Diana Elizabeth Jordan

Diana Elizabeth Jordan, is a living example of resiliency. Her doctors' had to work on her for 45 minutes before she started breathing on her own. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy (which mildly affects her speech and gait) around age two, Jordan grew up determined not to let adversity stop her from pursuing her dream of being an actor. She has realized that dream and has been cast in over 60 theater productions, over 18 films, and television, including CBS’s "S.W.A.T.." Since the beginning of her career, Jordan has refused to be limited to only being cast in disability-specific roles but also cast in roles where her disability is incidental to the character or storyline.

Jordan is a member of SAG-AFTRA and The Actors Equity Association. She was the first actor with a disability to obtain a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from California State University Long Beach (2001). She was the recipient of the 2016 Best Actor Honor for The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge and is one of the featured artists in Liliana Moldovan's new book "Eroii Imposibilului," a book featuring multi-disciplined artists with disabilities from around the world. Her current award-winning short film Best Friend (written and directed by Cory Reeder), which she co-stars and also coproduced, is a hit on the film festival circuit and has had over 7.6K views on YouTube. Currently, Ms. Jordan is featured as “Ella” in the horror film The Edge of Isolation (written and directed by Jeff Houkal), which can be seen on Amazon.

As a Solo Artist & Speaker, Jordan offers an impactful alternative to the traditional keynote address through her powerful solo shows and has been invited to perform/speak and facilitate workshops for colleges/universities, special events, and conferences, including The National Drama Therapy Conference, The Center For Disease Control, The UCLA Mindful Madness Conference and she was recently a featured speaker at the Seasons of Change Bent Not Broken Conference and The 2018 Expressive Arts Conference where she co-facilitated a workshop Diversity A Creative Collective Exchange. She has also been a featured guest on podcasts and diversity and disability inclusion panels. Her 10 Tools To Consider When Cultivating Resiliency, are featured in Janine Conway’s new book "Healing Our Sisters."

Jordan's talents extend beyond her joy of performing; she has taught acting classes and has been an artist in residence with Performing Arts Studio West, a professional training studio for performers with disabilities, for over 20 years. She serves on SAG-AFTRA's National Performers With Disabilities Committee, is an alternate to SAG-AFTRA’s National Equal Opportunities Committee, a Hollywood Ambassador for the Divas with Disabilities, The Disabled Advocate For The Women of Color JTC List, and a two-time Ambassador for The World Institute On Disability. She is a frequent and in-demand disability influencer for panels focusing on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access.

Jordan’s passion for the power of the performance and the expressive arts to be utilized as a life-long learning tool to encourage personal growth and professional development and as an agent of social change led her to launch her EduTainment production company, The Rainbow Butterfly Café, in 2015. The R.B.C. combines the power of performances, speaking, and custom-designed expressive arts-based workshops to celebrate diversity and disability inclusion, cultivating resiliency, goal setting, and visioning.

Jordan offers a reimagined approach to the traditional keynote address for conferences, retreats, and special events by performing her one-woman shows Watch Your Head (written by Lynda Rodriquez), Climbing The Chrystal Staircase, A Concert of Spoken Words Celebrating Resiliency Through Poetry, Monologues & Stories & Happily Ever After. She also produces the weekly vlog A Morning Cup of Joy.

Whether Jordan is portraying a character, sharing one of her personal stories, or facilitating one of her custom-designed expressive arts workshops, she touches the hearts of audiences with her humor, creativity, vulnerability, and honesty. Jordan is living her possible dreams and loving it