top of page

Our Team.

Our team is made up of veteran documentarians and experienced media professionals. We’re skilled storytellers who take the time to understand your business, develop your message, and create videos that engage and inform your audience. Think of us as an extension of your team.

Our work has earned accolades from organizations across the U.S., Texas, and Houston.

Alex new headshot 12-2023.jpeg

Alex Luster

Co-owner

Alex’s passion for visual storytelling started in the late 80’s when he discovered his first film camera in a fast food kids’ meal. He moved on to a video camera and improved his craft working for Houston's top television networks. 

He started his career as an editor in Telemundo’s Houston newsroom and later produced and edited promos and short-form content for Fox 26’s Creative Services department. In 2005, Alex created, produced and directed an Emmy-award-winning and Imagen-award-nominated Spanish-language program, Volumen, for Azteca America. In 2011, he directed a feature length documentary, Stick ‘Em Up!, which screened to a sold out River Oaks theater and multiple screenings at MFAH. He served as the managing editor of a weekly, nationally-televised program for ABC Television. 

Liz Employee Portraits-158.jpg

Lizbeth Ortiz

Administrative Assistant

Born in Mexico City, raised in Houston, and thrust into adulthood in New York City, she had no choice but to embrace the fact that she was an artist. Currently she follows her creative heart curating art exhibitions and plotting to reclaim a sense of sanity through art.

Courtney Employee Portraits_092.jpeg

Courtney Sandifer

Producer

Courtney’s passion for storytelling started when she was an adolescent, writing essays, learning photography and working on the school yearbook. In college, she reported for her hometown paper while studying human development. She had no plans to pursue video as a career, but it turns out all of her skills combined to make one people-savvy, creative documentarian. She’s dedicated much of the past 12 years to filmmaking, and absolutely loves helping people tell their stories through work at The Storyhive. Courtney can direct and produce anything from a high-energy horror flick to a heartfelt testimonial.

Sila Uye - B43I5599.jpg

Sila Uye

Graphic Artist

Sila arrived at The Storyhive through an internship program, but we talked her into becoming a fulltime Hivester. She is a talented motion graphic designer with a passion for creating and storytelling, as well as a strong interest in 3D modeling and animation. Her journey started on a random day when she tried an animation exercise out of curiosity, and never looked back since. Sila grew up in Mozambique and speaks three languages; English, Turkish and Portuguese. In her free time, you can find her in the backyard hanging out with her cats.

Jena Employee Portraits-125.jpg

Jena Moreno

Co-owner

Jena Moreno traces her lifelong passion for storytelling to grade school when she was commissioned to write stories by her fourth-grade classmates. Jena went on to a career in journalism, working as a business reporter for several Texas newspapers and the Washington Post. Her videos that accompanied news stories were recognized by SABEW and PR Daily while her articles won awards from the Texas Headliners Foundation, Associated Press Managing Editors and Hearst, among others.

Eric Employee Portraits-077-2.jpg

Eric Hutchison

Production Manager

There’s something about pushing red buttons that Eric has always found satisfying.  Maybe it started with the NES he received on Christmas morning in 19-eighty somethin’… maybe it was taking the safety off of his BB gun before putting countless holes into an innocent Dr Pepper can… or rushing to push record on the cassette deck when Enter Sandman came on.

 

Or just maybe... It was when his dad put an 8mm camcorder in his hand and said “push the red button before I hit this golf ball.”

 

Whatever it was, he somehow found a way to make a career from pushing a red button.

Laura Employee Portraits-049.jpg

Laura Castro

Editor

Laura Castro’s older brother introduced her to the skills of editing at the age of 12 after she took an interest in making her own YouTube videos. She quickly transitioned from Windows Movie Maker to Adobe Premiere Pro and went on to serve as the head editor of her high school’s weekly news show. She continued her film studies in college and after graduating partnered with her brother’s video production company. She joined The Storyhive in 2022 to help the team continue to create worthwhile stories.

Ib Gillett - B43I5688.jpg

Ib Gillett

Graphic Artist

From the time Ib was a youngster, blown away by the fiery wings of the Balrog, he knew he wanted to work with videos and animation. Growing up in Vegas, he got his start working on large LED billboards that lit up the night. In his 20's, he followed someone way prettier than himself to NYC where he worked as a 3D animator for large national agencies and professional sports teams. A Disney wedding and a set of twins later and he finds himself in Houston continuing his passion of telling stories through motion. When not working, you can find him playing on the ground with his kiddos or picking up heavy things for fun.

Tom Employee Portraits-098.jpg

Tom Gandy

Co-owner

Tom Gandy knew he wanted to be behind the camera at age seven during a field trip to a Philadelphia area television station. He had just seen the first Star Wars film and was studying how cinematic sound and visual effects were made. All of that research helped him in his 20-year-long career of creating television news, corporate commercials and documentary films. His work has been recognized with a silver Telly, Addy certificate of excellence and Houston AMA Crystal Award.

Michelle Employee Portraits-144.jpg

Michelle Eulene

Senior Producer

Michelle fell in love with photography when she was an 8-years-old playing with a Suzy Snapshot doll that moved every time she clicked the doll’s camera. Being able to capture moments and memories in time drew her into the creative world of production. Fast forward to today, her inquisitive and curious nature played a major role as she headed into photojournalism,  lifestyle television, and dare say - a few reality TV shows. When not grilling folks on camera or watching video edits, she likes to get lost in traveling, trying new foods, and figuring out how to burn calories … from the new foods.

Jarod Employee Portraits-72.jpeg

Jared Huff

Cinematographer

Once he volunteered for his high school’s film crew, Jared Huff got sucked into the world of video production. Throughout the years, whether it was filming sporting events or making silly videos with his friends, Jared has always preferred being behind the lens.  He’s either holding a camera or a video game controller, or occasionally some golf club he has not learned how to swing correctly. 

Denny Vu - TSH_6283.jpg

Denny Vu

Graphic Artist

Meet Denny, whose creative journey started with a pencil or pen in hand and an eagerness to show his friends his latest doodles. It wasn't until middle school that he jumped into digital creation, practicing illustrations and having fun with video editing. Fast forward to high school graduation, where Denny dedicated his summer to learning Motion Design. Throughout college, Denny navigated through multiple freelancing gigs, honing his skills and building a portfolio. In his last semester, he landed in The Storyhive as one of the motion graphic artists. From the earliest days of his youth, art has been Denny's constant companion, fueling his passion and driving his creativity. The thought of a reality devoid of creative problem-solving with animation is unthinkable for him. 

bottom of page