Accessibility Accelerator: The Podcast

Michal (Moked) Rimon, Chief Executive Officer of AccessIsrael, is a visionary leader and global advocate for accessibility and inclusion. Under Michal’s leadership, Access Israel has becomeIsrael’s foremost authority in advancing equal access for people with disabilities and older adults, shaping a society where inclusion is embedded in every aspect of life.   Michal credits much of her commitment...

Jake Weiner is the Founder and CEO of ZOOZ Fitness, one of the nation’s leading adaptive fitness organizations dedicated to empowering individuals with disabilities through personalized,inclusive, and science-based training. With professional roots in special education and personal training and a degree in Psychology and Marketing, Jake saw firsthand how traditional fitness environments often fail...

Allison is a three-time Emmy-nominated journalist, filmmaker, writer, and disability advocate whose latest documentary, Meandering Scars, world premiered at the Dances With Films Festival in Los Angeles.   She is the co-founder of BirdMine, a production company committed to amplifying underrepresented voices — particularly those in the disability community — through narrative and documentary story...

Sarah Todd Hammer (goes by "Sarah Todd" as a double name) is a 23-year-old three-time published author, speaker, and disability advocate and consultant.  When Sarah Todd was eight years old, she became paralyzed from the neck down. She has regained the ability to walk, but she still has partial paralysis in her arms and hands.​​​​ ​Sarah Todd co-wrote and published her memoirs about herdisability...

Accessibility Accelerator: The Podcast is excited to welcome athlete and published author, Farryl and her mother Alexis (the best ‘pep-talker). Farryl is deeply rooted in family, living with her parents, Pete and Alexis, and her younger brother, Evan. Together, they share a love for traveling, attending Yankee games, and skiing during the winter months with the Adaptive Sports Foundation. Their su...

ABOUT accessibleGO As featured on the Today Show,  ⁠accessibleGO.com⁠  is a travel site for people with disabilities that offers bookings, reviews, and community information. With over 120,000 signups to date, accessibleGO was awarded first place by ⁠booking.com⁠ in a regional travel startup competition and has been featured in Bloomberg News, NYTimes,Boston Globe, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Le...

November is National Family Caregivers Month in the United States.   Our friend Kris Burbank is a spouse, parent of three adult children, caregiver, and certified coach committed to helping individuals create joy-filled and rewarding lives, both personally and professionally.   As the mother of three adult children, including one with severe cerebral palsy (who is beloved member of our Accessibili...

Eric Lipp, Founder/Executive Director of Open Doors Organization (ODO), founded ODO after experiencing restrictions people with disabilities face in everyday life.  Eric works as an advocate for accessible travel and tourism and is an expert in regulations around the world. He has worked with over 70 airports globally, 65 carriers globally, dozens of hotels and destinations across the world.  He f...

John and Mark X. Cronin are the father-son team that created  John’s Crazy Socks , a social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. They bootstrapped their business into the world’s largest sock store earning them recognition as  EY’s Entrepreneurs of the Year .    John is not only an entrepreneur, but he has also Down syndrome. Every day, John and Mark show what people with differing abili...

Husnah Kukundakwe - Paralympian, Uganda Husnah made her Paralympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and was the youngest athlete to compete at the Games, aged just 14. At Tokyo 2020 she became Uganda’s only second ever Paralympic swimmer.   As a result of her hard work, Husnah was awarded the 2019  “Most Inspirational Athlete of the Year”  by the Uganda Swimming Federation and the 2019  “Most D...

Christine is a disability and age-inclusive researcher, designer, and innovator.  She founded and leads Open Inclusion, based in the UK and operating globally. Open provides market-leading disability and age-inclusive research to inform better design and innovation that can deliver greater social and business value. They produce high-quality, practical, diverse, and authentically human insights. O...

Bernard Chiira is a startup and innovation ecosystem development expert and professional, working at the intersection of disability inclusion, assistive technology and social entrepreneurship. He is a thought leader and masterclass facilitator across diverse topics within his profession such as disability and business, assistive technology innovation, inclusive impact investing, inclusive innovati...

Breandan Ward is an educator, consultant and leadership coach who was born and raised on a dairy farm in County Monaghan, Ireland. Having worked in leadership roles in investment banking over 15 years in London and New York during progressive sight loss caused by an inherited eye disease, Breandan now works with companies, non-profits, and accessible tech start-ups globally as an advisor and coach...

Rebecca Alexander is an author, psychotherapist, disability rights advocate, group fitness and yoga/meditation instructor, and extreme athlete who is almost completely blind and deaf. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, she currently lives in New York City.  Born with a rare genetic disorder called Usher syndrome (3A), Rebecca has been simultaneously losing both her vision and hearing s...

Robin Tim Weis is the Director of International Affairs at the Zero Project. He is responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing the Zero Project’s strategy, policy, and programs relating to its international activities. He also engages the Zero Project’s international partners in order to build public sector coalitions to achieve a world with zero barriers for all.   With a backgroun...

Jonathan Marriott Director Accessibility Advisory Services, Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™Rick Hansen Foundation   Jonathan is the Director of Accessible Advisory Services. Jonathan was previously the Content Lead for the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™ (RHFAC) program, overseeing the development of the RHFAC program technical content and resources.  Jonath...

Christopher Patnoe is the Head of Accessibility and Disability Inclusion for EMEA at Google. He leads Google's efforts around the accessibility of product, people, policy and partnerships across EMEA - with a particular focus on Emerging Markets. He has more than 25 years experience in Tech working at companies like Apple, Sony Ericsson and Disney where he's built hardware, software, and services....

Jonathan Kaufman is an innovative thought leader, business educator and strategist who recognizes the impact of personal development on organizational growth. As a storyteller, Professor Kaufman shares his own journey dealing with the obstacles of every day life and provides audiences a true understanding that we are all in the act of becoming when it comes to finding greater success. His unique b...

The Honorable Ambassador Luis Gallegos is a respected mentor, remarkable humanitarian and cherished friend of the Accessibility Accelerator Family. Ambassador Gallegos's career spans decades of service representing his native Ecuador globally.  Most recently he served as Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Relations after prior experience as his country’s ambassador and permanent representative to...