Im looking for the next guest speaker. Okay, perfect. First of all, welcome back. We are a Nonprofit Organization fighting stigma and advancing opportunities for people with disabilities. The next session is going to be moderated and im really quite delighted about this because hes such an extraordinary leader and has recognized as a National Expert on ability, aging and health care policies. Hes more than 20 years of experience to manage the policy issues for diversity and stability community and advocates for diversity and inclusion within the Entertainment Industry. He particularly enjoys bringing his expertise to the policy to the Entertainment Industry supported. It can be an incredible ally and he is proving that today by bringing the leon daniels buckler to be with us today. He has a long line of experience and expertise i want to thank him for his work at the part of health and Human Services when is the Deputy Assistant secretary for planning and evaluation. He is one of the original Board Members from the board of advisors. If we can invite you to come up and sit down next to him, he is going to first introduce you to like many here in dc dot i. Said i wanted to start with respectability, lets do it and she said remarkable words. Its interesting being in dc after nearly a decade with president bush. Its taught me a lot about life and working with people on both sides of the aisle. And i think what happened is i believe the Entertainment Industry is such a powerful force for changing mindsets for the better. And what ive been hearing is working with daniels buckle andw viola davis and her husband and the Writers Guild of america to show the marketability of inclusion, gender, disability, whatever because we are a part of the fabric of america and despite our challenges and should be appreciated and with that i want to introduce my dear friend leah daniels. We are like family. Let me just say that too many times, communities work in silo why are you advising viola, why are you doing this and i say you know what, we need to build a bridge and Everybody Needs to cross it together because if we dont bring down the barriers, we will never make change. With that, my sister, leah. [applause] thank you for inviting me to speak on diversity and inclusion of hollywood today. This is a little different for me because i do work and in obviously hollywood and they work behind the camera so this is new for me being in front of the camera. Im going to do with a friend tolwhat a friendtold me to do ay heart but i do have a guideline if you will. My dear friend and advisor has pointed out i am a casting director and producer in the film lee daniels the butler of the Academy Awardwinning film precious and talk to the Fox Television show in pioneer. The diverse acting color or gender and disability has recently led to being appointed the National Board director for the casting society of america. Through Television Shows and movies we are focused on stories that reflect the hardships and humanities that the community space. Stephen reached out to me and he wrote the leading characters onn empire with hidden disabilities. We all know that talented people with disabilities such as harry s. Tuchman, ray charles, Stevie Wonder could have a positive effect on the minds of many. Stephen has served as a content expert on disability and making the case for Disability Inclusion as good businesses. In hollywood we need to build a network of doctors and other key players with disabilities towards increasing Storyline Development and hiring so that the abysmal 2. 5 representation on tv the 0. 9 in film has changed with disability and communities. The Family Foundation in the center 2016 have done studies with similar statistics according to the census 2016. 57 americans are living with a disability among the population are some of the most talented people on earth. Stephen connected me to be diversity teathediversity team r thank you for that . I wanted to say thank you again. He connected me with the team that led to a table on Disability Inclusion. Its available for hire where they are ablebodied character or disabled if they have an equal chance for higher. Furthermore i recognize that an actor with a disability could in fact fell so many roles that are typically built by ablebodied actors. The National Inclusion and diversity is partnering with the actor and diversity departments inclusion in the er, the California Association of the media committee, the naacp and other advocacy groups to develop a comprehensive inclusion and Diversity Handbook to be distributed in the Entertainment Industry later this year. Covering a Broad Spectrum of Diverse Communities will detail how to be fully inclusive from the creation of the breakdown for the addition of hiring process finishing with helpful tips on how to prepare the Production Team. They were culminating in a National Call this here for the performance disabilities veterans and films and transgender actors of the body and you will inclusion and diversity expo in hollywood featuring vendors in a wide range of organizations who actively advocate for inclusion and diversity in the arts followed by a Panel Discussion to join the industry professionals into the development of an Inclusion Diversity training program. Thank you. [applause] mike check. Okay. I guess we will open up to questions. Any questions . About whats going on in hollywood and where we are getting as far as the diversity, and more importantly as stressed is that we are not really worried about diversity. Its more about inclusion. We are a diverse country. Its about opening opportunities for all parts of society. So theres a lot of questions if i will run around with a microphone. You had one earlier. Can you talk about