Ranell Shubert

Ranell Shubert is the Executive Director of the Disability Media Alliance (DMA), a global nonprofit building infrastructure to support disability-led nonfiction media organizations. Identifying as neurodivergent and living with a mental health condition, and drawing from her as a caregiver, Ranell centers the perspectives and experiences of disabled people in all aspects of her leadership. She brings over a decade of experience in nonprofit management, arts education, and funds administration, with deep knowledge of the documentary field and funding landscape.

At the International Documentary Association (IDA), she served as the Nonfiction Access Initiative Funds Program Manager, where she led community- driven research, outreach, and program implementation to support disabled nonfiction media makers. She launched the Direct Access Fund, which provided targeted access grants, covering caregiving, assistive technology, interpretation, and festival support, for 21 nonfiction projects by disabled creators. She also co-authored the Enhancing Accessibility and Support for Disabled Nonfiction Media Makers: NAI 2024 Report, a field-shaping publication urging funders and institutions to reevaluate how they engage with disability and access. Ranell also produced the What’s Up with Docs Podcast, which explored equity and inclusion in the nonfiction industry through interviews with filmmakers, funders, and movement leaders. At the 1IN4 Coalition, an intersectional collective of disabled creatives in Hollywood, she helped launch the Disabled Writers Mentorship Program and advocated for authentic representation and increased employment of disabled people in film and television. She has taught Audio Podcast Production at the University of Southern California and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Film/Video Production from Columbia College Chicago.

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