Pac Rim 2008 Info
Thematic Keynote Speakers: Janet Cole & Jacquelyn Brand
Patricia Wood | Brenda Smith Myles | Manulani Aluli Meyer | Janet Cole | Jacquelyn Brand | Caroline Casey | Patricia A. Morrissey | Edward J. Kame‘enui
Monday April 14th, 2008: 9:00 am - 11:15 am in the Lanai Ballroom on the topic of Technologies for Realizing Potential and Building Community
“What does ‘disability’ mean in the Age of Technology”
What does “disability” mean in the age of technology? If people have access to the tools and training that can enable their independence, fuel their creativity and participation, then what is disabled? The award-winning film, Freedom Machines explores these ideas and more through the stories of adults and children, ages 8-93 whose lives are entwined with technology. For the next generation of educators, advocates, policy makers, and leaders, Freedom Machines provides vital insights and context to guide their leadership development. Join Jackie Brand, founder of the Alliance for Technology Access and featured storyteller in the film, and executive producer Janet Cole for a screening and brainstorming discussion about how we will overturn the stigma of disability in our lifetime!
Biography: Janet Cole
Janet Cole is an Academy-Award nominated producer who has been working in the field of feature documentary production and distribution for nearly 30 years.
Most recently, she was Executive Producer of Granny D Goes to Washington (PBS 2006) and Freedom Machines, a PBS Fall Special on POV that explored the role of technology in transforming the lives of people with disabilities. Her executive producer credits also include Heart of the Sea, about Hawaiian surfing legend, Rell Sunn (PBS, Independent Lens 2003), and Promises, about Palestinian and Israeli children, that received two Emmy Awards and an Oscar nomination for Best Feature Documentary in 2001.
In 2000, Ms. Cole received a George Foster Peabody Award, along with Emmy and Academy Award nominations, as Producer and Executive Producer of Regret to Inform, a film about Vietnamese and American widows of the Vietnam War, which also won the Directing and Cinematography awards at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and was shown on PBS in 1/2000.
She began her career as a producer in the mid-1980s working with director, Peter Adair on a series of films about the AIDS epidemic, including their award-winning Absolutely Positive (1991) that was featured at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals and on PBS’s POV series. As a consultant, she works frequently with independent producers and organizations. Ms. Cole is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
Contact Info
Janet Cole, 850 Richardson Ct., Palo Alto, CA 94303, 650-493-7005, jcole@sbcglobal.net
Biography: Jacquelyn Brand
Jacquelyn Brand was the founder and first Executive Director of the Center for Accessible Technology in Berkeley, California, one of the earliest technology resource centers that served people of all ages and with all disabilities.
Her work grew out of a personal challenge to find appropriate technology for her disabled daughter, Shoshana and led to the creation of the Alliance for Technology Access (ATA) in 1987, uniting parents and consumers across the country. Ms. Brand served as ATA’s first director from 1987 until 1996, and continued on the Board of Directors until 2002. The ATA has grown to include 40 technology resource centers across the country, working with 100,000 people each year, along with key mainstream and assistive technology companies, and many nonprofit organizations that serve people with disabilities.
Ms. Brand is the chair of AT&T’s Advisory Panel on Accessibility and Aging and also serves on the boards of KQED-TV, the Disability Funders Network, the Computer Technology Center VISTA Project Advisory Committee, and the Accessibility Task Force for Cingular Wireless.
She works a consultant to many organizations, particularly in the areas of assistive technology, universal design, education, disability programs and policy, and accessibility. She is a frequent speaker on these topics as well as Supported Living for individuals with significant disabilities.
Ms. Brand was the 1992 recipient of the Henry B. Betts Award, established to honor a single individual each year for significant work in improving the quality of life for people with disabilities. She was recently honored during National Philanthropy Day for her work with the Community Technology Foundation, and by KQED during their Disability Culture Celebration.
