L. Gregory Henley, Ph.D.
Greg created Nexxt Productions, Inc. to reach those who may not walk into his office or classroom. His experiences allowed him to interact with many successful people whose stories no one knows. NPI wants to tell those stories and more.
As background, Greg is MIT and Columbia Business School trained and applies his extensive business world and academia experience as his foundation to storytelling. Before he started Nexxt Productions, Inc. (NPI), he held leadership positions of President, CFO, Treasurer and in academia, Director of a Center for Entrepreneurship (see https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/settings?trk=prof-edit-edit-public_profile). Given his background, NPI was launched to use the visual medium to tell stories with a business entertainment focus.
Greg’s point of view as a storyteller has been heavily influenced by studying the people behind the business to understand their motivations, personalities, and activities. His stories are crafted to inspire, motivate, teach, and keep people watching.
Greg’s added value in business was his ability to take something that exists and, being innovative, to create something better that didn't previously exist. He used this approach as a financial manager, a strategist and a business creator. As a business educator, he shows students how to think of an organization as a puzzle of resources that must fit together to form a cohesive whole that is more compelling than the sum of the individual pieces. Storytelling is an extension of these skills as it requires determining the right structure and strategy to build a compelling narrative. Greg learned by attending film schools, workshops, conferences, reading multiple books, and a lot of hands-on work.
One example of a hands-on project was going to various states to film entrepreneurs – which was the basis for his book – ‘R U The Nexxt Entrepreneur?’ and one of the first TV shows developed by NPI.
NPI collaborates with a number of creatives, including:
Maxwell Bentley
Max is a part-time film student at the University of North Georgia (UNG) and the founder of Bentley Media, a full-service film production and communications company based in North Georgia. Passionate about storytelling, he specializes in “creating films that excite” for entrepreneurs and brands across the U.S. He says that coining the slogan “We Only Film Everything” has opened doors to work on some “amazing, inspiring, and thought-provoking” projects.
Maxwell continues to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Film and Digital Media at the UNG Gainesville campus. Having been asked several times about his decision to stay in school in the face of a business that sees exponential growth, he affirms that he sees value in a college degree and that “receiving more opportunities to learn, thrive, and network with industry experts is simply better business.”
In his free time, he enjoys hiking, running, and road tripping. A Georgia boy to the core, he is a self-proclaimed “mac and cheese connoisseur” and firmly believes that “you can’t have a glass of sweet tea that is too sweet.”
Maxwell has been in the film industry since 2011 and has been known to make short films as young as age six. He is an FAA-licensed and insured drone pilot, and holds additional training in public speaking and voice acting. He plans to start three more media production and communications companies over the next five years.
Gabriel Sanchez
Gabriel is currently completing his Bachelor's in Film at Georgia State University. He is a writer, director, editor, and even acts when he can. He loves all aspects of film and is working hard to improve his craft each day. He is currently the president of Film Club at GSU, and is also in the Honors College of GSU. He works for the school as a videographer for many school events, including the Tedx talk they held this past year. He has written, directed, and edited three short films and a feature, and is currently working on his next short. He has also made music videos, promos, and commercials for several clients. He is currently planning a Student Film Festival with college students across Georgia that will be hosted by the Film Club at GSU.
Ishmael Holmes
Ish works at the intersection of business and art. Ishmael Holmes has for years utilized his skills as a photographer, designer, and videographer to develop and market brands. His target market is small to medium size businesses in need of a creative jumpstart. Video work is an extension of is photography and he has worked with some of the most well-known clients in the world. He has a distinctive style that has been perfected over almost 10 years.
Right now, Ish is excited about leveraging media and the visual arts to share amazing stories across the globe to inspire, motivate, and educate the future movers and shakers of the world.
Teri Wheaton
Teri received her Bachelor of Science degree in Media Studies and a minor in Business Administration from Radford University in Radford, VA. While a student at Radford, her main focus was on studio television production and writing. After graduation, Wheaton continued her studies at American University in Washington, DC and received her Master of Arts degree in Film and Video. While at American University, she focused on screenwriting for television and feature length film.
As a student, Wheaton served on the crew of a documentary titled Through Her Eyes: Virginia's Story. The documentary followed a homeless woman on the streets of Bethesda, MD and tried to capture life through her eyes. The film was entered into the Visions Festival where it received first place honors in the documentary category. Wheaton continued to write feature length screenplays to hone her skills. She entered her first screenplay, Exodus, into the Scriptapalooza Screenwriting Competition and was selected as a semifinalist.
After graduation, Wheaton took her love of film to another level and started Wilson Wheaton Productions, an independent film and video production company. Her third screenplay, Again, provided the material for Wilson Wheaton Production's inaugural production. Again was produced on location in the Washington, DC metropolitan area with local actors and fueled Wheaton’s love of production. Wheaton also wrote the material for WWP’s second production, Love Song, which was produced on location in Radford, VA.
