News

Dr. Deborah Fisher

We are happy to welcome Dr. Deborah Fisher as Interim CEO to assist with RespectAbility’s transition. Dr. Fisher is well known and respected in the disability and nonprofit community. She has been working with multiple members of RespectAbility’s leadership team for several years as an executive coach. She will report to RespectAbility’s Board of Directors through the Chairman of the Board, Ollie Cantos.

“I am delighted to join RespectAbility during this important transition period,” said Dr. Fisher, who has worked with numerous nonprofits during their periods of change. “In my experience, having a transition CEO is a valuable opportunity for organizations to prepare themselves for a new leader, particularly as the next person will be the first successor to the founder. I look forward to assisting the staff in continuing its good work.”

The search for the new CEO will continue as planned. RespectAbility is committed to an inclusive process and will continue to work with David Hinsley Cheng and DHC Search to identify our new CEO.

Los Angeles, CA, February 15 – RespectAbility Apprentice Roy Payan didn’t set out to spark a national conversation about disability access in higher education. However, when Payan – who is blind – found himself struggling to gain access to adequate and appropriate materials to complete math classes at Los Angeles Community College, he began his quest to make improvements for himself and other students with disabilities.

According to Payan, one campus official claimed, “there were not enough blind students to warrant a change.”

“He also informed me that if I desired, I was welcome to sue them, but that even if I won the case, he would not implement any changes,” Payan says. “So, I sued them.”

That was in 2016. [continue reading…]

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Sacramento, CA, February 14 – How will the great state of California invest millions of federal and state dollars in support of jobseekers across the state? This is the central question at stake as the California Workforce Development Board publicly discusses further changes to the state’s California’s Unified Strategic Workforce Development Plan (State Plan) 2020-2023 Modification. In response, and in collaboration with partner organizations across the state, RespectAbility, a national, nonpartisan nonprofit organization, submitted testimony on how to implement best practices, advocate for greater inclusion and improve the standing of people with disabilities in the workforce.

“When it was passed with broad, bipartisan support in 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) invested unprecedented resources into efforts to get people with barriers to employment into the labor force,” said Olegario “Ollie” Cantos VII, RespectAbility’s Chairman. “Now, after the pandemic that has reshaped our economy, it is time to devote significant attention to supporting the economic advancement of students, job-seekers, and entrepreneurs with disabilities. We are glad to see the California board’s efforts to solicit public feedback and we are eager to collaborate on effective solutions for jobseekers with significant barriers to employment.”

There are more than 1.9 million working age (18-64) Californians living with some form of disability. Before the pandemic, 38.2 percent of the working age population of people with disabilities were employed. It is critical that California’s state workforce board listen to the individuals with disabilities and advocates impacted by these unemployment rates. In order to make the workforce more inclusive, and to find practical ways to make the workforce more accessible for the entire population, RespectAbility collects, summarizes, and publicizes ideas on key workforce solutions. To learn more about RespectAbility’s advocacy work, please visit our Policy website. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, CA, February 13 – As many fans are gearing up to watch the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals face off at Super Bowl LVI, just as many viewers are looking forward to the commercials. Television advertising plays a major role in shaping how people with disabilities are portrayed in the mass media. While 26% of adults in the U.S. have a disability, advertising featuring people with disabilities lags is practically absent. As a Nielsen study reflects, “with a $21 billion market potential, advertisers cannot afford to miss the opportunity to engage with the disabled community and their allies.”

A recent Nielsen study examined nearly 450,000 primetime ads on broadcast and cable TV in February 2021. Of those ads, 6,000 (just 1%) included representation of disability-related themes, visuals, or topics. The Nielsen analysis also found that just 3% of ad spend in primetime went to ads featuring disabled people or were inclusive of disability themes in the creative.

“Including an individual with a visible disability in a commercial does not happen by accident,” said Lauren Appelbaum, RespectAbility’s VP of Communications and Entertainment & News Media. “Inclusion of disabled people must be an intentional effort. What we see on screen influences how we act in real life. Thus, when companies make the decision to include individuals with visible disabilities, they are helping to remove the stigmas that currently exist about interacting with us.” [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, CA, Feb. 10 – RespectAbility has been approved for a Grants for Arts Projects award to support the RespectAbility Lab for Disabled Entertainment Professionals. Now entering its fourth year, the Entertainment Lab aims to further develop and elevate the talent pipeline of professionals with disabilities working behind-the-scenes in television and film, while introducing them to studio executives and other decision makers who advise Lab Fellows on various aspects of the industry and their craft. This also enables studios and production companies to learn about the talents and benefits of hiring disabled people to work in all aspects of the storytelling process. As such, Lab alumni currently are working at Disney, Netflix, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, Showtime, and more. The RespectAbility Entertainment Lab is among 1,248 projects across America totaling $28,840,000 that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from RespectAbility that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers. “RespectAbility is among the arts organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.”

