Cinematic Minds
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the remarkable speakers who will share their invaluable knowledge on a range of vital topics, including Grant Writing and Programming. Your dedication to educating and empowering others is truly inspiring.
Jackie Collins / Program Director / PATH-Certified Instructor (CTRI & ESMHL) Speaking: Resilience and the Human Spirit: Pushing Beyond Physical Limits
Jackie’s love of horses began as a small child and her formal lessons began at the age of 10 on a Welsh Mountain pony named Candy. Riding for most of her life, Jackie eventually bought the horse of her dreams – Wisteria. Jackie and Wisteria trained with a well-respected FEI (Fédération Équestre Internationale) dressage rider in Maryland. Although Wisteria had the potential to become a competitive dressage horse, Jackie preferred to use dressage as a tool to foster and build a partnership with her beautiful mare.
Jackie began volunteering with LiftMeUp! in 2015 and became a PATH-certified instructor in 2016. Her dressage background and additional training as a yoga instructor allow Jackie to teach with a holistic approach, providing her students with physical riding instruction, mindfulness, and relationship building skills. Jackie was tapped to be Volunteer Coordinator in 2017 and added the role of Program Director since 2019. https://liftmeup.org.
Speaking: The Fight for Rights: Resilience and Advocacy
Robert D. Dinerstein is professor of law emeritus and former director (and founder) of the Disability Rights Law Clinic at American University, Washington College of Law (WCL), where he taught from 1983-2023. Prior to coming to WCL, he was an attorney for five years at the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section, where among other things he litigated cases concerning conditions in state institutions for people with intellectual disability, psychosocial disabilities, and juveniles.
From 1994-2000, he was a member of the President’s Committee on People with Intellectual Disabilities. He currently chairs the ABA Commission on Disability Rights and is co-chair of the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice’s Disability Rights Committee. He has published extensively and made numerous presentations in the area of disability rights, where his work has focused on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, issues of capacity and consent, supported decision making, representing clients with disabilities, and deinstitutionalization of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has an A.B. degree from Cornell University and a J.D. degree from Yale Law School.
Dr. Diana Escolar, M.D.
Speaking: Resilience and the Human Spirit: Pushing Beyond Physical Limits
Dr. Diana Escolar is a neurologist in McLean, Virginia. She received her medical degree from University of Buenos Aires and has been in practice for more than 20 years.
Deborah Fisher
Speaking: Unstoppable: Breaking Barriers Through Resilience and Inclusion
Deborah Fisher, Psy.D. is a Maryland licensed psychologist who has practiced in a variety of health care delivery systems. She is also an independent consultant providing strategic planning, change management and executive coaching to behavioral health, human service and other disability organizations, as well as organizational and program development to provider agencies that support individuals with disabilities.
Dr. Fisher was the Regional Director of Clinical Operations for a national behavioral health managed care company and the Chief Operating Officer of a residential provider agency for adults with psychiatric, intellectual and developmental disabilities. For additional information about Dr. Fisher’s work visit her on the web at https://www.deborahfisherconsulting.com.
John Katz
Speaking: Workplace Breakthroughs: Overcoming Barriers to Inclusion
John joined Sunflower in May 2020. He brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and networks from the food industry to Sunflower. After several years as a chef, most recently John served as Operations Manager for Sodexo at Adventist Shady Grove Medical Center. John is excited to further develop a robust employment training program to enable our graduates to secure job and career opportunities in the pastry arts and hospitality industries.
Ross Lilly
Speaking: Resilience and the Human Spirit: Pushing Beyond Physical Limits
Ross has been adapting and teaching high-challenge sports since 1983. He has been involved in personal training and coaching since the late 1970’s. An ordained minister, his primary interest has been in creating places and activities to overcome disparity and discrimination, especially for people living with disabilities. Ross is the foremost authority on adaptive windsurfing in the United States. In 1986, his son Josh was born with cerebral palsy and resulting spastic quadriplegia. When Josh was four years old, Josh and Ross began windsurfing together. Josh became the catalyst and inspiration for AccesSportAmerica and to this day is AccesSport’s “Chief Test Pilot”. https://goaccess.org.
Workshops: Grant Writing for Filmmakers, Insights from Film Programmers
Paul is a Development Professional with over 26+ years experience bringing a wide range of knowledge to his work. Twenty of those years took place in DC, one of the most challenging and competitive fundraising environments in the country. For more information visit him on the web at https://prometheanfundraising.blog.
Erik Nordlof
Speaking: Adventures Beyond The Classroom
In the DC area, in addition to serving on the NVRC board and working for IBM, he is the founder and lead organizer of DC Deaf Moviegoers & Allies, a group that organizes open captioned movie screenings, and organizes and/or advertises about deaf and ASL events in the area. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, movies, reading, and playing intramural sports.
Andrea Passafiume
Workshop: Insights from Film Programmers
Andrea Passafiume is a veteran film festival programmer based in the Washington, D.C. Metro area. She is currently an Associate Programmer for the Tribeca Film Festival, Lead Programmer for the Seattle Deaf Film Festival, Programming Associate for the Sundance Film Festival, and member of the Screening Committee for DC/DOX.
Kristen Parisi
Speaking: Lights, Camera, Inclusion: A Journey Through Disability and Film
I have a bachelor’s in strategic communications and previously attended the University of Massachusetts Lowell for music education. Before I became a reporter, I worked at public relations firms, developing integrated communications campaigns for companies like Hotwire, Schneider Electric, KAYAK, Personal Capital, and the United Nations Environment Programme. My writing focuses on trends in media, travel, mental health, and relationships. I’m an expert in disability representation in the news and the workplace. I’ve been featured with the TODAY Show, CNN, NPR, Cosmopolitan, Refiner29, BuzzFeed, and others. Like most people, my life has been a mix of successes and (many) failures. I was paralyzed at the waist in a car accident at age 5 and am a full-time wheelchair user. I struggled with internalized ableism for years, but thanks to the powerful, welcoming disabled community, I learned that Disabled is not a bad word.
