Karen Robinovitz is a media veteran who launched Digital Brand Architects (DBA), the first talent management agency for digital influencers. Largely credited for creating the social media influencer market, Karen has been listed as one of 80 Women of Power by Variety and Forbes has called her one of the best-branded women in social media.

Before DBA, she created social media strategies for brands such as Tiffany & Co., Tory Burch, Coach, and Estée Lauder Companies. She spent a decade as an accomplished journalist, contributing to the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Marie Claire amongst others, and was on-air talent on VH-1, E!, MTV and more. She has authored three books, all of which went into over seven printings. Karen is on the boards of both the Brooklyn Museum and the Bronx Museum of the Arts. She turned to slime, her favorite toy as a four-year old (when slime first launched as a consumer product), when she hung out with Mattie, her friend’s daughter last summer.

Pat Taggart has been producing creative content professionally for over 20 years. The 41-year-old Writer/Director is “hands on” for all three phases of the production process. His film partner, the 45 yr old Frank Petka, compliments Taggart well with his relentless behind the scenes hustle and project coordination. Together, they’ve combined to make some noise in and around the Philly area, constantly focused on getting their work distributed or to network TV. All of their projects under the Owl Town banner must have an infusion of humor, as they want to entertain and make people laugh. Both Philly natives, they reside in the King of Prussia, PA area with their wives & children.

Grishma is a South Asian artist, film consultant and entertainment psychologist. She has worked across the media industry, serving as unit production manager, producer, and script supervisor, film programming manager and currently serves as co-director of ReelAbilities Film Festival Chicago.

Lauren Ridloff starred in the Marvel film Eternals as the deaf superhero Makkari, and plays Connie in the hit TV show The Walking Dead. She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her breakout role in Children of a Lesser God.

A friend and collaborator with ReelAbilities since the beginning, Lawrence Carter-Long is an internationally respected authority on the history and evolution of disability in film and media. He has provided feedback, guidance, curated, or consulted on projects for SAG AFTRA, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Sundance Institute, the American Film Institute, NPR, ITVS, the BBC, along with other notable names and initials that Non Disclosure Agreements don’t allow us to reveal.
In 2012, and again in 2021, Lawrence curated and cohosted “The Projected Image: A History of Disability in Film” on Turner Classic Movies reaching 87 million people. An updated, revised version of the project will be repeated on the popular cable channel this July.
As an author, Lawrence has written for a broad range of publications including academic journals like Film Quarterly, had pieces commissioned by PBS and The Atlantic, and been published in major mainstream publications like USA Today. A popular public speaker and educator, Lawrence has lectured on disability history and media representation at the Library of Congress, the Television Academy, and the United Nations, among other respected venues.
As an analyst, Lawrence’s insights are featured in the award-winning 2020 feature documentary, “Code of the Freaks,” a radical reframing of disabled characters in film. As an actor, he appears in the 2021 NY Times Critic’s Pick, “Best Summer Ever” as Officer Gorinsky.
Previously the communications lead for the National Council on Disability – the independent federal agency that played a central role in drafting what became the Americans with Disabilities Act – during the Obama administration, Lawrence is currently the Co Director of DisArt, a Disability centered production company and consulting nonprofit organization based in Grand Rapids, MI. He resides in Oakland, CA.

My name is Julia Chavez. I am a licensed massage therapist and mother of three from El Paso, Texas. Before El Otro Tom [The Other Tom] I had no prior experience in acting, but I am looking forward to pursuing an acting career and am grateful for the opportunity.

Danny Woodburn (Seinfeld, Watchmen) is a celebrated actor with more than 150 TV appearances and 30 films to date, renowned for his work in disability activism, for the last 25 years; working with studios, advocacy organizations, universities and media outlets.  His presence can be found on every aspect of the disability movement in film and television that have led to the changes happening in the industry today.

First generation Iranian-American, Person Who Stutters, and LGBTQ+ writer/producer, Shea Mirzai is a four-time honoree of Franklin Leonard’s annual Black List and a member of the WGA. Mr. Mirzai has written features for Will Smith and Overbrook Productions and Tucker Tooley of Tooley Entertainment. He is also Executive Producer of Nat Geo’s ORIGINS: THE JOURNEY OF HUMANKIND.

After selling action-drama feature spec RUTH to AGC Studios and being hired to reboot the AMERICAN PIE franchise at Universal, Shea has launched Space Coyote Productions, a full service production company in which he is the founder & CEO.

A graduate of the University of California, Irvine with a B.A. in Film & Media Studies and African-American Studies, Shea is also an alumnus of RespectAbility’s 2020 Summer Lab for Entertainment Professionals as a Mid-Career Mentor.

Before writing and producing full time, Shea cut his teeth in the film industry working for mini-major studio Relativity Media first as a Story Analyst and, later, as Head of the Story Department from 2008-2015. Mirzai is repped by Zero Gravity Management, APA Scripted Literary and GGSSC.

Anita Hollander, SAG-AFTRA National Chair of Performers with Disabilities, has written & performed work throughout Europe, Asia, Russia and America, in film, TV, and live theatre. Her award-winning original solo musicals Still Standing & Spectacular Falls have played Off-Broadway, at the Kennedy Center, White House, nationally & internationally. Most recent TV appearances include Law & Order and Welcome To Flatch. She also works with Actors Equity, Broadway League, Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, WGA, CSA, PGA, AMPTP and ReelAbilities Film Festival promoting greater diversity in all media.