somebody you think is doing a good job in hollywood . She is absolutely unbelievable. Disabled and lgbt. There are a handful of excellent people in hollywood. Leah is very important to this effort because without, these producers cant fill the role and so it is imperative if you are disabled and you dont have talent, youre not going to get a job. Lets face it. We cant approach the industry as the principle we have to hire the right person for the role. Who are the people you would pick that are the trendsetters . I havent worked with them oneonone but thone on one butn team i think they are doing a great job. I think also the Production Team from this is us, there are quite a few that are doing a lot. It starts there is obviously as i said earlier it starts with the narrative to try to get them to understand you have to write these stories so we can include actors with disabilities. But a lot of times it doesnt. Its not on the page so that it becomes the casting directors part to try to get them to think why not consider so and so for this. I will give you a personal example as you all probably know, twin peaks is back on showtime, 20th anniversary. To show you the director david lynch called me one day as olympia can testify and said [inaudible] anyway, i was on the First Episode within the first half hour of twin peaks and ive gone on to do three independent films, which is really good for actors to do independent films. I did a music video with rapper big sean. And now we are going back to hollywood and i will be doing a movie with a rather famous rapper actor Sean Mcdonald said its just proving everything into the idea that it wasnt have to be always in ablebodied actor. I landed in delhi in 73 and to see this was a rare situation. Sammy davis junior would do an appearance on all of th in the y but thats about all you could get it now as a guy thats been represented when you go to bring a project and the first thing they say is lets take it to lebron james company, these are things that didnt exist even five years ago. They are now doing a remake of mary poppins. I think hollywood sets the boundary and open source quicker than anybody else and i think the diversity that is going on quite honestly was up with the wind in from nasa and you hear these stories and think they could use the same bathroom and it was in my lifetime that was going on and they were not made aware of those situations, so we have going leaps and bounds. The first black billionaire and by the way a woman millionaire by creating hair products, so in the community she is the goddess. Absolutely, absolutely. Shes finally getting the movie made about him walker which is another part of our history that 99 of the people its finally been done. Oprah was going to do it and then it finally fell by the wayside, but its happening now. Thank heavens for you and your brother and everybody finally accepting that. There is so much diversity in Production Companies so weve gone leaps and bounds but now everybody wants to know how do we make that happen in the rest of the world, where else can we make that happen . Do you want to answer that . My husband kind of said it best especially in the community we have to be accepting of it. A lot of times we sweep things under the rug because you are embarrassed if your kid has a disability or learning disability or reading disability or whatever kind of disability they have been getting them the proper help. That is one of the big things we have to recognize is not to be ashamed to talk about it and to try to get the help that is needed. With producers and writers and others how about the full crew from makeup to costume to the logistics to housing all of the other components because that is a critical moment as well. I agree with you 100 and i think it starts with awareness. People will tell you i just didnt go. I shouldnt say i didnt know. I didnt think about it. It was not in the forefront and when he brought it to my attention, you are right how come we dont see disabled actors are often. It featured an actor here. I cant think of the show. It was something that was done and i was surprised how you dont see that more often but its just raising the awareness, there has to be somebody that has a talent whether it is hair, makeup, crew, whatever that is that is going to be an advocate for that and set out for those people. It is also behind the camera working on the Writers Guild of america the Disability Committee and we are working on making sure the more writers with disabilities get jobs and also directors. It is across the decades so its not just about the camera, the most important jobs in the industry are producers and executives, and until we get more executives we will not see the change we need because believe me where i work with nbc as an advisor i can tell you its nasty because they want to see returns on investment. So you have to change the mindset. We have so many questions we will see this one after another independent you can answer so if you could ask your question and then we can get them together. Given the fact that you are still incrediblyourestill incre schools being graded so they can be qualified to work in the field etc. Because that may be the only way to bring this up. School of business at georgetown university. My question is when it comes to cross pollination of ideas, where exactly do you look to find things like best practice, and who are the people that you listen to when you are trying to think of new ideas for the storyline and that sort of thing . I am a special ed teacher and i found out while learning about the special needs of my Masters Program that i have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as a few other unseen disabilities. I am an actress and