Maria Porto is a Disabled, Indigenous, Latina Activist and Advisor. She founded ACCESS Broadway NY in 2022. Experienced in developing pathways for intentional accessibility for theater venues across the country she is a proud part of the disabled community and recognizes the barriers often placed within the theater and entertainment industries. In founding ACCESS Broadway NY she assembled a team of consultants who are all of varying Disabilities to help create systems, programming, and software’s to bridge those barriers for the community.
Over the last 8 years she has dedicated her time to advocating for those in the community who need accommodations and designing pathways for theaters to provide such services. She has worked with Karen Etcoff as an assistant casting director on A Different Man, the Manhattan Theater Club, The Broadway League and most recently joined as Disability Inclusion Consultant for Heartstrings, a tour created by UNCEF. Her work with ACCESS Broadway NY also promotes accessible performances, which involves the coordination of ASL Interpreters, Touch Tours, Sensory friendly performances.
My name is Evelien Spreitzer and I live in Utrecht. The documentary SEXUAL HEALING is about my search for intimacy. I am handicapped from birth, spastic.
Jackie’s bilingual and bicultural background supported her work in both deaf and hearing businesses. Today, she is a real estate broker selling residential properties with a white glove company, Corcoran, in Manhattan. Since the pandemic, she’s reentered the entertainment field as an actor after a hiatus of more than 10 years through Deaf Broadway, on zoom. She is currently working on a handful of creative projects.
Born to deaf parents and raised in Brooklyn, New York, American Sign Language was her first language. Jackie’s professional life experiences bridging deaf and hearing worlds helped her understand the internal workings of corporations and in non-profits, in education for the deaf, law, and in businesses. She travelled to Nigeria where she volunteered and taught theater for six months at the school for the deaf in Ibadan. She received certification training in diversity and inclusion and coaches clients privately.
As the person who strategized and promoted the Deaf President Now movement to victory, she is at the top of her game paving way for new directions between diverse groups so that they can work together. Being bilingual and bicultural, she understands how differences can polarize and how critical it is to create a safe space to reconcile differences. Jackie has produced theater and film, one of which is the Academy Award nominated documentary, SOUND AND FURY (2000). Today, she is writing a book, a memoir.
Isabella Bassett is a producer based in Glasgow and founder of Scottish-based production company, Compatible Film & TV which seeks to tell exciting, diverse stories. Isabella has produced four award-winning short films which have screened at a host of UK & International film festivals. Isabella has recently been selected for the BAFTA x BFI Flare LGBTQ+ talent mentorship programme 2024. Isabella is currently producing their first short documentary for the Scottish Documentary Institute and is in development on a new, diverse TV drama, ‘The Bowling Green’.
Anthony Michael Lopez is known for his role as Bruce on Michelle Buteau’s Netflix hit “Survival of The Thickest” and for originating the role of Sir Dinadan in Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Camelot on Broadway. Other credits include Broad City, Homeland, New Amsterdam, and many other movies, TV shows, and national commercials.
Anthony was born with a congenital disability affecting his right leg. As an activist, he works to expand disability equity within corporations, arts organizations, and school groups. He was recently named one of Queerty’s Pride50 honorees, recognizing Anthony’s contributions at the intersection of queerness and disability.
Catch Anthony in the upcoming feature film “The Shallow Tale” starring Steve Buscemi, premiering this year at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Jordan Moffet is an award winning screenwriter who has written films for major studios, his credits include: Like Mike, George Of Jungle 2. He created the series Rhythm & Blues for NBC and has written for many shows including: Barney Miller, It Takes Two, and One Day At A Time. He has taught screenwriting at UCLA and Central Connecticut College.
Shari Eberts is a passionate hearing health advocate and internationally recognized author and speaker on hearing loss issues. She is the founder of Living with Hearing Loss, a popular blog and online community for people with hearing loss, and an executive producer of We Hear You, an award-winning documentary about the hearing loss experience. Her book, Hear & Beyond: Live Skillfully with Hearing Loss, (co-authored with Gael Hannan) is the ultimate survival guide to living well with hearing loss. Shari has an adult-onset genetic hearing loss and hopes that by sharing her story, she will help others to live more peacefully with their own hearing issues. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Psychology from Duke University. LivingWithHearingLoss.com
Miriam Mintz is the VP of Television for Likely Story where they produced the second season of Modern Love for Amazon, and Living With Yourself on Netflix. Currently they have shows in development at FOX, Peacock, MGM+, UCP and 20th. Previous to Likely Story, Miriam worked at GroupNine/JASH, IFC and Comedy Central.
Kimberly Manky (she/her) is a writer working in both features and TV. She grew up in a very small town in Northern British Columbia with the highest violent crime rate in Canada (not her fault). At the age of 13, and inspired by Saturday Night Live, Kimberly approached the local cable access station and created her own sketch series. Loser Friendly was widely regarded as “Must See TV” (by her parents).
Kimberly has studied Screenwriting at Oxford, Contextual Theology at St. Mellitus College, and received a Master’s Degree (Honors) from the University of London in Screenwriting and Narrative Fiction. Her comedic TV pilots, specs, and features have placed in numerous screenwriting competitions, including Austin Film Festival, Screencraft, PAGE, CineStory, and The Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting.
Kimberly writes stories that are full of hope, heart and humanity. She aims to facilitate change and combat stigmas around mental health and disabilities, and hopes that her writing can bring awareness and understanding to these common human experiences. She is a Fellow of RespectAbility’s Entertainment Lab, a Mentee of the 1in4 Coalition Writers’ Program, and an alumna of the Canadian Film Centre.
Fun Fact: Kimberly was once in a sketch with Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter and her comedy hero, Amy Poehler.
Brett is well known for his beloved portrayals of C.B. in ABC’s Schooled and Micheal Cordero in the CW’s hit series Jane the Virgin.
Growing up in Canada, Dier knew early on he wanted to pursue acting. He quickly started to garner a large body of work within the Canadian market including multiple nominations for his recurring Guest Performance in the acclaimed Canadian series Bomb Girls. Following that he starred in the spin-off of Pretty Little Liars, Ravenswood for ABC Family.
Dier recently starred in the NBC Romcom Maybe It’s You.
Dier’s feature credits include a lead in The New Romantic which premiered at SXSW along with the independent films Fresh with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Scrambled opposite Leah McKendrick.
He starred opposite Robert DeNiro and Sebastian Maniscalco in the Lionsgate feature About My Father.
He is proud to be a part of the critically acclaimed Good Bad Things.
