Jo-Ann Dean is a Creative Producer and CEO of SIGNmation LLC and Broadway SIGNs! live and virtual productions. A Grant Writer and recipient of a 2023 National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Award for Deaf Austin Theater to stage, film and livestream The Laramie Project in American Sign Language. Broadway SIGN’s a cabaret bridging Broadway Talent and Deaf Artists launched Off Broadway and sold out at legendary Feinstein’s 54 Below featuring Oscar, Tony and Grammy winning artists.
Dean’s company SIGNmation produced with Grupo Steno for Disney Plus their first ASL Option offered in extras on Marvel’s Ant Man (2015) feature film via their streaming platform. SIGNmation promotes Deaf centric, native ASL signers as ASL Talent and Director of Artistic Sign Language (DASL) in productions. Deaf Creatives Doug Ridloff (DASL A Quiet Place) and ASL Talent JAC Cook have been lauded for their skill on release of the ASL option feature. The production was a collaboration between several entities consulting, BHO5 for Deluxe and Respectability’s Delbert Whetter for Disney Plus.
Additionally, she’s credited as Producer on Director Cameron S. Mitchell (PBS American Masters “Elsa”) short film “Kryptonite” for 2023 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge with Ryan Lane (Switched at Birth) and R&B legend Shanice. Nominated for 3 Awards Best Actor Ryan Lane, Best Writer and Best Film. Dean’s passion lies in accessibility and inclusion in the arts. Dean has created Open Caption screening and film panels in partnership with Sony Pictures and Oscar nominated Film Directors Edgar Wright (Baby Driver) and Paul Weitz (Grandma, Mozart in the Jungle) and accessibility panels for NYWIFT, WIF and New York Film Festival. Dean is a community partner with The Harriet Tubman Effect upholding their tenets of arts for all.
Jenna Bainbridge (she/her) is an actor, singer, and disability rights advocate based in New York. At 16 months, Jenna broke her spine and became partially paralyzed from the waist down. She now navigates the world as an ambulatory wheelchair user. Jenna grew up in Denver, Colorado, and at the age of 13 began working with Phamaly Theatre Company, one of the world’s first disabled acting companies. Jenna graduated with honors from the Lamont School of Music where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, all the while performing with companies around the state. Select credits include: SUFFS (The Public Theatre), Richard III in Bring Down The House Pt 1 and 2, Penny in Hairspray (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Cinderella in Into the Woods (Phamaly), and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (Merrimack Repertory Theatre). You can also see her on NBC’s new series, Found.
In addition to performing, Jenna is also the Co-founder of ConsultAbility, a consulting firm whose mission is to work with theatrical institutions and educational programs to create more accessible spaces and inclusive programming for disabled artists, bridging the gap between what is desired and what is required when working with disabled artists in the theatrical world
Pavar Snipe is a comedian, writer, actress, and disability advocate. She is a writer and VO actress for ABC’s When Nature Calls with Helen Mirren and she is the voice of Angela Baker on the DreamWorks animated series Dragons: The Nine Realms. Pavar has performed stand-up at NYC and LA’s most popular comedy venues. Her performances include shows at The Broadway Comedy Club, The Comedy Store, Second City Hollywood, and The Comedy Central Stage. She has appeared in the LA Comedy Festival, The Northwest Black Comedy Festival, The Laugh Riot Girl Comedy Festival, and the International Lady Laughs Comedy Festival. Pavar is a member of two sketch comedy teams, including The Pit Theater BoogieManja sketch team- Denise (NYC) and WOCA- Women of Color Anonymous (LA). Pavar is also the Co-Producer and Creative Director of The Goss, a late-night comedy show on Twitch and live on stage in NYC-based theaters. In 2021, Pavar was selected as a recipient of the Pit Theater/SNL scholarship, placing her as one of the top writers and performers, gaining attention from the iconic program.
As a Writers Guild of America member, Pavar sits on the Committee of Black Writers and the Disabled Writers Committee. Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis as a child, Pavar channels her experience with a lifelong disability into her comedy. Championing disability awareness, she amplifies the voice of that vastly underrepresented community. Before launching her comedy career, Pavar was a hip-hop morning radio personality on 103 Jamz in Virginia and a TV News Producer. Her credits include NBC Los Angeles, NBC New York, and ABC 7 New York. She has interviewed President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama. She brought audiences candid conversations with the biggest names in entertainment. Pavar trained with The PIT Theater, UCB NY and LA, and Second City Hollywood. Pavar recently launched Limitless Laughs Content Coaching. In this new venture, she helps clients create content for online, TV, film and print. can find more details on Pavar’s journey at pavarsnipe.com.
