Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me
Supervising Producer
about
Brandy Menefee
Interviewer
Producer
Editor
Writer
Director
Photographer
I am on a mission to
rebrand + redefine mental health
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To help make talking about our mental health challenges
as common as sharing our blood type or shoe size
I grew up in a Silicon Valley home that gave out walnuts on Halloween, and then escaped to Boston to earn a degree in broadcast journalism from Emerson College. I now live in Los Angeles and specialize mental health storytelling and facilitating conversations about sensitive subject matter.
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My passion for mental health storytelling began in 2008 when I documented a community in mourning, and my path was cemented when I sat in a mud hut in a remote African village with a Swahili translator interviewing strangers about struggle and suicide.
Throughout my 20+ year career creating premium nonfiction content, I have explored mental health stories from North America to Africa for the feature documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, created content promoting Jewel's mental health app, chronicled the rise and fall of Death Row Records for MTV News, documented life-saving rats, been embedded with storm chasers, co-created and sold a TV docu-series about a chef, photographed Morgan Freeman & Tommy Lee Jones on set of their movie, and directed Channing Tatum in tear-away pants.
passion is
my
telling
your
story
My TV credits include producing & directing true stories about real people for Apple TV+, Discovery+, Paramount+, Nat Geo, Food Network, Showtime, Bravo, Oxygen, NBC, CBS, MTV, CMT, and TLC.
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Documentary digital credits include producing, directing & editing spots for Meta, Innerworld, Lifelock, Gannett, Desert Magazine, Rejuvila, and AwareAwakeAlive – plus birthography and legacy/memoir work for private clients.
I am a member of the Producers Guild of America, and I serve on the board of Just DeClare Foundation, whose mission is to create awareness and support for mental health in the arts community.
"Brandy is bursting with genuineness.
She is truly interested in other people and the world around her, which makes anyone in her presence instantly comfortable in their own skin.
It's a gift, and with it, she's able to draw out sensitive, powerful, warm, sometimes very funny, human stories.
I've seen it first hand, sometimes under intense pressure and often with people who are understandably wary of letting their guards down.
But in speaking to Brandy, you can tell they feel they're being heard -- and glad they've opened up."
Director, Producer, Showrunner
Eddie Schmidt
Interviewer
Back Story
My whole life people have confided in me. Someone once described me as a People Whisperer.
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I’ve always had a natural ability to connect with humans from all walks of life and see the world through their eyes.
One time my fiancé introduced me to his friend, who I chatted with for ten minutes. Later I said: “It was good to meet your friend Todd. Heartbreaking what’s going on with his family.”
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My fiancé was stumped: “You met him for ten minutes and he told you all that?!”
I have always been that person others open up to. And it has served me well as a documentary interviewer.
photo credit: Kiera Gaffney
“Brandy's sensitivity, kindness, and love really shines through and lets her subjects show their own spirit.”
Alek Keshishian
Director, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me
Documentarian
Back Story
My career started in news – I have a broadcast journalism degree from Emerson College, and worked for a local news station in Boston before I was hired at MTV News in Los Angeles.
I learned early on how to interview anyone, anywhere, anytime about anything – and find the story and the characters, understand the timeline, and discover details that are relatable and resonate deeply with audiences.
Then I moved from news into documentary TV and digital content, where I sharpened my storytelling skills – crafting and presenting authentic, first-person profiles and uplifting, meaningful messages + storylines of pain, coping, courage, hope and healing.
photo credit: Ali Klos
“Brandy took a once-in-a-lifetime experience
and recorded it in such a way that I could not only see it again and again but FEEL it again and again.”
Heidi and Damon Lindelof
documentary clients
photo credit: Sees The Day
Candid
Photographer
Back Story
One day my middle school yearbook teacher sent me to take candid photos of students and faculty in their element. I’ve never looked back.
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I'm in a photojournalist state of mind all the time.
I love the challenge of capturing emotion and motion on the fly and telling stories in a single frame.
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Jim Marshall, Mary Ellen Mark, and Elliott Erwitt are my favorite photographers. Please don't ask me to F, Mary, Kill them.
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“Brandy draws us into the presence of so many pieces of life we might not have seen otherwise.”
Karen Marrs
photography client
Consultant
Back Story
My first time consulting on a production was for Beaverbrook, an indie documentary about summer camp. It won Best Documentary Feature at the Black Hills Film Festival in South Dakota, DocFest's Audience Award for Doc Feature, and the DocUtah Spirit Award. I received a beautiful banjo for my contribution as a consultant, which seemed like a sweet deal at the time.
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Currently I am consulting on an indie mental health documentary in post production that focuses on a selection of artists and how their mental health journeys are reflected in their art.
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FUN FACT: this photo is a self-portrait taken at The Madonna Inn after a parking lot collision
photo credit: self-timer
“Brandy brings tremendous integrity to her work
and every word, every shot, every score, every edit
is infused with a deep commitment to
THE STORY.”
Amy McKelvey
Marketing Executive
photo credit: CHARLEYSTAR
Speaker
Back Story
Use The Words You Want To Experience is my signature speech that empowers audiences to:
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- understand the subconscious influence of the words you think + say
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- examine and re-imagine how you think + talk about yourself
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- focus on new words that will strengthen your mental game and lead to better decisions
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- unapologetically share the tough stuff
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- feel more seen
KEY AUDIENCES: students, corporate leaders + employees, teams, moms, trauma survivors, grievers, and anyone feeling stuck
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“Brandy's ability to tell our complicated and painful story has been nothing short of magical.”
Aware Awake Alive
nonprofit organization