Jessica Leventhal

Jessica Leventhal is a writer from New York who uses a wheelchair. Her experiences going from fully abled to differently abled (in adulthood) because of a chronic health condition, as well as coming from a multi-racial family, gives her a distinct perspective.

Although writing is her first love, she began storytelling at a young age through acting, singing, and dancing (twice on Broadway!). After graduating from Yale, Jessica took a risk and went to Hollywood where she found herself collaborating as the Director of Development for Bruce Cohen, worked on the Oscar-winning film Silver Linings Playbook, and produced Andrew Lippa’s I am Harvey Milk at Lincoln Center back in New York.

She started writing full-time a few years ago and has since written two pilots with her (sometimes) writing partner — one based on her own experience as a young disabled woman living at the Sunset Tower Hotel, the other based on her father’s work in the Civil Rights Movement in 1965 Mississippi. Jessica’s solo writing includes a recent episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series for Disney+ and a feature that’s she’s currently writing for producer/director Linda G. Mills.

Jessica and her husband recently got married in quarantine over Zoom, and they hope their nuptials are legally valid.