TFC Management
Andrew Schoessel
Andrew grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas and attended New York University. He moved to Los Angeles after graduation and started his career in entertainment as the production coordinator for We Are The Mighty, a web-based entertainment media brand with the mission of making content for military veteran audiences.
Drawn by a desire to work more closely with the creative forces behind his favorite films and series, Andrew decided to explore the representation space and started in the WME mailroom in 2018. He spent over a year in the talent department learning about high-level casting and building talent-based businesses, but his love of storytelling and affinity for IP drove him to pursue the literary space.
In January 2020, Andrew began working for David Stone at WME – never suspecting the disrupted world would provide an incredible opportunity beyond the agency. When Ben and David launched TFC and invited Andrew to join them, it was an easy decision to make and an exciting door to walk through. Having learned everything from development to dealmaking from his time at WME and TFC, Andrew is well prepared to champion new voices.
Andrew’s passion for emotional storytelling in all forms, literature, film, television, graphic novels, and video games, drives his focus on identifying unique voices and diverse perspectives to bring new life to traditional formats.
Ben Jacobson
Ben started his career in the United Talent Agency mailroom where he met a young David Stone when the two happened to start on the same week in 2005. While David left UTA after two brief years, Ben remained at UTA where he steadily climbed the ranks from the mailroom to assistant, assistant to coordinator, and eventually, agent to senior partner. Over the course of his 15 year run at UTA, Ben helped develop and build the careers of many top creators and producers across both film and television. Over this time, Ben expanded his sphere of expertise beyond comedic and dramatic television to eventually include both the comic book business as well as the animation business. Furthermore, Ben spent time working directly with the Media Rights Group on behalf of the Television group and helped spearhead several agency wide strategic technology initiatives.
Ben grew up in the Portland, Oregon area and attended The George Washington University, where he studied American History, and Parsons School of Design in Paris, France, where he studied Fine Art and Art Marketing. Ben spent his teenage years working at golf courses and restaurants and helped pay his way through college bartending and playing poker.
Brittany Kahan Ward
Brittany Kahan Ward joined TFC Management as a partner in 2023. She was previously a partner at Echo Lake Entertainment where she co-founded the firm’s talent department alongside Graciella Sanchez. The pair were at Echo Lake for 10 years where they were integral in growing both the company’s management and production business.
Born and raised in greater Los Angeles, Brittany graduated from UCLA with a BA in Business Economics. At 19 years old and attending UCLA, she began interning for J.J. Harris at her newly formed One Talent Management. After graduation, Brittany began working full-time and was promoted to manager within two years. Her twenty year partnership and friendship with Graciella Sanchez began at One Talent and together they moved to TFC Management.
Brittany remains focused on providing 360-degree representation for her carefully curated client list; working with artists that she is passionate about both in front of and behind the camera. Her producing credits include Hulu’s THE GREAT, Hulu’s THE GIRL FROM PLAINVILLE, Netflix’s ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES, with a robust slate of film and television projects in development.
Brittany produces alongside clients Dakota and Elle Fanning in their LEWELLEN PICTURES as well as alongside client Liz Hannah and her HAPPY FRIDAY PRODUCTIONS.
Brittany was named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 35 Executives Under 35 in 2018. She resides in Toluca Lake, CA with her husband and son.
David W. Stone
David started his career in the United Talent Agency mailroom and was fortunate enough to meet a young Ben Jacobson when the two happened to start on the same week. David left UTA two short years later to join the famed William Morris Agency as an agent. At WMA he grew from a young associate to eventually becoming a senior partner at WME (William Morris Endeavor) before departing in 2020 to launch TFC Management.
David grew up in Pasadena, California and attended Wesleyan University where he double majored in English Literature and Film Studies. During his time at Wesleyan he served as the Chair of the Student Judicial Board and the Captain of the Men’s Soccer Team. David later received his MFA from the University of Southern California, Peter Stark Producers Program in the Film School. Prior to starting in the agency business, David interned at both CNN and the Sundance Institute and worked in the independent film production world.
In 2017 David was appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti, as a Commissioner for the City Tourism Department. He recently completed his second term as a Commissioner. David is currently serving on the Wesleyan University President’s Advisory Council and has continued in his role as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California as well as a regular guest lecturer at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. David was honored by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as the LLS 2016 Man of the Year for the Los Angeles Chapter and was recognized on The Hollywood Reporters prestigious Next Gen list: 35 Under 35.
David lives in Los Angeles with his wife Natalie, his daughter Ella, and his son Benton.
