the 2023-2024 festival circuit. Before this role, Jada was an Entertainment Research & Analysis Intern at GLAAD, and in the months prior, served as a Scripted TV Development Intern at Aroberson Production. She is also a member of the inaugural class of The Paley Center for Media’s Peter Roth Internship. In 2020, Jada successfully led an educational reform campaign in her NJ hometown’s school district, resulting in an essential history elective becoming a graduation requirement. Now as Shine Global’s Executive Assistant, she is excited to fulfill a role that marries her love of storytelling and advocacy.