Lisa Caruso

About Lisa Caruso

Seasoned and entrepreneurial senior-level creative development and production executive and content creator with over 20 years of scripted, lifestyle and documentary leadership experience in film, television, digital and podcast content. Deep understanding of social impact entertainment - creating content for a double-bottom line of ROI and measurable change.Significant background in first-season series – highly-skilled at casting and developing original storylines. Deep industry relationships both nationally and internationally. Adept at leading diverse teams in a variety of environments, and known for being calm under pressure and an exceptionally creative problem-solver. Award-winning writer-director-producer. MPA ‘26 Candidate, Harvard; MFA Directing, AFI; Global MBA, Thunderbird (3.91 GPA). Dual citizenship U.S. and E.U.Producers Guild of America (PGA) member.Career highlights include:• Launching a social impact entertainment division of a non-profit from scratch and building out a diverse project slate including 2 Ambie & Webby-nominated podcasts • Part of a 5-person production/development team to successfully launch a Discovery network• Created and directed the very first mobile reality series for download purchase on Sprint TV• Producer on Emmy-nominated HBO gang origin documentary,\"Bastards of the Party\"• OMMA Award, 2011, for Best Integrated Online Advertising • Have produced/directed numerous nationally-aired TV series from pre-production to delivery• Responsible for hiring/management of production and development teams • Multi-camera Reality Director, Field and Control Room• Director of scripted material for stage and screen • Background in Feature Film/TV Studio Development and Entertainment Publicity/Marketing • Multi-award-winning screenwriter (specialization: comedy) and producer Among Lisa\'s many adventures, she has. rung in the New Year on stage in Las Vegas w/Liza Minnelli, been cleared by the Secret Service to be on a two-person advance team for Hillary and Bill Clinton, interviewed countless celebrities on the red carpet and movie sets, overseen production in a Costa Rican rainforest, toured with Ozzy Osbourne, tandem-parachuted off a cliff with a camera to get the best shot for a travel show, hung out with the Bloods in South Central LA, trekked to the basecamp of Mt. Everest, done bi-plane stunts over the Pacific. and mostly solo-traveled to over 50 countries. So bring it on!

Experience

1. Chief Strategy Officer

   Good Planet Innovation

   Jun 2024 — Present · Los Angeles County, CA, US

   Brought in by CEO/Founder in a fractional role to expand the company’s reach and competency globally in film/TV for sustainable production, ethical brand integration and impact storytelling (concurrent with Harvard MPA).

Education

• New York University

  Certificate in Filmmaking

• UCLA

  Certificate, Screenwriting

• The American Film Institute

  Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Directing

• Harvard University

  Master of Public Administration - MPA, Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies, Social Impact, Social Innovation

• The George Washington University

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, International Relations and Affairs

• UC Irvine

  Certificate in Digital Marketing & Communications:, Marketing Research & Strategy, Product Mgmt, Integrated Comms, and Digital Mktg Tactics & Trends

• Thunderbird School of Global Management

  Global Masters of Business Administration (GMBA), International Business

  2014 — 2016

• West Orange High

  Diploma, top 3% of class

Skills

• Publicity
• Documentaries
• Film Direction
• New Media
• Reality
• Feature Films
• Writing
• Commercials
• Short Films
• Broadcast
• Leadership
• Avid
• Pre-Production
• Film Production
• Social Media
• Camera
• Creative Direction
• Marketing Strategy
• Digital Media
• Marketing
• Final Draft
• Directing
• Screenwriting
• Reality Tv
• Storytelling
• Media Production
• Negotiation
• Video
• Digital Strategy
• Post Production
• Management
• Team Leadership
• Final Cut Pro
• Television
• Producing
• Entertainment
• Public Speaking
• Cross-Cultural Communication Skills
• Written Communication
• Television Directing