Our Team & Board
Our Team
Cassidy Dimon
Executive Director | She/They
Cassidy Dimon is the Executive Director of FWD-Doc and is the founder of the Film Event Accessibility Working Group (FEAW), a collective that harnesses the collaborative power of event professionals to help film exhibitors across the country develop and execute accessible film events. She is one of the creators of the groundbreaking accessibility tool, the Film Event Accessibility Scorecard, and co-author of the Accessibility Scorecard Impact Report released in June 2024. Cassidy was recently selected as one of ten Leaders for a New Chicago 2024 by the Field and MacArthur Foundations.
-
“As an elder Millennial, I consume most of my social media through Instagram, and the disability influencers, activists and media personalities are my go-to's for laughter, information and action items, including Imani Barbarin, Sara Nović, Isabel Mavrides-Calderó, Anthony S. Ferraro, HiFi Deafie, and Tina Friml. Also, Alice Wong and her Disability Visibility and Disability Intimacy books are my go-to ‘Disability 101s’ for anyone looking to learn about the disability experience, and I return back to them often.”
Community Impact & Strategy Manager | They/Elle | ¡Hablo español!
Chile Ochoa
Chile Ochoa (chee-leh) is a weaver, builder, caregiver, and storyteller. These roles are rooted in the identities they hold close — being K’iche’ Maya, disabled, queer, trans, and non-binary — as well as their professional experiences in social work, education, and film. They believe in sustainable systems rooted in care, collective input, and mutual aid. They trust these values to help nurture spaces and structures that not only support marginalized communities today but also build power for ongoing growth, healing, and empowerment.
As a practicing artist, Chile enjoys using performance and avant-garde theatre to capture candid, awkward, and meaningful life experiences. Their work has included visual and multimedia projects exhibited across the West Coast, as well as curated film programs for the Seattle Queer Film Festival, Festival of (In)Appropriation, and Black Cinema Collective. They’ve also nurtured the growth of independent filmmakers at Sundance Institute by leading their public programs, and most recently, at Full Spectrum Features, where Chile rebuilt an 18-month film fellowship program.
-
“I'm currently re-reading Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha's Care Work. It's a radical piece of community knowledge that maps the landscape of an accessible and sustainable future for queer and trans disabled people of the global majority.”
Lissa Deonarain
Communications Manager | She/They
Lissa Deonarain (LISS-uh) is an emerging queer, genderfluid, disabled, multiracial Guyanese American documentary filmmaker, editor and communications specialist from Omaha and Ponca land (Omaha, NE). She consults with FWD-Doc as the Communications Manager, using design and digital content to shift narratives and move people toward meaningful change. They work on communications and design with renowned documentary organizations like Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Multitude Films, EURODOC, The Gotham and more. She has produced and edited dozens of shorts and nonfiction series both nationally and internationally for award-winning directors, and edited for major brands, popular content creators and national organizations. Their films are deeply rooted in social justice and explore themes such as identity, belonging, memory, and community, largely inspired by her own experiences. Her notable works include DOUBLE DIASPORA (2018), A RECKONING IN BOSTON (Big Sky 2021) and THE UNFIXING (JI.HLAVA 2024). She is currently editing an experimental music documentary with Omaha filmmaker Joshua LaBure.
-
“I'm currently re-reading Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha's Care Work. It's a radical piece of community knowledge that maps the landscape of an accessible and sustainable future for queer and trans disabled people of the global majority.”
Joanna Lakatos
Development Manager | She/Her
Joanna Lakatos — who also goes by Jo — supports FWD-Doc’s mission as a part-time Development Manager, bringing 20+ years of experience in nonprofit management, development and marketing communications with a deep and long-standing interest in media, the arts and social change (especially documentaries and horror films). Jo has spent over a decade working with media and storytelling organizations in Chicago and beyond, like Kartemquin Films, ConTextos and Full Spectrum Features, in addition to previously working on independent documentaries. She has called Chicago home for over two decades and lives in the West Town neighborhood with her partner and spicy tortoiseshell cat, Emma Goldman.
-
“In the current climate and threats to healthcare for so many, I have been soaking up so much wisdom and intersectional issue learning from Beatrice Adler-Bolton’s podcast, The Death Panel. I’m also reading Stefanie Foo’s book, What My Bones Know, which feels like a balm for anyone looking for new ways of thinking about trauma and mental health.”
Ann Le
Fractional CFO | She/Her
Ann Le is a fractional CFO and financial consultant with more than 15 years of experience in the nonprofit, social impact, and startup sectors. She focuses on building clear, reliable financial systems and helping teams understand their numbers so they can make strong strategic decisions. Ann is a former investment banker who previously worked at a major studio and produced an award-winning feature that premiered at Sundance. Her partnership with FWD-Doc reflects her deep commitment to equity in the creative ecosystem and advancing the organization’s mission to champion and resource filmmakers and artists with disabilities, and ensuring they have the financial foundation needed to tell their stories and thrive.
Our Board
Jim LeBrecht
Jim LeBrecht has over 45 years of experience as a film and theater sound designer and mixer, filmmaker, podcast host, author, and disability rights activist. LeBrecht co-directed and co-produced, with Nicole Newnham, CRIP CAMP, the 2021 Oscar-nominated feature-length documentary. CRIP CAMP received the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award , the 2021 Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Documentary and a 2021 Peabody Award. Jim has co-founded two organizations that support creatives with disabilities in the entertainment industry: FWD-Doc and the 1in4 Coalition, whose work focuses more on advocacy in narrative film and television.
