“Django is a natural leader who consistently empowers his team to feel confident in their work while encouraging them to grow and stretch beyond their comfort zones. He intentionally balances his wealth of knowledge from his extensive creative experience with a genuine openness to fresh ideas from every voice in the room.

Although I am no longer a direct report, I use the skills Django taught me on an everyday basis in my current role. Django taught me soft skills that are often unspoken rules in the corporate world- from communicating effectively with other teams, to leveraging my own strategic thinking, and pitching my ideas in clear and concise presentations for C-suite executives. Django was my manager during a pivotal time in my design career where I was looking to transition to the next level and advance into a leadership role. He mentored me through my first direct report intern, and was always open and available for advice throughout this process. Simply put, Django is not only a great leader, he creates great leaders.”

“Django lead a team for a company that could be described as challenging at best. While dysfunction was present in virtually every part of the company, our team was a well-oiled machine. He brought out the best in us both professionally and personally. He made sure all of us were taking that next step in our development regardless of what it was. These are lessons I’ve brought with me at every position I’ve held since.”

“Django has been a really great advocate for me, and he always keeps it real. He is great at thinking about how projects impact everyone involved. Everything he does is incredibly intentional. Django is always looking for opportunities to make projects the best they can be and ensures that everyone who has a part in it isn’t overworked. He has created structures to streamline processes that have been really beneficial to our team and the organization as a whole. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as valuable to a team before. Django makes me feel seen and heard.”

“I’ve been fortunate enough to work alongside Django on a variety of projects for the last decade. On every occasion, he is consistently thoughtful, both to the outcome of what we are filming, but also to the crew working with him. Not once have I ever felt out of the loop or unsure of what our common purpose was on a set or location. His communication in this regard is outstanding. But even better in my opinion is his willingness to listen and incorporate feedback without missing a beat. Simply put, he brings clarity to a project and manages a team seemingly without effort. After so many pleasant experiences working on a crew for him, I don’t hesitate when asked.”

“It was clear coming into our first meeting that Django had already put considerable thought into what the project could look like, while being conscientious of the campaign’s goals. I was consistently impressed by Django’s patience and gentle tenacity in moving production forward. He provided regular and concise progress updates, as well as clear steps forward. And the final project? We were all gobsmacked by the film’s magic. It captured Mello’s vision, drive and inspiration for Omaha.”

“Django has been an invaluable part of multiple productions we’ve created for the Union Pacific brand. Developing technical animations can be a difficult task to clearly communicate from concept-to-completion, and I believe that his guidance was a huge reason for our success. Most importantly, Django possesses an uncanny ability to bridge the gap between creative-speak and corporate-speak, balancing multiple points of view simultaneously while allowing for projects to continue on track without losing vital details. I’m extremely happy with the work we’ve been able to create while working together.”

“When Django talked to us about this article, it felt like we were just having a casual chat rather than an interview. The article he wrote was powerful and our whole team was very proud of the way he captured the story. He is an excellent writer. Django also spent time teaching me about video creation so my team could produce short videos on a budget. Django is passionate about his work and goes the extra mile.”