While Richie Siegel and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska are quarantined in New York in 2020, they come together over their shared vision of helping disabled creatives achieve financial and creative freedom and destigmatizing disability and mental health via film and television.

Andraéa LaVant, Brandon Sonnier, and Sinéad Burke join existing board members Richie Siegel, Marisa Torelli-Pedevska, and Rebekah Kondrat, as well as future board member Lauren Ridloff, in extending Inevitable’s mission of being a majority disabled organization to include the board of directors. All working professionals, the group offers a new approach to nonprofit board management, leaning on their strategic and lived experience over traditional governance and fundraising support — a shift that alleviates what can often be a hurdle to achieving a more inclusive board composition.

To affirm its commitment to the fair and equitable compensation of disabled people and continue ensuring Inevitable Foundation’s team can manage cost of living increases, the nonprofit introduced a quarterly inflation reimbursement policy. Combined, full-time employees have received upwards of $15,000 since the policy was enacted, alongside other policies like quarterly office closures and unlimited PTO — reinforcing that the value of employees’ labor doesn’t artificially decrease over time due to inflation within the larger economy.

As part of Inevitable’s commitment to supporting the equitable treatment and career growth of the disabled workforce, the company introduced annual coaching stipends worth between $1,500 and $5,000 per person, allowing employees to expand their professional skills in relevant areas. Alongside the stipend, a new sabbatical program was introduced, granting employees with five vested years in the organization the chance to take a four month leave to facilitate professional development and prevent burnout.