Virtual screening of the award-winning documentary:
Choose the Pond.
Date: Thursday, October 15, 2025
Time: 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET
Medicaid doesn’t just influence a person’s physical health and well-being, but all aspects of a disabled person’s life. To unpack this, we invite you to join us for this funder briefing featuring Cindy Bentley’s award-winning documentary film Choose the Pond. Among many other roles she has in the community, Cindy is the executive director of People First Wisconsin. Cindy’s story of someone who spent decades in an institutional setting highlights the ways access to community integration and support are effective in providing all people with disabilities access to employment. Following the virtual film screening, there will be a panel discussion connecting the films to topics including:
- the transition out of a nursing home for disabled people of color and potential barriers, including access to employment,
- how Medicaid goes beyond health to support access to employment for disabled people, and
- why centering the lived experiences of disabled people in policymaking and programming is essential.
CART Captioning will be provided. If you require another accommodation to fully participate in the webinar, please note it in your registration, or contact us at communications@disabilityphilanthropy.org. This free event is presented by the Disability & Philanthropy Forum and the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy. Registration for this event is only open to funders, grantmakers, and philanthropy-serving organizations.
Related news: Check out this article, For a half century, people with disabilities made steady gains. Now, they’re collapsing, from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It features Cindy Bentley.
About the Panelists
Panelist: Executive Director of People First Wisconsin
Cindy Bentley is the Executive Director of People First Wisconsin and one of Wisconsin’s most celebrated leaders and activists. Cindy Bentley spent much
of her childhood at the Southern Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled. No one expected her to learn the skills necessary to live on her own, but she did and then accomplished so much more, including authoring the book Spirit of a Champion. In 2024 Cindy will celebrate 40 years out of an institution
and leading a meaningful self-determined life in her community.
Panelist: Kim The, Senior Research associate at the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy
Kim The (she/her) is a senior research associate at the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy. She holds a PhD in Disability Studies with a concentration in gender and women’s studies. Her research centers around building more intersectional disability activist groups— particularly in regards to women of color with disabilities. As a qualitative researcher, Kim assists with data analysis and manuscript writing across the various Lurie centers. Kim is passionate about working with people with disabilities throughout the research process.
Moderator: Nikki Brown-Booker, Program Director of the Disability Inclusion Fund
Nikki Brown-Booker is the Program Director for the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy. As a person with a disability and a biracial woman, she has devoted her work to advancing rights at the intersection of disability justice and racial justice. The daughter of a domestic worker who immigrated from the Philippines, Nikki was taught from a young age that justice is a human right. She has a master’s in clinical psychology, and is a licensed marriage and family therapist.