Making Space

Making Space at Paramount Pictures, It was an honor to speak alongside Pat Harvey-Lombard, TJ Hill and Vanessa Ramos about disability rights, political advocacy, and media representation, especially with the election approaching. Being Disabled is inherently political. Living in an inaccessible world often means we HAVE to be politically involved just to survive. Vote with our rights in mind, because in time, they’ll become yours as well. Disability rights are human rights, and knowing, protecting, and upholding them today ensures a better future for everyone. #DisabilityRights #MakingSpace Image description: Slide 1 - Keely stands under the iconic arched entryway of Paramount Pictures. The Paramount Pictures logo is displayed above the arch, with palm trees and buildings visible in the background. Slide 2 - Pat Harvey-Lombard, TJ Hill, Keely, Joshua Walker and Vanessa Ramos standing on stage. #DisabilityRights #MakingSpace

Meet our latest investor, Upstart Co-Lab, an organization that connects capital to creative people who make a profit and make a difference. We’re so excited to be the first direct investment of Upstart’s Inclusive Creative Economy Strategy. Launched in April with over $15 million committed, Upstart's Strategy is the first impact investing vehicle for the U.S. creative industries. Since 2016, Upstart Co-Lab has mobilized $45 million of grants and impact capital — and built a coalition of foundations, families and cultural institutions investing for impact in art, design, culture, heritage and creativity. With impact goals of financial inclusion, quality jobs, and vibrant communities, we truly feel Upstart Co-Lab is a match made in heaven for Making Space! Image Description: Graphic of a laptop sitting on a wooden table with a blurred background and a MASP logo hanging above the laptop. Text on the laptop screen reads: “we are Making Space with Upstart Co-Lab, New Investment Coming Soon!".

We are Making Space with Aerie by AEO, Inc.! Together, we are spotlighting six Disabled founders & their businesses who have transformed passions into impactful ventures, In 2020, I received an Aerie REAL Changemaker Grant for my first company, a talent agency that represented Disabled artists globally. That grant & visibility through Aerie was the launching pad for that company, After selling the agency, we are now building Making Space, a talent acquisition and learning platform for companies to train, access and retain Disabled talent, and Making Space Media, the media division designed to center Disabled people and their stories. Our goal is to address the disability employment gap and representation for the Disabled community. It has been a dream getting continued support from Aerie and the opportunity to highlight Disabled owned businesses, stay tuned, over the next few days we will be sharing more about the founders and their stories. You can read all about this exciting partnership here: https://lnkd.in/eChYypJM Image description: Collette Divitto, a young woman with Down syndrome, smiling warmly. She has long dark hair with bangs and freckles on her face. The image features text that reads, 'I like to empower my disabled employees.' Logos for Aerie and Making Space are visible in the top corners of the image.

Making Space with…Blue Origin 🚀 We are EXTREMELY excited to announce that Blue Origin is hosting a film screening of our very own “Sophie Morgan’s: Fight to Fly” documentary (co-produced by Hello Sunshine and Making Space Media followed by a panel discussion, exploring the evolving landscape of accessibility and inclusion in aerospace and spaceflight. Fun fact: Our name, Making Space, was inspired by our mission to “make space” for a wheelchair user on a plane. And our vision is to make space for Disabled people in every sector, at every level. So this is a huge moment for our company, our mission, and hopefully, our community. “l am so excited for these amazing women to share this film, their experiences, and knowledge with the Seattle aerospace and accessibility communities.” - Erin McLean, Senior Experience Designer and Space Systems Development. Thank you so much Todd Mosher, Meg Filer, Erin McLean. You are out of this world! Image description: Sophie Morgan is floating in a zero-gravity environment, smiling and raising one hand. She is wearing a gray jumpsuit with a patch that reads 'Air Zero G.' To the right, a wheelchair is floating in the background. Overlaid text reads 'MAKING SPACE with BLUE ORIGIN.'" #DisabilityRights #MakingSpace #Accessibility #BlueOrigin

Making Space with Indeed! Tomorrow, I am looking forward to speaking with Donna Bungard, CPWA, Accessibility leader and Disability Rights Advocate from Indeed on stage at the Human Potential Summit to talk about: - Closing the disability employment gap - How businesses can leverage the skills and experiences of Disabled workers to meet their workforce needs - Creating a more accessible and inclusive workplace for all workers Take a look at the article below by Donna in honor of Disability Employment Awareness Month, and if you're attending HPS, don't miss our conversation, expertly moderated by the incredible Virginie Raphael, one the best investors in the future of work. #DisabilityRights #MakingSpace https://lnkd.in/giakKaPm

