Accessibility Transforms Lives
Thanks to everyone who joined us for CIDNY’s Third Annual Gala, Accessibility Transforms Lives on Monday, October 5 at the Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC).
What did we feature this year?
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- Keynote by Jenna Bainbridge (she/her), actor, singer, and disability rights advocate, currently appearing on Broadway as Nessarose in Wicked.
- Award presentations honoring outstanding disability justice advocates
- The beautiful and fully accessible Perelman Arts Center at the World Trade Center
Since 1978, CIDNY has fought for improved accessibility for all New Yorkers. In 2025 alone, we directly helped 75,000 New Yorkers with disabilities to overcome barriers and access better physical health, mental health, housing, education, employment, voting, and transportation. Our annual gala is a celebration of all that we have accomplished, and a fundraiser to support the work yet to come.
Date: Monday, October 05, 2026, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Location: Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC), 251 Fulton Street New York, NY 10007
Keynote Speaker/Performer: Serving as our 2026 keynote speaker and performer was Jenna Bainbridge (she/her), actor, singer, and disability rights advocate, currently appearing on Broadway as Nessarose in Wicked.
At 16 months old, Jenna suddenly became partially paralyzed from the waist down, the cause is still unknown. She navigates the world now as an ambulatory wheelchair user. In 2024 she became the first wheelchair user to perform in a New Musical on Broadway when she made her debut in Suffs, which won the 2024 Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Music. She can be seen in NBC’s Found, and you can hear her narrate the audio books for Marieke Nijkamp’s Unbroken and Alice Wong’s Disability Intimacy. In addition to performing, Jenna is also the Co-founder of ConsultAbility, a consulting firm whose mission is to work with theatrical institutions and educational programs to create more accessible spaces and inclusive programming for disabled artists, bridging the gap between what is desired and what is required when working with disabled artists in the theatrical world.. Click here for more about Jenna Bainbridge.
Honoree: This year, we honored Dr. Michael O’Dell for his service on CIDNY’s Board of Directors and his commitment to the disability community.
Honoree: We also be honored a longtime CIDNY staff member, now retired, Greg Otten.
Sponsors:
Yulia Steshenko and Chiu Kong
Ethan and Talma Addes
Beeneet Kothari
2027 CIDNY Gala Photo Gallery
Take a look at some of the photos from the event here: https://www.cidny.org/2026-annual-fundraiser-gallery/
2027 Sponsorship Opportunities
Interested in sponsoring CIDNY’s 2027 gala? Please contact Sarah Pita at spita@cidny.org or 347-971-8002.