Lauren Appelbaum is the VP, Communications and Entertainment & News Media of the disability nonprofit RespectAbility. As an individual with an acquired nonvisible disability – Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy – she regularly conducts trainings on the why and how to be more inclusive and accessible for entertainment executives throughout the industry.

Appelbaum partners with studios and production companies to create equitable and accessible opportunities to increase the number of people with lived disability experience throughout the overall story-telling process. These initiatives increase diverse and authentic representation of disabled people on screen, leading to systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities. She has consulted on more than 100 TV episodes and films with A&E, Bunim-Murray Productions, NBCUniversal, Netflix, ViacomCBS, and The Walt Disney Company, among others. She serves on the CAA Full Story Initiative Advisory Council, Disney+ Content Advisory Council, MTV Entertainment Group Culture Code and Sundance Institute’s Allied Organization Initiative.

She is the author of The Hollywood Disability Inclusion Toolkit and the creator of an innovative Lab for disabled entertainment professionals working behind the camera, receiving the 2020 Roddenberry Foundation Impact Award for the Lab.

Appelbaum is a sought-after expert, quoted by AP, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, Reuters, Variety and The WashingtonPost. She spoke on panels at the RealScreen Summit, Sundance Film Festival and SXSW, among others.

Speaking on: CASE STUDY: DEAF U (presented by DIALOG)