Joining forces with the Galaxy, April is Lucasfilm Animation’s first Casting Coordinator dedicated to supporting the creative teams with finding top tier talent and ensuring smooth operations. Prior to Lucasfilm, she was a Creative Associate under Disney General Entertainment’s Executive Incubator Program, where she rotated in Development, Casting, Current Programming, and Marketing. She is also co-founder and co-leader of Disney’s first LA Disabilities Business Employee Resource Group, ENABLED LA, which has 483 growing members. April would like to continue bridging the gap between the entertainment industry and the disability community through casting.
April developed an interest in casting when she learned that actors with disabilities are often misrepresented in the media. After temping as a Talent Casting Coordinator for Disneyland Live Entertainment, April became a Casting Assistant for AMC Network’s first show, This Close, to be created, written by, and starring Deaf actors. She led a Deaf Community Outreach Initiative to cast roles with Deaf actors and minors. Her last show as a Casting Assistant was on Paramount+’s animated series, Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Kelsey is a dancer, writer and filmmaker. She currently serves as co-director, choreographer and dancer on the inter-abled music and dance production, A Cripple’s Dance. As a first-time filmmaker, she finds that her choreographic background lends to the art of storytelling, which she leans on in her documentary film, Move Me. She enjoys using storytelling as a vehicle for healing and change.
Marc Schiller is the co-founder of Wooster Collective along with his wife Sara. Marc was also the founder and CEO of BOND Strategy and Influence. He’s consulted on marketing strategy for a variety of film projects that included Banksy’s Academy Award-nominated film, Exit Through the Gift Shop and Asif Kapadia’s Senna. In 2015, after Marc suffered two strokes, he’s been focused on his recovery and making this documentary in the process.
Jack Youngelson is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and writer who is a SVP of Current at Story Syndicate in NYC. Feature credits include All In: The Fight For Democracy (writer); Mission Blue (writer/producer); Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton (writer/producer); Ethel (producer); Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (writer/producer); and Tierney Gearon: The Mother Project (director). Jack’s television directing credits include 2 projects with executive producer Ken Burns for PBS: The Gene: An Intimate History and Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies.
Storm Smith is a producer at BBDO Los Angeles. She is involved in cross-function Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility work with BBDO offices in North America – with the lead of Diversity Inclusion and Accessibility function within the production unit for AT&T. She is the first Deaf woman to have been recruited by BBDO Worldwide.
She continues in roles of creative director for collaborative projects, motivational speakers on larger scale events, and a thought leader for change in the creative and advertising industry.
Storm joined BBDO Worldwide in 2017 as an art director. Her storytelling work immediately helped shine a positive light on critical societal issues such as people with disabilities, gender equality and people of color. For example, she worked on the “It’s Time to Redefine” campaign as part of International Women’s Day, which sought to change the online dictionary definition of woman.
Storm’s tireless efforts to promote diversity, inclusion and accessibility have earned her a special recognition from President Barack Obama for the 30th anniversary on ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), ADCOLOR Unsung Community Hero award, and a prestigious award from the City of Los Angeles. She featured in the major publications including in PopSugar, Los Angeles Times, Billboard, AdAge, Yahoo! Life, Localish on ABC, and more.
Cameron Carr, is an autistic award winning animator and director who made the entire Wawel Dragon stop motion epic entirely in his bedroom during the pandemic.
He is currently studying at the National Film and Television School in Directing Animation.
Lily Drummond is an independent writer/director from Adelaide, South Australia, who is passionate about exploring stories about women, LGBTQ+, disabled and neurodiverse people.
At 22 years of age, Lily has received a multitude of accolades at both a national and international level. Lily’s most recent short film, ‘Illustrating Sam Newton,’ was selected in Academy Award qualifying festival, Slamdance film Festival, where it had its world premiere in January 2022.
‘Illustrating Sam Newton’ has also been selected to screen at the 2022 Mardi Gras Film Festival, is one of eight finalists selected in Mardi Gras’ My Queer Career, and was selected for Melbourne Women In Film Festival in February, 2022.
Lily writes, directs and produces films that provide a platform for communities that are often misrepresented, and explores stories on screen that may otherwise go untold.
Susanna is an actor, writer, and teaching artist. She is known as an actor for her work off-Broadway and regionally. Currently, Susanna is pursuing her Master’s in Applied Theatre at CUNY School of Professional Studies. Her main focus is combining creative storytelling with important issues surrounding social subjects such as Mental Health.
Lauryn Welch is a New York City based artist and a longtime resident of the Monadnock Region in New Hampshire. She studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, and received her BFA at SUNY Purchase College in 2015. In her paintings and installations, she explores how color and pattern are used on the body in conversation with one’s environment. Her work has been in exhibitions and publications nationally, including Art New England, New American Paintings, and the New York Times.
