Board of Directors

We’re grateful to have leading disabled creatives, activists and entrepreneurs on our Board of Directors.

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Andraéa LaVant (she/her)

Andraéa LaVant is a nationally and internationally sought-after disability inclusion expert. She is founder and president of LaVant Consulting, Inc. (LCI), a social impact communications firm that offers cutting-edge corporate development and content marketing for brands and nonprofits. LCI’s specialty is helping brands “speak disability with confidence.” As a Black, disabled woman, Andraéa champions intersectionality and is committed to working toward a future where ALL people, particularly disabled people of color, are seen and valued in culture and society at-large.

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Sinéad Burke (she/her)

Sinéad Burke is a Disabled educator, advocate and author who champions accessibility, equity and social justice to build a better world for everyone. In 2020, she founded the accessibility consultancy Tilting the Lens on the three pillars of education, advocacy and design. Advising major global brands including Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Netflix, Pinterest and Starbucks, Tilting the Lens guides clients in their move from awareness to action by creating more accessible practices, policies, products and services, places and promotions.

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Brandon Sonnier (he/him)

Brandon Sonnier was born in Houston, Texas and attended USC where he graduated with a B.A. in Cinema-Television, Production. At the age of 20, Sonnier became one of the youngest filmmakers ever to premiere a feature film at the Sundance Film Festival, The Beat (2003). In 2010, Sonnier teamed up with Brandon Margolis and together they got their start writing broadcast television with 5 seasons on Sony/NBC's hit drama series The Blacklist, as well as selling several original pilots. Brandon has directed episodes of L.A.'s Finest, the Starz/Lionsgate hit drama, Hightown and most recently Sony/Spectrum Originals' Panhandle. He is currently a co-executive producer on Sony/CBS’ SWAT while in development on several pilots for Sony Pictures TV.

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Rebekah Kondrat (she/her)

Rebekah Kondrat (she/her) is the Founder and Managing Partner of rekon retail and a seasoned Retail Executive with 20 years of experience with companies such as Apple, Starbucks, and Warby Parker. Specializing in omnichannel environments for digitally native brands, Rebekah has overseen revenue channels exceeding $100 million, launched numerous stores, and led teams of up to 300 employees. A natural problem-solver and former performer, Rebekah enjoys the challenge of complex tasks, particularly in the theatrical elements of physical retail spaces.

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Lauren Ridloff (she/her)

Lauren began her meteoric rise as an actor just six years ago. Prior to that, she won the title of Miss Deaf America and was a kindergarten teacher in Manhattan for a decade. After leaving that job to take care of her two young children, she was hired in 2016 to tutor director Kenny Leon in American Sign Language as he readied the Broadway revival of Children of A Lesser God. After working together for months, Kenny and the producers concluded that Lauren was the ideal and only choice for the lead. She pulled it off with resounding success, including multiple rave reviews from the New York Times and a Tony nomination.

She soon became a series regular on the longrunning AMC series, The Walking Dead. She then became the first Deaf superhero opposite Angelina Jolie and Kumail Nanjani in Marvel's worldwide hit, Eternals. Lauren recently executive produced and filmed a limited series. She received a 2020 BAFTA Breakthrough award recognizing the most promising stars of film and television.

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Marisa Torelli-Pedevska (she/her)

Marisa is a co-founder of Inevitable Foundation, tasked with leading all writing programs. She is a screenwriter with an invisible physical disability who recently completed her MFA at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. She’s the recipient of the Jay Roach Endowed Award, the USC Sloan Screenwriting Award and the national ​​Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize. Before Inevitable, Marisa spent eight years working and living at a residential summer camp for teens and adults with developmental disabilities. Her time at camp was a transformative experience for her—the first time she was in a majority disabled space. Marisa’s experience with disability has informed the ways she views accessibility in the traditionally inaccessible entertainment industry and drives her passion for systematic change.

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Richie Siegel (he/him)

Richie is the co-founder and President of Inevitable Foundation, charged with leading the Foundation’s overall strategy and day-to-day operations. He is a filmmaker and entrepreneur by trade who solves big equity problems in untraditional ways with an unwavering sense of pragmatism. Before founding Inevitable, he spent seven years running a consulting and research firm in the consumer goods industry called Loose Threads. Under Richie’s leadership, Loose Threads became a leading strategic partner to the C-Suite of many brands, private equity firms, media companies and real estate investment firms. Richie has a younger sister who lives with epilepsy and other developmental disabilities, which he rarely saw on-screen growing up.