Michael grew up in Tampa, Florida. Though the middle child of five, he never wanted for attention. He was an industrious child that found plenty to do. He knew he wanted to be involved in the arts and by fourteen had set his sights on being a Creative Director at an ad agency, because someone told him he could get paid to be creative. By age 20, he was a Creative Director and when he conceived and directed his first commercial, he was convinced he had to someday make movies. In 2001 Mr. Valverde wrote, directed, and produced the independent film "Losing Grace" starring newcomers Ryan Browning and Matt Farnsworth, as well as veterans Lesley Ann Warren and Ronny Cox. In 2002 under his Green Valley Entertainment banner, Valverde developed the television show THE GRID. Later that year he co-wrote and directed the short thriller "Insanity," which stars Steve Barnes and Kip Pardue. Last year he co-wrote and directed the award-winning short thriller "No Witness," based on the short story by Steve Antczak that also inspired the 2004 "No Witness" feature. Valverde's next feature "First Offense" was completed in 2005. In addition to writing and developing film & television properties, Valverde recently completed a filmmakers guide to obtaining worldwide distribution and raising private capital entitled, Make Money Making Indie Films. A gifted communicator, Mr. Valverde is a published writer with many national and international articles to his credit. Michael resides in Atlanta and sits on the advisory board of the youth empowerment organization Soccer in the Streets. Show less «