Making Space with Fast Company for National Disability Employment Awareness Month! I am thrilled to have collaborated with Julia Herbst & Fast Company on a series that examines barriers Disabled people face to employment as well as solutions. What makes me even more excited about this is that the illustrations for this series were created by Dana Chan, an incredible artist discovered through the Making Space platform. Each week, disabled advocates, professionals and writers will spotlight critical issues affecting disabled workers, such as subminimum wage, the challenge of designing equitable Employee Resource Groups, and how inaccessible air travel continues to hinder career opportunities for disabled professionals. I have kicked off the series with an intro essay: https://lnkd.in/ePnGmrP5 #DisabilityRights #FutureOfWork Image Description: Illustration by Dana Chan, depicting a wheelchair user working at a desk with multiple screens displaying digital content. Around them are icons representing financial growth, social media engagement, and productivity, symbolizing empowerment, accessibility, and success in a digital workplace.

#OnePlanetSummit2024 MEET OUR SPEAKERS We are honored to have another Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree with us this year: CEO and Founder of Making Space, Keely Cat-Wells! Keely is a visionary leader and advocate for disability rights, committed to reshaping the narrative around disability inclusion. Since becoming disabled at 17, Keely has dedicated her life to advancing the rights of disabled people and increasing representation in media. As the founder of C Talent, she championed disabled artists and reshaped perceptions, leading to its acquisition in 2022—the largest known investment ever made in disabled talent within the creator industry. Building on this success, Keely founded Making Space, a venture-backed platform designed to create pathways to employment for disabled talent. Making Space helps companies train, access, and retain pre-qualified disabled talent through employer-supported education and inclusive hiring practices. Recently, Making Space partnered with NBC Sports ahead of the #Paris2024 Paralympic Games to amplify disabled talent in sports media. Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to hear from Keely Cat-Wells at #OnePlanetSummit2024! Seats are filling up. Apply or register today at TheOnePlanetSummit.com #OnePlanetSummit #SpiritualCapitalism #SpiritualEnterprise

I am incredibly honoured to be on the cover of Diversity in Action! When I became disabled, I thought my life was over. My original dream career I had worked hard for was taken away. Little did I know that it was just the beginning of a different dream and a new path, filled with equally ambitious goals. Thank you Diversity in Action allowing me to share a part of that journey. It still terrifies me to be open about my disability and experiences, the fear of judgment, criticism, and the assumptions people make can be overwhelming. But if we have the privilege, it is important to share our stories. I wish I had seen and heard more stories about disabled people, especially those with non-apparent, complex, and chronic conditions, in leadership positions. It would have made such a difference in my journey. Find the digital version of the publication here - https://lnkd.in/eWmJ3SaA Making Space #DisabilityRights #FutureOfWork Image description: A magazine cover titled "Diversity in Action," dated September/October 2024. The tagline of the magazine is "Advancing STEAM Students and Professionals." Keely is wearing a back top and high-waisted jeans, a ostomy medical device is just showing. She is standing against a light pink background, facing the camera with a confident expression. Key headlines on the cover include: "Accessibility Advocate: Keely Cat-Wells is on a mission to drive social, systemic, and economic change for the disability community." "Dino-Mite Digs: New Fossil Lab Unites Community." "The Science of Longevity." "Hip-Hop Doc Excels in Medicine and Music."

Phew, this is a great one. The amazing Keely Cat-Wells won an Advertising Week Future is Female award a few years ago. Which was lucky for us because it brought us into her orbit. At the time she was doing incredible work combating discrimination in the talent space and since then, she's basically conquered every space in entertainment, tech and learning. Can you imagine how excited we were to get to support Making Space, her education platform for disabled learners? Thanks so much to Stu Cairns on our team who immediately embraced creating this alongside everything else he does. And my fellow Future is Female chair Louise DiIulio who tipped us off to this opportunity. So happy to see this partnership come to life.

We are Making Space with Advertising Week's AWLearn! We have come together to create accessible, job-specific education taught by advertising industry leaders hosted on Making Space at no cost to Disabled learners, Additionally, the courses will build pre-qualified pools of talent for hiring companies! Today have launched three new courses, each tailored to specific roles: 1: Digital Marketing Manager 2: Marketing Assistant 3: Social Media Coordinator Sign-up now! https://lnkd.in/eJqr9Yqr Image description: A laptop screen displaying a partnership announcement between 'Making Space' and 'AWLEARN.' The top of the screen shows the text 'We are Making Space with AWLEARN' in a simple, modern font. Below this, there's a colorful circular logo featuring a stylized head with creative icons inside, representing AWLEARN. Below the logo is a yellow button with the text 'New partnership! Sign up now.' The background features vibrant, overlapping shapes in various colors. #DisabilityRights #Advertising #MakingSpace