SVP, Development & Production at ALLBLK (an AMC SVOD Network), Nikki Love is a skilled producer and line producer specializing in the physical production of filmmaking from development to post production. She has produced festival and award winning feature films, short films, web series and music videos. She creates tight budgets and has great crew and equipment at her disposal. Her specialty is making quality projects at reasonable costs.
She produced/line produced the indie film that swept the festivals, THE LAST FALL, directed by Matthew Cherry. She also wrote and produced the hard hitting short film POST LIFE, starring Erica Ash and directed by Salli Richardson-Whitfield. The film has been used to shed light on postpartum psychosis and is currently being used in perinatal health groups.
She has produced the rarely been done before ‘one take film’ entitled A BOY. A GIRL. A DREAM. that was a Sundance selection in 2018 starring Omari Hardwick and Meagan Good. The ChloexHalle music video for the sound track WRINKLE IN TIME and multiple films for BETher & BET that were a huge hit with audiences.
Putting her skills to use, she most recently signed on as VP of Development & Production for UMC, the first black film & television streaming service. Since joining the company she has executive produced hit shows such as A House Divided (Demetria McKinney, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Lisa Raye McCoy), Double Cross (Ashley Williams, Jeff Logan and Darrin Henson) and Behind Her Faith (Essence Atkins, Aisha Hinds and Niecy Nash).
As the landscape continues to change for filmmakers, she continues to seek to push the envelope in producing innovative and creative content!
Amit Pitaru is an artist, coder, product designer, and educator from New York. He currently leads community-driven innovation projects at Google Creative Lab , working with AI researchers and communities to develop impactful tools. Amit taught at NYU ITP, Cooper Union, Pratt, and is the co-founder of the School For Poetic Computation.
Michele Spitz of Woman of Her Word is a voiceover artist, public speaker, and philanthropist most passionate about advocating for media accessibility and disability awareness, selectively funding audio/video description post production accessibility grants. She produces, narrates, consults, and project manages audio description assets for film, broadcast, digital media, film festivals, museums, educational content and non-profit fundraising media. Michele has personally funded 80% of the 100+ hand selected media projects with which she has chosen to be aligned. She has guest lectured for NYU Tisch Film School, Emerson College Department of Visual and Media Arts, Montclair University Media & Disability Department and additional colleges. Michele was the catalyst having consulted with the Motion Picture Academy that resulted in the 1st ever Audio Described Broadcast of the 93rd Academy Awards. Highlights of Michele’s multimedia portfolio include films such as Amy Poehler’s Lucy & Desi Documentary, Carole King and James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name, The Great 14th: Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama in His Own Words, Pavarotti, Oliver Sacks: His Own Life, The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, Not Going Quietly and several exciting upcoming projects.
Abbey White is a Brooklyn-based journalist, and currently an associate editor and news writer for The Hollywood Reporter’s digital team. There they cover breaking news and also report, edit and web produce features spanning film, TV, awards season, theater, animation, children’s & family programming, inclusion and more. A Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY alum, they’ve been recognized as a 2022 Curve Emerging Journalist, ASME Awards finalist, National A&E Journalism Awards winner and GLAAD Media Award nominee, among other honors.
Ariel Baska is a multi-award-winning, multiply Disabled queer horror and documentary filmmaker, who believes in advocacy and accessibility for historically underserved communities. Their work has played on Alaska Airlines, and at film festivals from Berlin to Mexico City to Mumbai. They have presented with Lincoln Center, SXSW (South by Southwest) and the Berlinale on various topics in disability and accessibility in the film and television industry. They are the creator and festival director of ACCESS:HORROR, a film festival and industry summit celebrating the history, future and impact of disability and horror. Their work in progress, Monstrous Me, is a horror memoir and documentary feature about finding themselves as a disfigured child in the face of Freddy Krueger. The project won a grant from Virginia Humanities, and multiple fellowships in the last few months. Regardless of what story they’re telling or what work they’re doing, they care passionately about the margins.
With over a decade of experience working in digital strategy and advertising, Takayasu Vasculitis survivor
Devri Velazquez is constantly seeking ways to tell meaningful stories that can entertain, inform, and
inspire folks about the importance of disability visibility and rare disease awareness — from the corporate
world and beyond.
JENN FREEMAN (she/they) is an American choreographer, dance performer, and educator based in New York City. Most recently Jenn has been commissioned to set a new work on the Martha Graham Dance Company that will premiere in 2022. For over a decade Jenn has worked alongside Sonya Tayeh as her choreographic associate in the development of pieces and large scale productions for: American Ballet Theater, The Gibney Company, The Martha Graham Dance Company, The Juilliard School, Guggenheim Works & Process, LA Ballet, Cirque du Soleil, and more. Professionally, Jenn has danced in works by choreographers: Sonya Tayeh, Kyle Abraham, Larry Keigwin, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, and many others. Graduate NYU TISCH.