“The Entertainment Lab is a unique program that merges our work in the entertainment industry while pulling in the reason RespectAbility was founded – to create more opportunities for people with disabilities who desire to be employed,” said Lauren Appelbaum, Vice President of Communications and Entertainment & News Media at RespectAbility. “We do not want anyone to have an excuse that they could not find a disabled writer, animator, director, or any other position. We are thrilled to receive this grant from NEA that will enable more disabled entertainment professionals to benefit from this program.” [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., Feb. 1 – As we celebrate Black History Month, which takes place every February, RespectAbility recognizes the contributions made and the important presence of African Americans in the United States. It is important to note this includes more than 5.5 million African Americans living with a disability.

Some celebrities and business leaders are using their voice to share their stories, educating people about both visible and nonvisible disabilities. They are defying the statistics and have remained highly successful with their disabilities. These role models make a big difference in setting high expectations for youth with disabilities. People with disabilities of all backgrounds can be amongst the highest achievers on earth. Harriet Tubman had Epilepsy, actress Halle Berry lives with diabetes, business leader and Shark Tank superstar Daymond John is dyslexic and Stevie Wonder is blind. Poet laureate Amanda Gorman, who had a speech impediment, shared her genius both at the 2021 inauguration and at the Super Bowl. Each of them is a positive role model for success. They are perfect candidates for RespectAbility’s #RespectTheAbility campaign, which is shining a light on individuals with disabilities who are succeeding in their chosen careers. [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., January 31 – At the opening press conference of the 114th Winter Meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA), Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas addressed the historical upward trend in labor participation rate for working-aged people with disabilities.

“There is great opportunity to improve the lives and productivity of those with disabilities,” said Gov. Hutchinson. Gov. Hutchinson, who is also responsible for leading NGA in the year ahead, pointed out the profound value of acting “whenever we can make digital access a tool” to create new opportunities.

As of the final quarter of 2021, the labor force participation rate for working-aged people with disabilities is now 2 full percentage points higher than it was before COVID-19. This means that people with disabilities are working in higher numbers than before the pandemic. As employers struggle to fill millions of open jobs across America and in many sectors, people with disabilities remain a fantastic talent pool. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people with disabilities now have a 35.6 percent labor force participation rate, compared to 76.1 percent for those without disabilities. Thus, Governors who adopt a focused strategy for getting more people with disabilities into the workforce can dramatically grow success in their states. [continue reading…]

Courtesy Of Sundance Institute | Photo By Chris Witt

Los Angeles, CA, January 28 – “892” is a film that stands out with beautiful cinematography, strong characters, and a powerful message. Recently making its debut at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, the film tells the true story of Marine veteran and father, Brian Brown-Easley, and his experiences with PTSD, schizophrenia, and paranoia while living in a $25 daily-rate motel in Atlanta, GA, and a system that failed him.

“I have to tell my story.” These words said by Brown-Easley couldn’t be more true, and he will get his wish with “892,” which highlights the valuable lessons the audience will learn after watching it.

Leading actor John Boyega gives a masterclass performance as Brian Brown-Easley, taking us through the various stages of his moods: paranoia, shyness, rage, and so much more. One of the sad moments for me was realizing this was actor Michael K. Williams’ last role, who tragically passed away in September 2021. In the film, Michael K. Williams played Eli Bernard, a Marine veteran, who now leads a law enforcement team that is called to the Wells Fargo Bank that Brown-Easley is holding hostage to gain media attention to share his story. Eli was one of the few people in this film that showed an understanding with Brown-Easley that not many others can relate to. [continue reading…]

Toolkit to be featured at “Rising Stars” Event celebrating Jewish Disability Action and Inclusion Month

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Los Angeles, CA, January 27 – RespectAbility, an organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community, is debuting a new toolkit that will equip Jewish individuals and organizations with the best strategies to promote the full inclusion and participation of Jews with disabilities in all aspects of Jewish life.

The Jewish Disability Inclusion toolkit is available on RespectAbility’s website now and will be featured at RespectAbility’s celebratory event in honor of Jewish Disability Action and Inclusion Month on February 20, 2022, at 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. ET. The “Rising Stars” event will pair information about the toolkit with a showcase of some of RespectAbility’s talented speakers with disabilities from the Jewish community.

“The Jewish Disability Inclusion toolkit is a comprehensive resource which brings together not only RespectAbility’s near decade of work on this issue, but the work of key partners including Howard Blas, Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, and Matan,” said Matan Koch, Vice President for Workforce, Leadership and Faith Programs at RespectAbility. “It is an example of the new paradigm of collaboration sweeping the Jewish disability inclusion community.” [continue reading…]