Curley Johnson grew up in Paris, France and Northern Virginia. His early passion was music. He attended the Juilliard School until 20, played in punk bands until 25, and then became a nightclub manager near Washington D.C. where he made his first video to entertain customers. To pursue this new passion, Curley moved to Portland, Oregon to work on film and commercial crews. He eventually attended New York University’s graduate film school, emerging as a cinematographer and director. Curley has created numerous videos, commercials and films over the years. One of his favorite jobs was as Director of Photography on Comedy Central’s “Gary and Mike,” and his commercial work has earned Telly and Emmy awards. More recently, Curley produced work for non-profits, advocating migrant worker rights, raising awareness for suicide prevention, and promoting charter schools. Curley joined Stand in 2012 with the goal of applying his passion for strong video to our urgent mission of improving education for all kids.