James LeBrecht

James LeBrecht is a filmmaker, sound designer, and disability rights activist. LeBrecht was born in New York with spina bifida, a birth defect in the spinal cord that resulted in his inability to use his legs. At age 14, he began attending Camp Jened during the summer, where he connected with other teens with disabilities and became involved in disability advocacy. He later joined Disabled in Action and attended the University of California, San Diego, where he helped form the Disabled Student Union.

After college, LeBrecht moved to Berkeley, California, where the disability rights movement was growing at the Center for Independent Living. In Berkeley, he worked as a sound designer, starting his career at Berkeley Repertory Theater, where he worked for 10 years. In the 1980s, LeBrecht completed an apprenticeship at a post-production facility, which enabled him to enter the film industry. Over his career, LeBrecht has provided sound design for more than 145 films, with a focus on documentary film. His filmography includes "Minding the Gap," "The Waiting Room," "The Island President," "The Kill Team," "Audrie & Daisy," "Battlefield Earth," and "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story." He is the founder of Berkeley Sound Artists and co-author of "Sound and Music for the Theater: The Art and Technique of Design" with Deena Kaye, a textbook used internationally.

LeBrecht is a founding member of FWD-Doc, an organization supporting disabled filmmakers, and a member of the Disability Futures Fellowship, an initiative of the Ford Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. He has served as a mentor at SFFILM FilmHouse residency fellowship and has been a character consultant for Pixar Animation Studios.

LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham are co-directors of "Crip Camp," a documentary executive produced by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama through Higher Ground. The film explores the story of Camp Jened and its influence on the disability rights movement. "Crip Camp" received the Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival, the Zeno Mountain Award at Miami Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Documentary, and a Peabody Award.

LeBrecht continues to advocate for disability rights and directed the PBS documentary "Change, Not Charity: The Americans With Disabilities Act," which chronicles the movement to pass the ADA.