Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities

About RAMPD

RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities) is a professional consultancy group and networking platform amplifying Disability Culture and inclusion within the music industry.

RAMPD's Mission is to equip the music, sound, and live entertainment industries with the tools needed to empower working music creators and professionals with disabilities, neurodivergence and other chronic or mental health conditions. Through career development, innovative partnerships, and educational resources, we champion representation, equity, and an inclusive creative ecosystem.

Founded in May of 2021 (and established January 2022) by award-winning recording artist and cultural activist Lachi, RAMPD came about after a public talk between the Recording Academy and several music professionals with disabilities revealed a lack of disability visibility, access, and representation.

RAMPD has since partnered with the GRAMMY's to make music's biggest night more disability-inclusive, helping push for a visible ramp to the stage, sign language on the red carpet, and more at the telecast ceremony, partnered with Live Nation among others on our DisCo House events, partnering with Netflix on career development opportunities, and finding visibility in Good Morning America, NYTimes and Billboard. RAMPD also offers trainings and comms consultations to music giants, working to make the industry more accommodating from the inside. In 2022 RAMPD was named a Zero Project Honoree at the United Nations for its innovative solutions, in 2023 was named a Music Business Association Agent of Change, and in 2024, USA Today named Lachi a “Woman of the Year” for leading RAMPD's efforts. RAMPD's member development initiatives are fiscally sponsored by the Stacey Park Milbern Disability Justice Fund.

Disability Culture: RAMPD defines Disability Culture as the art, music, words, and creative contributions of people who identify as disabled. It is rooted in creativity, determination and problem solving and is a vibrant counter-response to society's marginalization and oppression, and deserves to be celebrated.

Disability: RAMPD's view on disability is big tent, meaning we are inclusive of and advocates for all forms of disabilities, including neurodivergence, chronic and mental health conditions, all physical, sensory, cognitive and intellectual disabilities, d/Deafness and hard of hearing, rare diseases and the immune compromised. We do not define disability by diagnosis, but by identity, as not everyone is able to receive a proper diagnosis. Furthermore disability identity is not limited to the medical model lens, but expands to both the social and cultural models of disability.

Executive Committee

Precious Perez, Vice President. A latina with curly black hair holding a ukulele and smiling.

Precious Perez

President

Singer-songwriter and educator

Marsha Elle, Vice President. A black woman with long black hair.

Marsha Elle

Vice President

Songwriter, Vocalist

Lachi, a black woman with cornrows wearing a purple dress and holding a purple cane, smiles in front of a grammys logo on a wall.

Lachi

Chief Executive Officer

Touring/Charting Recording Artist, TEDx Speaker, GRAMMYs Board (NY)

Chris Wylie, Treasurer. White male in wheelchair with white beard and glasses wearing black clergy robe with red and rainbow colored stoles.

Chris Wylie

Treasurer

Award-winning singer, songwriter, rapper, & activist.

Kemal Gorey, Secretary. A white man with dark hair, glasses leaning on a table while smiling.

Kemal Gorey

Secretary

Film/TV Composer


Team RAMPD

Arthur Gywnne

Arthur Gywnne

Head of Operations
Anya Cherneff

Anya Cherneff

Head of Programs and Development
Dennis Tran

Dennis Tran

Events/Program Coordinator
Sal Lorenzo

Sal Lorenzo

Content Lead

Our Founders

Lachi, Founder. A black woman with cornrows and green makeup wearing an aqua marine dress.

Lachi

Founder / CEO

Named a 2024 USA Today Woman of the Year, Lachi is a charting and award-winning recording artist, globally touring keynote speaker, GRAMMYs Board Governor, and PBS series host. Born legally blind, Lachi uses her platform in music, storytelling and fashion to amplify Disability Culture, identity and pride to the mainstream narrative. Recognized by as a “dedicated foot soldier for disability pride” by Forbes, Lachi has held talks and shows at the White House, BBC, the UN, firms, universities and NGOs worldwide, and has been honored by ADCOLOR, Inc, AdAge, and featured in TIME, Billboard, Good Morning America and the New York Times for her upbeat and unapologetic brand of disability pride.

Gaelynn Lea, Co-Founder. A white woman with a flower in her hair, holding a violin in front of a mic.

Gaelynn Lea

Co-Founder

Gaelynn Lea is an internationally touring recording artist and speaker who won NPR Music's Tiny Desk Contest in 2016. Since then, she has captivated audiences around the world with her haunting original songs and traditional fiddle tunes. A member of the Grammy Board, Gaelynn speaks on Disability Rights and accessibility in the arts, sharing perspective on PBS NewsHour, The Moth Radio Hour, and via two widely-viewed TEDx Talks.


As seen in:

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