Our Team

Michelle first heard about sex trafficking when she became a mother and started reading about amber alerts in her area. She was surprised to learn that many missing children fall victim to human trafficking and wondered why communities didn't have a stronger response. Michelle's own experience as a survivor of sexual assault has motivated her to raise awareness about sexual abuse and sex trafficking. Since 2000, she has worked as a producer, director, cinematographer and editor based in Austin, TX. Her first feature film, in which she acted as co-writer and camera, Barbecue: A Texas Love Story, was nominated for an Emmy in 2004. That same year, she directed a short documentary called Pieces of Me that was used in high schools for sexual assault awareness and was nominated for the Co-op Award for Creative Excellence. Michelle directed Hands of God in 2006, which follows the story of Lola Stephens, a homeless woman that opened a successful restaurant in Austin and feeds over sixty homeless people a week. Most recently, Michelle was the editor for the PBS TV Series Haunted Texas, and she just finished post-production on her latest short, Moira, a silent film shot on 16mm and accompanied by a live choir. Michelle has also directed music documentaries with artists such as Alpha Rev and Seth Walker and has shot for TLC, Spin Magazine and the Rachel Ray Show. In 2010, Michelle was nominated for the Princess Grace Award for directing while pursuing her Masters in Film at the University of Texas.

Michelle Nehme

Producer & Director

Producer &

Dir. of Outreach

John returned to Austin with his wife, Rachel, after he completed his M.A. in Political Economy as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at the University of Sydney. He received a B.S. in Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University, where he studied as an Ingram Scholar. John has development experience serving disadvantaged communities in Latin America, Europe and Australia that face socio-economic vulnerability and political underrepresentation. In 2007 and 2008, as a policy analyst for the Centre for Social Justice in London and the Tennessee State Government, he co-authored several policy briefs outlining effective solutions to local poverty. John receives regular speaking engagements, including one keynote speech in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at a conference called “Education for Values and Social Change.” Recently, he worked with Blood:Water Mission as a Marketing Consultant to improve program efficacy and donor management. At Trade In Hope, John promotes the film by creatively engaging and equipping communities to fight slavery. He and Michelle are brother and sister.

John Nehme

Hailing from Alexandria Egypt, CAG Founder and President Ramy Antoun was born into music—literally. The son of a producer and pianist, Antoun was given a snare drum at the tender age of three. By the time he was just seven years old, he was playing in his father’s band. Having never taken a drum lesson in his life, 1980s and ’90s’ pop music was Antoun’s primary teacher. His self-taught approach paid off, as Antoun soon found himself one of the most in-demand drummers in music. Before long his roster of credits included names like the Black Eyed Peas, Pat Benatar, Paul Oakenfold, and Seal. Not merely content to work as a session drummer, Antoun also dove into production and songwriting, garnering track credits on hit television shows and movies such as Matchstick Men, Crazy Beautiful, and The OC. Goldspot, Antoun’s previous musical endeavor, was nominated for Best International Artist in the 2008 VH-1 Music Awards. As President and CEO of PO Folk Records and talent-buying agency Namaste Entertainment, Antoun discovered a missing social awareness for artists and fans while working in the often-arbitrary record industry. “I am extremely passionate about working with artists who are in tough place emotionally, spiritually, occupationally,” Antoun says. “My heartbeat is to be with people when they’re in the dumps and help them get back to a stable, peaceful place.” Thus was born Creative Arts Group (CAG). As an artist development company, CAG enlists investors and highly gifted artists into a 3-way partnership that offers coaching, development, and career resources.

Music Supervisor/Music Producer

Ramy Antoun

Effects Supervisor

& Graphics

Joel Maysonet

Joel Maysonet is a multi-media professional with over eight years of experience working in all different stages of production. Currently, Joel is the Senior Designer and Editor at RebelRebel, a production company based in Austin, where his clients have included The PGA Tour, Dell, Crispin Porter + Bogusky and GSD&M. Prior to his position at RebelRebel, Joel served as Creative Services Manager for KAKW Univision 62. He is also a Video Instructor with La Poderosa Media Project, a non-profit organization that provides free video workshops to underprivileged youth in Latin America.

Casey is a singer/songwriter based in Austin, Texas and is currently the frontman of the band Alpha Rev. Casey started Alpha Rev in 2005 after the breakup of his previous band Endochine, which had toured with Staind, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pete Yorn and Bob Schneider. Growing up in Jones Creek, Texas, Casey was home-schooled and classically trained on the piano for twelve years. He taught himself to play guitar as a child; being left-handed he discovered that the instrument only worked when he played it upside down. Alpha Rev released their debut album The Greatest Thing I've Ever Learned on March 1, 2007. Soon after, the band signed an agreement with Austin startup, Flyer Records, and made a record produced by Dwight Baker of Matchbox Studios. In 2007 Alpha Rev was ranked the #1 indie band from Texas on the Myspace.com charts and the #16 indie band nationwide. Alpha Rev was selected by Austin Monthly Magazine as one of the bands most likely to succeed out of Austin in 2008. In February 2009, Alpha Rev began recording their international debut release at Avatar Studios in New York City. The album, entitled New Morning was produced by David Kahne, engineered by Joe Barresi and mixed by Michael Brauer. In 2010 Alpha Rev topped the charts with New Morning, reaching #3 on radio, and their video was in the top 10 rotation on VH1. Casey sits on the board of directors of Mental Health America of Texas and has been a spokesperson for suicide prevention and other metal health issues in American teens. He is passionate about scoring a film that speaks deeply to his heart and the mental health of children across America.

Composer

Casey McPherson

Born and bred in Texas, Aaron has worked in Austin as a DP, director, editor, and creative since 2005. After receiving his B.A. in Psychology from Southern Methodist University, he soon began exploring his passion for film. He and Michelle have worked together on multiple projects for the last six years, including music documentaries for Alpha Rev and Seth Walker as well as the documentary short, Hands of God in 2006. Since 2006, Aaron spent time in Kenya filming for Austin non-profit CTC International and filming under directors Steve Mims and Joe Bailey, Jr. for their feature documentary, Incendiary: The Willingham Case, an official selection of the SXSW and SilverDocs Film Festivals. He also produced and directed the live concert film, The Killdares: Up Against the Lights, filmed at the historic Granada Theater in Dallas, TX. In addition to writing, producing and directing his own short films, Aaron’s camera work has been featured on Austin's KVUE News, The Rachael Ray Show, and TV commercials for Lewis Shanks. Aaron considers it an honor to work on the Trade In Hope documentary, and he believes the film exemplifies a documentary’s powerful ability to at once inform, artistically inspire, and effectively motivate.

Director of Photography

Aaron Bratcher