THE TEAM
NATALIE BARANDES
Co-Founder, Writer, Director, Producer
Natalie has been creating & producing content for a variety of entertainment brands such as Comedy Central, USA, Sony International and NFL Network as well as head of production for Beachbody and Creative Director of the wildly successful weightloss program, Real Appeal for United Healthcare ventures. She loves to cook, is an avid swimmer, and wishes she was over 5’2”...
DENA KAPLAN
Co Founder, Marketing & Business Development
Dena has been a Chief Marketing Officer and emmy-winning producer for top entertainment and sports brands such as AXS TV & HDNet Movies (Mark Cuban Company), Discovery Networks, Game Show Network, NFL Network and NFL Redzone. Her biggest production to date has been raising her 15 year old son.
BEN FORMAN
VP Development
Ben Forman spearheads Joy Factory’s development with a fresh, disruptive passion for telling stories on the screen. Forman cut his teeth writing, producing, editing financing, pitching, and selling in a scrappy startup environment.
MARC LONGBERG
Head of Production
With 21 years in this business, Marc has worked with powerhouses like Tony and Jake Scott at RSA. He’s produced seven short films with Lexus as well as produced for bluechip industry leaders including Apple, Verizon, Universal, Old Dominion, McDonald’s, and Toyota. Even still, he finds time to enjoy a MaCallan 12 and watch his New York Yankees.
JAMES ACHESON
Finance
James is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and strategic consultant for several non-profit organizations. Prior to Joy Factory, James was President at Big City Pictures, Executive Director at Beachbody and earlier, an analyst at Hambrecht & Quist. James is a graduate of Harvard University and holds a Master's Degree from the University of Southern California.
KIM GILLIS
Strategy
Before Joy Factory, Kim was Founder & CEO of Montage, a 17+ year agency that represented a diverse group of photographers, stylists, art directors, and filmmakers from emerging artists to the most established, preeminent talents in their fields.
ANDREW LEFFLER
Production Assistant