He is an executive producer on the Emmy-winning documentary PATRICE: THE MOVIE, and the upcoming biopic BEING HEUMANN, about disability rights legend Judy Heumann for Apple TV+. LeBrecht directed the documentary CHANGE NOT CHARITY: THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT for PBS’ American Experience. Jim is a member of the Disability Futures Fellowship, an initiative of the Ford Foundation and Mellon Foundation. He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and BAFTA.
Board President & Co-Founder | He/Him
Day Al-Mohamed
Board Member & Co-Founder | She/Her
Day Al-Mohamed has a decades-long policy career with a focus on marginalized and disenfranchised populations. A former White House Director of Disability Policy, Day designed and led the Department of Labor’s "Add Us In" initiative to increase hiring in minority communities. She had an active role in passing the Affordable Care Act and Hate Crimes Prevention Act. She also has worked at the United Nations. Currently a senior policy advisor with the federal government, she has a proven ability to translate policy into public trust and aligning vision, systems, and culture to influence political will and cultural narratives for positive impact.
As a creative, Day is a regular host on Idobi Radio's pop-culture show Geek Girl Riot, and creator of PBS American Masters series RENEGADES. THE INVALID CORPS, a documentary about disabled veterans' contributions during the Civil War, was her first documentary as a blind filmmaker and she produced the Independent Spirit Award-winner UNSEEN. She is co-founder of FWD-Doc, and has written two novels: Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, and The Labyrinth's Archivist, as well as multiple short stories and essays. Day lives in Washington DC with her wife NR Brown, daughter Baby Dragon, and guide dog.
Lindsey Dryden
Board Secretary & Co-Founder | She/Her
Lindsey Dryden is an Emmy-winning, Sundance-supported, Oscar-shortlisted producer, director, executive producer, and co-founder of FWD-Doc. With films on Netflix, PBS, BBC, Channel 4, Criterion Channel, Conde Nast’s them, and The New Yorker, and Frameline, her work explores radical bodies, LGBTQ+ lives, and D/deaf and disabled perspectives. Lindsey produced Webby and Emmy winner, TRANS IN AMERICA (2019), UNREST (Sundance 2017), THE TALLEST DWARF (SXSW 2025) and SHE LOOKS LIKE ME (2024). She directed THE CALLERS (2024) for Multitude Films’ Queer Futures series.
She consulted on DEAF PRESIDENT NOW! and Netflix's HEART OF INVICTUS. She also mentors brilliant disabled talent including Jessi Gutch, Yasmin Godo, Kate Caryer and Penn Balint. Lindsey is a voting member of AMPAS and BAFTA, the 2025 SXSW Janet Pierson Champion Award winner, a 2024 Concordia Fellow, 2022 Sundance Documentary Producers Lab Fellow, and part of BFI’s Disability Screen Advisory Group. She was lead creator of the FWD-Doc Toolkit for Inclusion & Accessibility with Kyla Harris and numerous FWD-Doc members.
Amanda Upson
Board Member | She/Her
Amanda Upson transitioned from employment law to independent filmmaking, bringing legal acumen, strategic leadership, and a mission-driven lens to storytelling. Her debut feature premiered at the Virginia Film Festival and secured wide release. She produced a PBS-broadcast documentary honored with a Better Angels Lavine Fellowship and serves as a consulting producer for PBS’ American Masters. As series producer of the Webby–winning RENEGADES, she led the creation of the VIA Incubator, PBS’ first incubator for disabled filmmakers, bringing 24 disabled creatives into the public media ecosystem. As interim director of FWD-Doc, she guided its growth to become a nonprofit with global reach and spearheaded the industry-adopted Accessibility Scorecard. Amanda is a recognized leader in inclusion and accessibility in media, presenting at SXSW, DOCNYC, IDFA, EFM, and Realscreen. She participated in numerous acclaimed programs, including RespectAbility’s Entertainment Lab, Realscreen’s DIALOG Mentorship and DOC NYC’s New Leaders.
She mentors students, attorneys, and filmmakers, co-founded the Denver Mother Attorney Mentoring Association, and was appointed to Colorado’s Task Force on Attorney Well-Being. Named one of Forbes 40 Women to Watch Over 40, she is admitted to the US Supreme Court Bar.
Emeritus Board Member & Co-Founder | She/Her
Alysa Nahmias
Alysa Nahmias is an Emmy Award-winning director, producer, and founder of the LA-based production company AJNA Films. Her directing credits include ART & KRIMES BY KRIMES (MTV), UNFINISHED SPACES (Netflix), which won a 2012 Independent Spirit Award and is in the permanent collection at the MoMA, and the Laszlo Moholy-Nagy documentary THE NEW BAUHAUS (2019). She produced WILDCAT (2022), UNREST (2017), and AFTERNOON OF A FAUN (2013). She's also been on the producing teams for HOMEGROWN (2024), THE TUBA THIEVES (2023), I DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE (2021), and WHAT WE LEFT UNFINISHED (2019), among others. Alysa is a frequent creative advisor for Sundance Catalyst, the Film Independent Documentary Lab, and Global Media Makers. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Alysa lives with her partner, their two children, one new kitten, and an elderly cat who’s still frisky.
Kyla Harris is an award-winning writer, actor and producer whose work cultivates inclusion to create connection. She is chair of We Crip Film at the British Film Institute and a BAFTA member. Their work has been featured in British VOGUE, The Guardian, Stylist, the Royal Television Society and The New York Times. They co-wrote, co-created and starred in the comedy drama television series WE MIGHT REGRET THIS (BBC TWO). She was awarded BAFTA Breakthrough 2024 and was nominated for an Emerging Talent award. She produced the Emmy-winning documentary PATRICE: THE MOVIE (TIFF), which was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.