a producer and have an interest in casting. I appreciate what you touched on the agency you are starting will be directing the actors or people behind the camera as well because i have an interest in getting involved in that. Im going to ask this young man in questio a question and tl go over to this side of the room. Spirit i dont know why all of a sudden hes scared but hes been dying to see you. Anyway, thank you so much. It is an honor to meet you and i want my name is eric and i want to be a in an actor, bishop had so much more. I have two documentaries out. I heard your mother speaks very highly of you. You have a lot going on for such a young age. Thank you. I will answer your question first. Correct me if im wrong. Is it about the training for the actors [inaudible] thats kind of what we did when we did the diversity thing. We held a workshop where it was geared towards actors with disabilities by solving a few of the other casting directors for the casting society of america and then we also reached out to other casting directors that do not sit on the board. We had a workshop morning and afternoon we split the tab stop and each of us took a group of maybe 12 to 20 actors with disabilities and worked oneonone in classes and that is what we are hoping to continue. You do have to have the proper training. That is what we are trying to do to have ongoing classes because they are prepared and ready as opposed [inaudible] if you dont understand that, its not going to work. I was on a primetime drama and you go in, do your lines and thats it. You have to understand you are probably going to get a no but thats okay because you will fit the role that is bad for that is for you. What is your Favorite Movie . Thats like picking a favorite pair of shoes. I dont know. At the very first time i saw my name in a credit i always refer back to that its the one that is the most dear to me because that is the first time i was in the Movie Theater and saw my name scroll up. There was quick if you blinked you would miss it for the first time. It was a spoof a long time ago but i think the one i really enjoy, i was able to learn a lot that i didnt know. He likes the movie so my question is why do you think it is easier to have this kind of thing happen im sorry, i forgot. Im really excited. Do you think people will have an open mindset where this generation is more accepting and realizes everybody is equal or what do you think is it different in that it kind of helps a that is a good question. When you go to an audition are there individuals you are going up against, so have you seen the light throughout the years increase . Definitely it has increased. Im doing a new show that is going to be airing on bep called the comedy gets down. There was a role that came up for a wheelchair user and for the breakdown out it was for a specific age he had to be 18yearsold so originally the producers when we talked about it they just wanted an actor and then i said why not get a real wheelchair user why are we casting this with an actor in a wheelchair i work on the diversity committee. [applause] so we did meet a lot of factors but the problem i did find it by just being honest come in a certain age group who might be a lot of wheelchair users that they are in their 30s or 40s so its finding that specific age group in getting those actors trained so there is a lot more to do. Theres a lot of actors with disabilities but in certain categories when you break it down they have to be able to fit the narrative caught to bac so t is one of the biggest challeng challenges. I do think that todays generation is more open. I have a niece and nephew. One was raised by another brother and they are a couple and raised these kids in their household so i just know they are so much more open, they dont judge and they want to experience more. They are more wellrounded because of the things that they were exposed to me that they were not quick to judge. For years ive been getting into the industry however im coming across where now if i see a casting from you i cant get there because i have to look for an agency into the art of opening up for people with disabilities. In that instance i tell those that dont have representation is you have to do the groundwork your self. You have to seek out the casting director in the show that you want to be on. There are so many different platforms right now, you have fox, lifetime, so many different platforms not only that but the new media. There is so much more content out there. Find out who is casting the shows and submit the picture. Seek them out, send your pictures in. Just remind them. It comes across at the right time so i cant tell you how many times ive seen the same car to come across my desk but the one moment it comes across im looking for this person at this time so do the groundwork your self. For the resume about a talent agent, you have to do your work and be persistent. If someone was interested in the background Video Production into that type of thing where would you start for that arena . It is a good question and its like i said earlier, i think if there are people with disabilities already working in this area you have to come forward and be an advocate otherwise you are never going to know if people will never fight for it. What we are doing again is trying to do our part where we can with actors but theres other groups you have liked the Writers Guild, every one of the behind the scenes that make up the Production Team. What they have t the have to dod someone that will advocate for them. The companies are up and its very big on hiring a Diverse Workforce its also for production. Apply for entry level jobs. Thank you for being here in facilitating this. All in all those you do in the indus