Visibilis was started by Eliza Hackathorn. Eliza is a mother of 3 who returned to her passion of storytelling after being unable to work due to systemic failures in society and education. Her special needs children could not attend school regularly, which required her to stay home and care for them.

Besides being an actor, writer, and director, she has a Juris Doctor and a Master’s in Public Policy. Yet, even with her education and resources, she was unable to get the support her special needs children required. She realized the failures in special education funding started at the state level, and no amount of well-reasoned arguments was going to change a local school district’s policies for all of the students.

The biggest hurdle children had to overcome was a lack of awareness and empathy, and storytelling was the most likely way she could bring their struggles into the light. Visibilis’ mission has now expanded beyond that focus to bring awareness to all invisible stories.