team
EDDY RICCI
Eddy is the founding partner of various consulting firms focused on leadership development, talent strategy and acquisitions. Leadership Authority and #1 Best Selling Author, Erik Qualman has shared, “Ricci understands what motivates Gen Y teams. He is on my radar and should be on yours.” Eddy has been published or quoted in Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes and Fox Business News in addition to being on various podcasts and invited to give keynotes. He is the author of The Growth Game: A Millennial’s Guide to Professional Development. He is also the creator of Miss Money Plan & The Battle Against E-motion, a financial literacy book for kids and the adults that read with them. Eddy is a graduate of New York University and holds his Certified Financial Planner and Certified Exit Planning Advisor designations. He is an angel investor and resides in South County Rhode Island with his wife and daughters.
NATE COOK, PH.D.
Nate is a licensed psychologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Rhode Island (URI). Prior to joining the faculty at URI, Nate was a faculty member in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School and a staff neuropsychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). At MGH he provided clinical care for children and adolescents with chronic health conditions as well as physical and neurodevelopmental disabilities. He has published his research in major scientific journals in the fields of neuropsychology and clinical neuroscience. Nate is a graduate of Bridgewater State College, Roger Williams University, and the University of Rhode Island. He lives in southeastern Massachusetts with his wife and two children.
It all begins with an idea:
A brief history of big hope films.
Big Hope Films began in 2007, when Eddy Ricci saw how the act of creating a film could lift the spirits of children facing serious health challenges. He envisioned a program where each child—known as a Visionary—could collaborate with professional writers and directors to turn their own ideas into powerful stories on screen.
The first project featured a 12-year-old Visionary from Rhode Island living with a chronic illness. The Visionary worked with mentors to write a script, conduct a casting call, scout locations, and ultimately direct a short film. The short film premiered at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in 2009, serving as a capstone to the creative experience.
Around that time, Eddy shared the idea with Nate Cook, who was instantly inspired. Though years passed as they built careers and families, the idea of Big Hope Films never faded. Sixteen years later, Nate— whose personal and professional experiences had deepened his understanding of the challenges faced by children with disabilities—reached out to Eddy to explore ways to “reboot” the organization.
In 2025, Big Hope Films re-launched to carry forward the original mission: to empower children facing health and physical challenges to express themselves through film, to transform adversity into art, and to remind the world that hope belongs in every frame.
Big Hope Films, Inc., is a 501(c)(3), tax–exempt non-profit organization founded in Rhode Island.
Articles Highlighting the Original Project
Providence Business News: Film highlights struggles of ill children
Warwick Beacon: York overcomes chronic illness to create film