Frank Stephens

Frank Stephens lives with a thought from Mahatma Gandhi foremost in his mind, “My life is my message.” That thought is at the heart of Frank’s statement, “I am a man with Down syndrome, and my life is worth living.” Frank describes himself as an Actor, Author, and Advocate, and he is truly all of those. He has appeared in feature films, work-shopped plays in New York, developed a recurring role in the Emmy-winning “Born This Way”, appeared in documentaries, like “The R Word” and “Upside Down”, related to intellectual disabilities, and has been a member of the ArtStream troupe since 2005. He has written op-ed pieces published all over the world. He is an articulate advocate, best known for his impassioned defense of the value of life with Down syndrome in testimony to the US House Appropriations Committee and the United Nations Committee on Human Rights. Frank logged over 70,000 miles, in 2018 alone, addressing audiences large and small, including students from middle school to Harvard Law School. All of Frank’s acting, writing, and speaking is in furtherance of the single objective of convincing a skeptical world that individuals born with Down syndrome are fully human and are capable of full, satisfying, and worthwhile lives. Frank serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation.