Many thanks to Danny Jordan for teaming up with Discovery Cube LA to provide a very special and memorable experience for our visitors! Rae’s First Day is a fun, educational, and inspiring story for kids and adults alike.
Creator/Author
Danny Jordan is a proud husband and dad, and lover of sports and live theater. When his daughter was diagnosed with an upper limb difference in 2018, he became an advocate for inclusion and accurate representation of disability in media.
Outside of this thrilling new literary adventure, Danny has produced and directed over 150 hours of primetime major network and cable television programming. He has also worked extensively as a branded media executive and sponsor producer, securing partnerships with and successfully integrating leading brands into traditional and digital media. Select producing credits include: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Biggest Loser, MasterChef, Deal or No Deal, Storage Wars, and Playbill Presents: The Broadway Cast (Top 100 Apple Podcast).
The premiere story in The Capables series is Danny’s first time ever writing a book, and it is his hope that this is just the beginning for the series.
Follow Danny on Instagram @dannyjordan
Illustrator
Agustina Perciante was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Growing up, she would spend hours drawing her favorite cartoons. Everywhere she went, she had a pencil in her hand.
Nowadays, Agustina is a full-time illustrator and not a day goes by when she isn’t making art.
Follow Agustina on Instagram @percima.art
Nicole Kelly stepped into the role of public figure after winning the 2013 title of Miss Iowa & going on to compete at the 2014 Miss America Pageant. She gained attention for being one of a few competitors to have ever competed with a physical disability. After working for a year as Miss Iowa & traveling across the country to advocate for those living with a disability, Nicole began speaking professionally. Nicole is represented by Keppler Speaking Agency & has proudly spoken at hundreds of K-12 schools & given educational lectures at universities across the country. Nicole is proud to be an advisory company member of National Disability Theatre, is co-host of the podcast, Disarming Disability, & served as the emcee at the Kennedy Center’s celebration for the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It is Nicole’s mission to educate as many people as possible about those living with a physical disability. Nicole is a proud ambassador for CoApt, an advanced control solution designed to enhance the functionality of a powered myoelectric prosthesis for those with upper limb loss or limb difference.
In 2017 Nicole completed her master’s degree in broadcast journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
On Instagram @nicolegkelly
Kizzi Barazetti has extensive experience in the entertainment industry as a model, host and commercial actor. She has worked with high profile clients such as Neutrogena, Target and Hard Rock Café on both national and international campaigns. In September 2020 Kizzi graduated with a Masters degree in Gender, Media and Culture from the London School of Economics. Her focus is media inclusivity, critically interrogating how different media reinforces or subverts stereotypes, social roles and ideologies. Kizzi met author Danny Jordan whilst working together on CNBC’s game show ‘Deal or No Deal’ where she featured as briefcase #24, she will be supporting The Capables by auditing and advising on all creative content.
On Instagram @reallifekizzi
Larry Powell is a true artist born and raised in South Central LA. As an actor he has premiered some of the most exciting New Plays of the past decade including The Christians by Lucas Hnath, The Legend of Georgia McBride by Matthew Lopez, Father Comes Home From The Wars by Suzan Lori Parks, Brokeology by Nathan Louis Jackson, While I Yet Live by Billy Porter, Curve of Departure by Rachel Bonds, Seared by Theresa Rebeck and Bronzeville by Aaron Woolfolk and Tim Toyama. He also stars as Lawrence in the movie The Browsing Effect (PrimeVideo). He’s been nominated for and won a host of fancy acting awards for his work on stage. But, more importantly, he continues to build a mighty network of exquisite, multicultural changemaking artists. That has been the most rewarding aspect of his career. He is the recipient of the 2021 IAMA Theatre Company Shonda Rhimes Unsung Voices Playwriting Award and is an inaugural Circle of Confusion Writers Discovery Fellow. He wrote the play “The Gaze”, a 2021 O’Neill NPC finalist, and adapted it into an award-winning digital series during the early days of the pandemic. “The Gaze Series” is a 2021 EMMY Award Nominee, 2021 Webby Award Honoree and the 2021 Micheaux Film Festival’s Best Comedic Digital Series Winner. He also Wrote/Directed/Starred In/Produced his debut feature film project “Mother’s Milk: A Film Quilt” (2021 Seattle International Film Festival’s New American Cinema Special Jury Prize). Serving as Adjunct Lecturer, Larry has directed stellar productions of “The Brothers Size” and “Pipeline” at USC’s School of Dramatic Arts. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama and Founder of Free The Arts, a holistic experience for diverse, intergenerational Black artists to put-each-other-on-game through quality training, community, opportunity, and new, bold works for a new audience. Freethearts.org
Mika is an anti-racist and anti-bias educator, social-emotional learning specialist, education consultant, and nonprofit advisor. Mika has worked with hundreds of students and families in marginalized communities as a Teach For America Chicago Head Start teacher, a KIPP Foundation school founder in Los Angeles, and a program director at MindUP | The Goldie Hawn Foundation. She is an advisory council member of Pánfila Domestic Violence HOPE Foundation and a 2020 Leadership For Educational Equity Public Leaders Fellow. Mika holds 3 professional teaching licenses in Illinois and California, a bachelor’s degree in K-12 Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a master’s degree in Education from Dominican University.
Rachael is an experienced equality, diversity and inclusion expert, having worked with numerous organisations to create more equality in the workplace, with a focus on race and gender equality. She has worked with FTSE100 companies, government departments, creative agencies, and charities. Rachael has pioneered leadership development programmes for Black students in the UK, connecting them to opportunities at leading companies, and leads a programme with the Mayor of London to increase the number of young Black men in tech and the construction sector. She uses her research skills to create and deliver highly acclaimed training sessions to organisations in the UK and internationally.
Rachael holds an MSc in Migration Studies from the University of Oxford, for which she successfully crowdfunded £10,000 in 10 days for her tuition fees. She also holds a law degree and spent an enriching year studying at the historically Black women’s college, Spelman College. Rachael is a Churchill Fellow, passionate about access to quality education for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Deborah Baker Jr. is a dyslexic actor and activist who is best known for playing “Denise Miller” on IFC’s Stan Against Evil, and “Esther” on CBS’ The Great Indoors. Most recently, Deborah recurs on CBS’ The Neighborhood as “Brittany,” the sister to Beth Behrs’ character, and is the Rumchata Fairy, the spokesperson for Rumchata liqueur.
Using her one-of-a-kind talents to transition into other areas of the entertainment industry, Deborah voices “Regina” the puppet on Comedy Central’s Blark & Son and will soon be heard in an upcoming Disney animated series. Deborah is also a performer at Upright Citizen’s Brigade where she regularly performs sketch & improv.
Raised in Boston and Boca Grande, FL, Deborah’s love for performing was sparked when she began acting/modeling at the age of three. She is an alum of the Foxcroft School for Girls in Middleburg, Virginia. For higher education, Deborah graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, an acting conservatory, where she was fully immersed in her craft and prepared to pursue a professional acting career. Deborah Baker Jr. is represented by Innovative Artists and Triniti Management in Los Angeles.
Deborah met her husband, T. Michael Woolston, in 2005. They were married in 2010. After graduating from USC with a film degree, T. Michael currently works in Live Action Film production at Disney.
Her passion for philanthropy is channeled into being a NextGen Member for UNICEF and a mentor for Young Storytellers. Deborah currently serves as an honorary board member of The Dyslexia Foundation, the organization that her father, William Baker Jr., founded more than thirty years ago.
In her limited downtime, Deborah enjoys painting, writing, and making content starring her dog Bruce.
Amelia Baker Lauderdale graduated from UCLA with a degree in neuroscience and psychology.
She currently lives in Los Angeles. She is a Lululemon regional manager, life coach and mom.
Amelia grew up in Boston MA and Boca Grande FL. She loved school and reading but saw first hand how many obstacles dyslexics need to overcome in school to succeed as her father, brother and sister are dyslexic. She also got to see dyslexia celebrated in her household and at times, envied her siblings as she wanted to be “part of the dyslexic club”.
Amelia believes we can have a world where students don’t reach reading failure and will continue to spend her free time advocating, educating and giving back to the dyslexic field.
Amelia currently serves as the President on the board of the Dyslexia Foundation.
Ryan J. Haddad is an actor, playwright, and autobiographical performer based in New York. His acclaimed solo play Hi, Are You Single? was presented in The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival and continues to tour the country. Other New York credits include My Straighties (Ars Nova/ANT Fest), Noor and Hadi Go to Hogwarts (Theater Breaking Through Barriers), and the cabaret Falling for Make Believe (Joe’s Pub/Under the Radar). Regional theatre: The Maids, Lucy Thurber’s Orpheus in the Berkshires (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and Hi, Are You Single? (Guthrie Theater, Cleveland Play House, Williamstown Theatre Festival). He has a recurring role on the Netflix series “The Politician.” Additional television: “Bull,” “Madam Secretary,” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”
Haddad is a recipient of IAMA Theatre Company’s Shonda Rhimes Unsung Voices Playwriting Commission and Rising Phoenix Repertory’s Cornelia Street American Playwriting Award. His work has been developed with The Public Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York Theatre Workshop, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Noor Theatre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Primary Stages, and Pride Plays. He is an alum of The Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group and a former Queer|Art Performance and Playwriting Fellow, under the mentorship of Moe Angelos.
On Instagram @ryanjhaddad
Jason is a filmmaker with over a decade of credits in film and television. He began his career working alongside several Academy & Peabody Award winning filmmakers, and has personally been nominated for four NY Emmys. His editing credits include documentaries for ESPN, PBS, and several NY Emmy winning series. In 2019, Jason made his directorial debut with Despite The Loss – a raw, unflinching, personal documentary about what it’s like to live and love, with a limb difference.
I accepted the invitation to join the Advisory Board for The Capables because I want to make sure that any story representative of the limb difference community is told as authentically as possible. I believe there are many kids (and adults) in the world struggling with their limb difference, and seeing characters that look like you reflected accurately in media can be a powerful agent for change.
On Instagram @despitethelossfilm
www.despitetheloss.com