Article originally appeared in Able SC’s August 2026 Youth Team Newsletter, produced by Able SC’s Youth Team.
Interview with a Filmmaker: Dan Habib
This month, we at Able SC spoke with Dan Habib, one of the filmmakers behind “The Ride Ahead,” founder of the National Disability Leadership Series, and the father of a young adult with a disability. He sat down for an interview about his program, which you can read below.
Interviewer: “So, Dan, what is the National Disability Leadership Series?”
Dan: “The National Disability Leadership Series is the first-ever group of 107 people from around the country that are coming together to strengthen their advocacy and leadership skills. Basically, it’s an opportunity for people to come together and learn from some of the most interesting and progressive thinkers in the field and doers about disability action and policy.
And so almost every month over the course of nine months, people come together for a main session where they all are on Zoom together. It’s all virtual. And they’re able to listen to presentations on everything from employment to dating and sexuality to assembling your care team.
to policy and advocacy, to using storytelling and media. Those have been really exciting.”
Interviewer: Are there any other aspects to the program that you think people are benefiting from?
Dan: “[We] are also are doing what we call fireside chats, where people get together
also about once a month to have more informal conversations to go even deeper on some of these conversations with the presenters.”
Interviewer: What are some ways that people are benefiting from this program, and what are some ways communities are benefiting? [Each] person in the group, the cohort of 107, [they] are working on their own personal action plans. And they’re setting nine-month goals for themselves. And they have a home group where they’re meeting together each month during these main sessions to talk about how they’re doing, progressing towards that goal.
Then, the last piece is they also are part of action groups where they’re organized around different topic areas. And it might be home and community-based supports, or it might be inclusive education, or it might be transportation. And they’re talking about how they can create an action in their own home states and home communities to help advance these goals around disability justice and disability rights. So it’s really about building a community of activists and leaders from around the country and supporting each other’s work.”
Interviewer: Thanks so much for talking with me, Dan.