Ellie Klein
Ellie joined TFC in early 2021 after almost a decade at the Paradigm Talent Agency. While at Paradigm, Ellie primarily worked in the Television Literary division, running point on the agency's staffing efforts on behalf of their clients. In addition to her core television business, Ellie worked on numerous cross-departmental initiatives as well, frequently helping with the Motion Picture, Talent, and Theater divisions.
Over her career as an agent, Ellie built a reputation as sophisticated, bold, and aggressive about chasing down opportunities on behalf of her clients. Ellie was a natural first addition for TFC, meshing seamlessly with the ethos of representation defined by diligence, strategic thought, and fierce and passionate advocacy.
Ellie was born and raised in Los Angeles, and started her career as an assistant at The Hollywood Reporter. In a full circle moment, Ellie was also recently recognized on The Hollywood Reporters prestigious Next Gen List: 35 Under 35. Ellie is an alum of The Buckley School as well as the University of Michigan where she double-majored in Political Science and English.
Graciella Sanchez
Graciella joined TFC in 2023 after more than ten years at Echo Lake Management where she founded and ran the talent management group. Up until her departure, Graciella also served as the Co-President at Echo Lake Management, overseeing the entire division and its day-to-day operations in addition to continuing to manage her robust list of clients.
Graciella started her career in the mailroom at United Talent Agency, where she met legendary talent agent J.J. Harris, who would become her mentor. Several years later Graciella co-founded the boutique management firm One Talent Management with Harris. The female led company boasted a small, but powerhouse roster of clients that included several Academy and Emmy Award winning actors. At One Talent Management, Graciella also met Brittany Kahan Ward. The two became fast friends and forged a business partnership that continues to this day. In 2013, Graciella and Brittany joined Echo Lake Entertainment to launch and build their talent department. They joined TFC in 2023 as partners, finding in their culture the same kind of commitment to their clients and passion for their business that they have experienced in their own partnership.
Graciella was born and raised in Los Angeles. She attended Yale University where she majored in English Literature and graduated in three years. A passionate advocate for the artists she represents, Graciella believes art is at the forefront of culture and can be a driving force for positive change in the world. She has served as a board member for the Cornerstone Theater Company, a non-profit multi-ethnic, ensemble-based theater company in Los Angeles, and is currently involved with the Marat Daukayev Ballet Theater, a non-profit established to help bring ballet to children and adults who might not otherwise have the means to experience the art form.
Zach Carlisle
Zach joined TFC Management in early 2022 after four years at ICM Partners. He started his career in the Endeavor mailroom before leaving to join Verve where he was one of the then upstart agency’s first employees. He was promoted to agent in 2011 and helped to launch and build Verve’s television group, creating a staffing, director and development business from scratch before being recruited to join ICM in 2018.
Over the course of his career as an agent, Zach has represented numerous top level creators and filmmakers across both film and television, splitting his time equally across these mediums. He is known for his discerning taste and hands-on approach with clients, as well as his fierce, passionate client advocacy. Zach was recognized in 2014 by Variety on their annual list of Hollywood’s New Leaders.
Zach grew up in Washington DC and attended the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) and Colgate University where he majored in English Literature and minored in Religious Studies. Zach was also a collegiate rower. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Maddie and their dog Squash.
TFC Productions
Kelly Wu
Kelly joined TFC in early 2023 as the company's first hire for TFC Productions. She started her career in the entertainment industry working for the Head of TV at WME. While at WME, she spearheaded the first company-wide AAPI Heritage Month programming initiative. She joined Chernin Entertainment in 2019 as the assistant to the president. While there, Kelly worked on television and feature projects including Truth Be Told, See, and Slumberland. This brought her to Sugar23, where she worked as a film executive. At Sugar23, Kelly worked closely with writers and directors, developing a diverse slate of features across genres. Prior to her career in Hollywood, Kelly worked in tech as an enterprise software sales executive, hawking an API-based integration platform to large financial services companies. She is very grateful to have made the switch.
Kelly is passionate about reflecting the world we live in through film and TV. She is dedicated to supporting creatives through the development process in myriad ways: finding unique IP, breaking story, refining character arcs, or simply being a sounding board. As a consumer, she is omnivorous and enjoys everything from big budget action films (she periodically rewatches every film from the Fast and the Furious franchise) to Sundance darlings (Sorry to Bother You reaffirmed her choice to leave the tech industry.) Kelly is honored to both advocate on behalf of TFC clients and grow this new division of the company.
Kelly grew up in San Jose, California where she spent most of her time on Tumblr (a place she still resides to this day.) She graduated from Yale University with a BA in History. While at Yale, Kelly was on the debate team and managed a late-night diner, where she changed lives by adding avocado toast to the menu. She lives in Los Angeles and enjoys indoor bouldering and doting on her beloved cat, Alfie.