Originally from Texas, Lacey Da Costa has reinvented herself many times but always with the goal of serving others. The Monaco resident since 2010 left behind a medical career in cardiac care and entered the world of film and non-profit foundations, and is currently the President of the International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA).
Lacey has shifted her storytelling talent from film to books. She has teamed up with veteran journalist Nancy Heslin to create Carob Tree Publishing, Monaco’s first English-language book publishing house. Created in March 2024, the Monaco-registered SARL is committed to embracing diversity and fostering inclusion, particularly with women authors and women-focused projects
Named after the country’s national tree, Carob Tree Publishing believes supporting local businesses is worth more than the bottom line. The company’s Made-in-Monaco books and projects will create a publishing eco-system to support local writers, local designers, local photographers, local artists, local businesses and local printers in the Principality.
For those familiar with her caring nature, organisation and discipline, it is no surprise that Lacey holds a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Texas Christian University. Or that she was as an elite athlete in her teens whose Olympic dreams came to an end when she broke her back. Or that she was one of the first people in Monaco to open her home to Ukrainian refugees who fled after the 2022 Russian invasion.
It is these traits that won the heart of IEFTA founder, filmmaker and philanthropist, Marco Orsini, who brought Lacey on as assistant and production coordinator and led her to oversaw two critical international UN Refugee Campaigns (in print, broadcast and new media) while developing IEFTA’s engagement with the educational and industrial capacity of emerging economies in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Film credits include: Latin Four Plus (2022); Beyond the Raging Sea (2019); Refugee Voices in Film (Editions 2017-2024); and Gray Matters (2014).