Lauren Appelbaum: Last News

BreAnna Bell RespectAbility has teamed up with Netflix to create a new Children’s Lab for disabled TV creators, which will provide education and training for disabled writers, animators, and creative executives looking to focus on preschool and children’s content. The training program, funded by Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity, will include a five-week course featuring programming by New York-based production partners 9 Story Media Group and Silvergate Media. As part of the lab, participants will each be assigned a mentor as they join in-person and virtual workshops, trainings, panel conversations, networking events, and a talent showcase with table reads of each writer’s project performed by disabled actors. The Children’s Content Lab will also provide a week of career development training with industry experts.

Disney Branded Television’s Firebuds animated series from Emmy Award-winning creator and executive producer Craig Gerber (Disney’s Elena of Avalor and Sofia the First), follows a team of young first responders and their talking vehicle sidekicks.

RespectAbility, a nonprofit focused on fighting stigmas of people with disabilities in media and advocating for more authentic representation, is opening applications for the fourth annual Entertainment Lab for disabled entertainment professionals. Applications will be accepted through Friday, March 11.

In the 30 years since the Americans With Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990, only small gains have been made in Hollywood as far as on- and offscreen representation in the industry goes. Even just a few years ago, "what we were finding was that people were afraid to do disability-related storylines or hire actors with disabilities because they were afraid they were going to do it wrong," says Lauren Appelbaum, vp communications at the nonprofit organization RespectAbility, which seeks to combat stigmas for people with disabilities.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentRespectAbility Entertainment Lab 2020 wrapped July 16, after 15 sessions intended to create an industry pipeline of professionals with disabilities behind the camera.The five-week program is sponsored by the nonprofit RespectAbility and is run by four women with disabilities: Lauren Appelbaum, Tatiana Lee, Nasreen Alkhateeb and Leah Romond.The program targets individuals who are interested in such jobs as writing, directing, producing, editing, sound and animation work.It featured 30 participants, all of whom have experience in the entertainment industry prior to the Lab; however, most found they were stuck in assistant-level positions.