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Announcing RespectAbility Summit on Capitol Hill, July 31

From Hollywood to Capitol Hill: The Future of Americans with Disabilities

A Special Summit for Congressional and Senate Staff, Journalists and Disability Advocates Featuring Marc Summers of The Food Network and Tommy Morrissey, the One-Arm Golfer

Save the Date: July 31, 2017

Featuring:

headshot of Marc Summers wearing a black suit and blue shirt with arms crossed in front of a kitchen set

Marc Summers

Marc Summers, Television Host
Currently hosting the longest running show on Food Network, “Unwrapped,” some will remember him as the former Host/Producer of Nickelodeon’s “Double Dare” and “What Would You Do?” He also is the Executive Producer of Restaurant Impossible on the Food Network. In October, a new documentary about his life called On Your Marc will be released. Summers has been the National Spokesperson for The Obsessive Compulsive Foundation, has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show and Dateline discussing the issue, and wrote a book, Everything In Its Place, The Trials and Tribulations of OCD.

Tommy Morrissey, who has just one arm, golfing wearing blue shorts and a red collared shirt and baseballcap

Tommy Morrissey

Tommy Morrissey, One-Arm Golfer
Morrissey was born without most of his right arm but at the age of three was deemed a golf prodigy and today, at the age of six, travels the world advocating for other limb different children. After many national television documentaries, two features in Golf Digest Magazine and a robust social media following, Morrissey uses his platform to help other children get the help they need to fulfill their dreams just as he has.

Additional speakers will be announced soon!

Together we will celebrate the good that can be done to end stigmas and advance opportunities for the 57 million Americans with disabilities.

Location: Rayburn House Office Building, Gold Room, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.

How can I request accommodations?
ADA seating, live captioning and ASL interpreters will be provided. Please let us know in advance if you need other accommodations. 

More Information and RSVP: http://bit.ly/July31DC.

Meet the Author

Lauren Appelbaum

Lauren Appelbaum is the VP, Communications and Entertainment & News Media, of RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so all people with disabilities can fully participate in every aspect of community. As an individual with an acquired nonvisible disability – Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy – she works at the intersection of disability, employment, Hollywood and politics. She regularly conducts trainings on the why and how to be more inclusive and accessible for entertainment executives throughout the industry. Appelbaum partners with studios, production companies and writers’ rooms to create equitable and accessible opportunities to increase the number of people with lived disability experience throughout the overall story-telling process. These initiatives increase diverse and authentic representation of disabled people on screen, leading to systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities. She has consulted on more than 100 TV episodes and films with A&E, Bunim-Murray Productions, NBCUniversal, Netflix, ViacomCBS, and The Walt Disney Company, among others. She represents RespectAbility on the CAA Full Story Initiative Advisory Council, Disney+ Content Advisory Council, MTV Entertainment Group Culture Code and Sundance Institute’s Allied Organization Initiative. She is the author of The Hollywood Disability Inclusion Toolkit and the creator of an innovative Lab Program for entertainment professionals with disabilities working in development, production and post-production. She is a recipient of the 2020 Roddenberry Foundation Impact Award for this Lab. To reach her, email LaurenA@RespectAbility.org.

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