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RespectAbility Entertainment Professionals Lab, Summer 2021

Gabby (G) Momah

Gabby {G} Momah (they/them) is a Black queer nonbinary storyteller, actor, writer, director, and producer raised on the unceded territories of the Tongva and Ohlone peoples on the west coast. G’s writing, directing and performance work is rooted in showcasing black trans voices and experiences from both comedic and dramatic lenses. They have also performed in various Bay Area theater productions including Schoolgirls; Or the African Mean Girls Play at Berkeley Repertory Theater, Top Girls at American Conservatory Theater and numerous shows with the sketch comedy group Killing My Lobster and the National Queer Arts Festival. Gabby is a Resident Artist of Crowded Fire Theater in the Bay Area, and has trained at Stanford University, San Francisco Mime Troupe, and The Actors Space. They are currently pursuing their MFA in Acting and Directing at Brown / Trinity Repertory Theater on occupied Narragansett and Wampanoag land. They are also a bomb cook, enjoy expressing their creativity in the kitchen and always down to build community and prism resources through food. Stay connected with G on IG @gabriellamomah. [continue reading…]

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It is vital to ensure authentic disability representation, considering that disability intersects with all other underrepresented populations. While AAPI representation in film and television has seen an increase in the past few years, there is still work to be done for AAPI disability representation. Watch a discussion with AAPI creatives working in front of and behind the camera to ensure inclusive representation moving forward. [continue reading…]

• AAPI People with Disabilities
• News You Can Use

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Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month by recognizing the Legislative Leadership of Sen. Mazie Hirono

Washington, D.C., May 23 – U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) has been working in government since the 1980’s, striving tirelessly to make a difference and has made great advances on many fronts. She is the first Asian American woman elected to the Senate, the first woman elected to the Senate from Hawaii, and the first Buddhist senator. As of May 2017, Hirono is also a woman with a disability serving in the U.S. Senate.

During an x-ray before minor eye surgery, it was discovered that Sen. Hirono had stage 4 kidney cancer. Since then, she has had to undergo surgery to remove her right kidney and a rib, as well as extensive cancer treatment. Hirono considers herself lucky that she was able to get early intervention and that she had health insurance at the time of her diagnosis. Thus, she is a strong supporter of healthcare reform and specifically, Medicare for All. However, her support for healthcare reform started long before her diagnosis. [continue reading…]

Short film series explores the intersection of disability and prayer in the Jewish community

Los Angeles, May 13, 2021 – Justin Borses, a journalist with cerebral palsy who works at Moorpark University, stars in his own segment of “What Do You Pray For?” The film was made by Ben Rosloff, a talented emerging filmmaker on the Autism spectrum who serves as a Jewish Inclusion Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program. [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., May 5 – This past week, RespectAbility contributed to the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor’s online dialogue to solicit ideas, insights, and innovations from the disability community about advancing racial and social equity. This dialogue is only the latest example of how the new Biden-Harris Administration is seeking to address the “entrenched disparities in our laws and public policies.”

On his very first day in office, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985 launching an “ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the opportunities and challenges that we face.” This is critical news for the 12.8 million Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) with disabilities who have long been harmed by structural racism and who are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 and resulting economic crisis. [continue reading…]

Submitted testimony will help inform metro area efforts to rebuild the economy and get people with disabilities back to work.

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Washington, D.C., April 28 – Last week, the Los Angeles Regional Planning Unit of the Los Angeles County Workforce Development Board invited subject matter experts, self-advocates, community members and their constituents to provide ideas about local and regional planning efforts to build a more equitable economy in a post-COVID world. In response, the national disability inclusion organization RespectAbility weighed in with their perspective on how to advance new opportunities for workers with disabilities and close crucial gaps in outcomes for people from marginalized communities.

“The Local Plan and the Regional Plan start out with an admirable goal,” said Nelly Nieblas, RespectAbility’s Manager of Policy, Advocacy and Engagement. “However, neither plan follows up on this aspiration by including people with disabilities in their demographic sections. There are multiple missed opportunities to include people with disabilities within the plans. We hope that we can partner with the Board to fix these challenges in the months ahead.” [continue reading…]

Submitted testimony will help inform Congressional efforts to rebuild the economy and get workers with disabilities back to work.

Washington, D.C., April 7 – Recently, the United States Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee invited subject matter experts, self-advocates, community members and their constituents to virtually provide ideas and insights about rebuilding the economy in a post-COVID world.

In response, the national disability inclusion organization RespectAbiltiy weighed in with their perspective on how to advance new opportunities for workers with disabilities and close crucial gaps in outcomes for people from marginalized communities. [continue reading…]

Short film series explores the intersection of disability and prayer in the Jewish community

Los Angeles, April 9, 2021 – Joshua Steinberg, the Program Associate for RespectAbility California and Jewish Leadership who lives with learning disabilities, including Attention Deficit Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Tourette’s Syndrome and mild Bipolar Disorder, stars in his own segment of “What Do You Pray For?” The film was made by Ben Rosloff, a talented emerging filmmaker on the Autism spectrum who serves as a Jewish Inclusion Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program. [continue reading…]