News

Ian Malesiewski

Los Angeles, Sept. 20 – Ian Malesiewski, who lives with a Spinal Cord Injury, was a Public Policy and Employment Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Winter and Spring 2021, and he is now off to use his multidimensional academic background with his applied policy change experience to make spheres of influence in politics more inclusive for people with disabilities.

Malesiewski was awarded a full academic scholarship to the University of Miami, where he is majoring in neuroscience and triple minoring in chemistry, public health, and philosophy. His work with disability advocacy shifted his professional aspirations from a traditional med-school route, to one of law. RespectAbility exposed Malesiewski to the impact he can have through policy change, as he worked directly on the accessibility of the 2020 presidential election and relaunching America’s Workforce Act. In his law career, Malesiewski plans on prioritizing the employment gap of people with disabilities and expanding Medicaid and Medicare benefit programs. [continue reading…]

Krista Ramirez-Villatoro

Los Angeles, Sept 19 – For my family, the 15th of September has historically been spent in my parents’ backyard commemorating my father’s birthday with a “churrasco.” In my family, the 15th is not be confused with the 14th, which is what is actually on my father’s birth certificate, because his father was too drunk on the day his son was born to remember if he had arrived that day or the day before.

On this day only, my father goes by the nickname of independencio, because on the same day 2,385 miles away, Guatemala is celebrating their independence from the Spanish empire. The streets are covered in white and blue, and the emergency rooms are full to the brim with injuries from the sheer amount of illegal fireworks. Runners make their way on the cobblestone streets of Antigua lighting the Independence Torches. I, however, have never experienced this in person. [continue reading…]

“We have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time! It’s exhausting!” – Abraham Quintanilla, Selena, 1997

Alejandra Tristan

Austin, Texas, Sept 19 – Being raised as a first generation American, I always was taught to be proud of where I came from and know our culture from Mexico. The richness of having a community, a family full of Tia’s, Tio’s, Abuelos, neighbors that became family. That beauty that comes with being Hispanic and from such a vibrant and bright culture. What isn’t really taught is how to communicate about disabilities of all kinds; mental, physical, visible, and nonvisible.

When my diagnosis of a physical disability came into play, there was a cultural outlook on not only myself but my family about how I was the pobrecita (poor thing) of the family. With those cultural elements of being proud of being Mexican and American, I was taught from a young age to be proud of being from two communities. However, no one really teaches you to be proud of being disabled and that it’s okay to ask for help for one’s needs. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, Sept. 17 – As a part of RespectAbility’s 2021 Summer Lab, participants spoke with several members of the Nickelodeon Digital Studios team to learn about the inner workings of the company’s video production and casting processes. Nickelodeon prides itself in creating content for children that is diverse and inclusive. The team spoke excitedly about their projects and videos that include children who have both visible and nonvisible disabilities.

Marc Cantone, Sr. Director, Preschool Digital Content, and Skylar Apter, Supervising Producer, Editorial & Development, at Nickelodeon Digital Studios, outlined how their department works. Much of their work is in coordination with shows found on Nick Jr, including Blue’s Clues & You! and Blaze and the Monster Machines. For example, this YouTube video featuring Blaze also features young disabled athletes. Released after this conversation with Lab participants, RespectAbility team members consulted on this video. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, Sept. 16 – Several members of the ViacomCBS family, including representatives from MTV, Paramount Pictures and Showtime, recently joined the RespectAbility Summer Lab to speak on community impact within an entertainment studio setting. Matthew Sinsheimer, Director of Corporate and Digital Communications at Showtime (a subsidiary network operating under the ViacomCBS umbrella); Adam Robinson, VP of Corporate Social Responsibility at ViacomCBS; Daylee Baker, Manager of Social Impact at MTV Entertainment Group; Erin Jordan, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Paramount Pictures; and Andrew Machles, VP of Public Affairs & Viewer Services at Nickelodeon took part in this important conversation. [continue reading…]

Rockville, Maryland, Sept. 15 – Today marks the first day National Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated each year from September 15 through October 15. National Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes the contributions made and the important presence of Hispanic and Latinx Americans in the United States and celebrates their heritage and culture. It is important to note this includes more than 5.4 million Hispanic/Latinx people living with a disability in the U.S.

According to the Disability Statistics Compendium, released by Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, there are 2,969,668 working-age Hispanic/Latinx people in the United States. Out of that number, 1,213,808 had jobs in 2019. This means that before the COVID-19 pandemic, the disability employment rate for working-age Hispanic/Latinx people with disabilities was 40.9 percent. This is 36.1 percent lower than the employment rate for working-age Hispanic/Latinx people without disabilities. [continue reading…]

Marc Musynzski

Los Angeles, September 14 – As the 2021 cohort of RespectAbility’s Summer Lab for Entertainment Professionals with Disabilities approached the conclusion of eight weeks together, the group was joined by Lab alumnus Marc Muszynski to chat about what comes next after the program. He offered plenty of insight and tips for leveraging the connections made within the Lab to help further your career, and also shared some of his own experiences after completing the Lab in 2019, including writing for the upcoming Showtime revival of Dexter.

“Sometimes, you’ve just got to ask to be a part of stuff,” Muszynski started off the conversation by urging the cohort members not to be afraid to ask for the opportunities they want. He went on to explain how before the Lab, he had trouble finding an assistant job since he does not drive due to being legally blind, and many entry-level jobs in the industry require employees to drive and run errands throughout the day. But he kept asking around for work and applying to jobs, and eventually found a part-time student internship (which he qualified for by enrolling in LA City College), which helped kickstart his career, eventually leading to more work on desks at other studios and networks, all while Muszynski also was writing and refining his own scripts, and continuing to build his network of industry connections. [continue reading…]

1978-2021

Justin W. Chappell, who devoted his life to human and disability rights, was a terrific public speaker and a wonderful friend to everyone who met him.

RespectAbility mourns the sudden loss of Justin W. Chappell, an alumnus of our National Leadership Program, who passed away in his sleep. Along with his husband Ben Spangenberg, our National Leadership Program Director, Chappell has been heavily involved in RespectAbility’s work for many years. Chappell, like Spangenberg, was a wheelchair user born with Spina bifida. He identified as “a gay man with a disability from a multi-racial family.”

Ben Spangenberg and Justin Chappell on the Campaign Trail in 2016

Chappell and Spangenberg attended numerous national political conventions together and met pretty much every top U.S. elected leader in their efforts to advocate for disability rights. They traveled through Iowa and New Hampshire in both 2016 and 2020 to get candidates on the record on disability issues. Chappell wrote 19 pieces for us from the campaign trail that are available to read at The RespectAbility Report. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, September 9 – In the final week of RespectAbility’s Summer Lab for Entertainment Professionals with Disabilities, participants were welcomed into the magical world of DreamWorks Animation to discover what it takes to turn a concept into a great film. Many know DreamWorks is recognized for creating some of the best disability representation in animation with features like How to Train Your Dragon but were excited to learn how the process of animation works to be accessible as well.

Janie Kahan, currently a Story and Editorial Coordinator for an unannounced feature film at DreamWorks Animation with previous credits including Trolls World Tour and Croods: A New Age, led the discussion with the help of Stacy Lindenbaum, an intern at DreamWorks’ Training Department with a background in music and animation. Kahan’s engaging presentation full of behind-the-scenes looks, included information on every role in the animation process from production assistants to story editors and the difference between CFX and VFX artists. “If you want to work in animation, really find what department interests you,” Kahan encouraged. “Learn everything you can about that department.” [continue reading…]