Pac Rim 2025
Keynote Speakers
Corbett O'Toole
Corbett Joan O’Toole, a disability community elder, influences generations of disabled artists, scholars, and activists through her writing, artwork, mentoring and public speaking. Corbett was named a 2022 Disability Futures Fellow. She lives full-time in her adapted van, traveling on the lands cared for by generations of Native peoples.
Corbett is the author of Fading Scars, a book that distills 40 years of activism in disability, queer, parenting communities.
Jennifer Kumiyama
Disability Activist
Jennifer Kumiyama was born with Arthrogryposis and uses a wheelchair daily. She identifies as an Asian, Pacific Islander and Black woman with a disability. She serves as Citywide Accessibility Coordinator at the City of Long Beach – where she is tasked with making sure the City is in compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
A disability activist for over two decades, her work began in 2002 when Jennifer was cast in Disney’s “Aladdin; a Musical Spectacular” at Disney California Adventure Theme Park, where she was the first performer in a wheelchair to ever be on any Disney stage in the world. Jennifer used her performing platform at Disney to compete and win the title of Ms. Wheelchair California 2010 where she promoted empowerment for youth with disabilities, speaking throughout the state of California and the nation during her reign. Other credits include ‘The Sessions’, MTV’s ‘awkward.’, and ‘Celebrity Undercover Boss’.
Recently, Jennifer can be heard as the voice of ‘Dahlia’ in Disney’s animated feature film, ‘WISH’.
She is currently a Communication Studies major at California State University Long Beach.
Villaney Remengesau
Disability Rights Advocate
Ms. Villaney Remengesau, widely known as Lany, is a passionate advocate and leader in disability rights and inclusion from Palau, a proud Pacific Islander with Asian heritage. With extensive experience at national, regional, and international levels, she has championed initiatives for persons with disabilities and sustainable development throughout her career.
At the national level, Lany has been a long-time leader of the OMEKESANG Association, an organization advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities in Palau, and served as the first President of the Belau Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (BANGO) from 2018 to 2020. She also plays a significant role in the Palau Resource Institute, working to preserve the country’s environment and cultural heritage through sustainable practices. Notably, her efforts contributed to Palau’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Regionally, Lany was the Co-chair of the Pacific Disability Forum (2018–2023) and served on its Board of Directors from 2011 to 2015. She also acted as the Focal Point for the Disability Constituency in the Asia Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM) on Sustainable Development (2019–2023) and was a member of the Pacific Community-Based Inclusive Development (CBID) Committee. She also recently joined the Palau Delegation to participate in the Asia Pacific CSO Forum and Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+30 Review.
On the international stage, Lany has worked as a UN Disability Inclusion Consultant, supporting the UN Country Team in the Pacific and the UN Resident Coordinator Office in Suva. She also served on the Board of the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and co-presented Palau’s Voluntary National Review (VNR) Report at the High-Level Political Forum in 2019.
Lany’s dedication to disability inclusion, sustainable development, and cultural preservation reflects her unwavering commitment to empowering communities in Palau and the broader Pacific region.