Bilingual Spanish-American Creative Director, copywriter, and filmmaker based in San Francisco, currently Creative Lead at Dolby Laboratories, where I shape creative strategy, storytelling, and content. Over the past 20+ years, I’ve led creative teams across agency and brand environments, including in-house leadership roles at Amazon and award-winning agencies such as Proximity BBDO and Alma DDB (Ad Age A-List). I co-founded Free Range Puppies — a hybrid agency and film production company with offices in San Francisco and Barcelona — where I spent a decade as Executive Creative Director crafting branded storytelling and original film work, including a feature documentary. I've taught as an Adjunct Professor in the MFA Advertising program at Academy of Art University.
My folks have always said, "Fran, you have a knack for moving people." That's the through-line in everything I make. The work is human-centered and story-driven — and somewhere along the way it picked up 50+ awards in advertising and film festivals, coverage from NPR, KQED, CBS, Fox, Univision, and the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle, and invitations to speak at TEDx San Francisco and Creative Mornings. Oh, and a FilmHouse Residency at SFFILM. Expect plenty of heart. A touch of humor too.
When I'm not working, I'm usually learning and making music — guitar, ukulele, piano, and Native American flutes, sometimes all at once.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Creative Lead, Americas | Dolby | Full-time
September 2025 – Present | San Francisco, CA
Creative Director & Filmmaker | Freelance
January 2024 – September 2025 | San Francisco, CA
Creative Director | Amazon | Full-Time
December 2021 – December 2023 | San Francisco, CA
Multicultural Creative Director & Copywriter | Pandora | Freelance
March 2014 – December 2021 | Oakland, CA
Co-Founder, Executive Creative Director | Free Range Puppies | Full-Time
April 2012 – November 2021 | San Francisco and Barcelona
Filmmaker Artist in Residence | SFFILM
November 2016 – November 2018 | San Francisco, CA
Adjunct Professor, MFA in Advertising | Academy of Art University | Part-Time
September 2010 – December 2015 | San Francisco, CA
Associate Creative Director | Alma DDB | Full-Time
October 2008 – March 2012 | San Francisco, CA
Associate Creative Director | Proximity BBDO | Full-Time
August 2003 – April 2007 | Madrid, Spain
education
BFA in Advertising and PR | University of Navarra
1999 – 2003 | Pamplona, Spain | Cum Laude
MFA in Advertising (Copywriting Major) | Academy of Art University
2007 – 2010 | San Francisco, CA | Cum Laude, Valedictorian Nomination
Screenwriting Course | International School of Cinema (EICTV)
Summer of 2011 | San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba
A Crash Course on AI | Stanford Continuing Studies
Summer of 2024 | Stanford University, CA
Generative AI | NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute
May 2026
Music Certificate of Achievement | City College of San Francisco
January 2024 – Present | San Francisco, CA