Making Space
for Disabled
Talent.

01 — The Problem

The largest untapped talent pool in the world is still locked out of work.

More than 1.3 billion people live with a disability. Most want to work. The systems that determine hiring, promotion, and culture were not built with them in mind — and the cost, to people and to companies, is measured in trillions.

Disability inclusion drives 28% higher revenue, 2× net income, and 30% higher profit margins. Sustainable change requires coordination across hiring, learning, and culture.

02 — The Platform

One full-lifecycle system.

Employer systems change funds free, fully accessible tools for Disabled people — so progress compounds on both sides of the labor market.

1. — 01

   Employer systems change

   We embed disability inclusion across the full employee lifecycle — auditing physical and digital workplaces, training recruiters, managers, and executives, modernizing accommodations processes, and opening a direct pipeline to vetted Disabled talent from our 50K+ community. Companies implement durable infrastructure: ATS-integrated sourcing, role-specific manager training with completion and impact data, accessibility reviews on products and spaces, and ongoing policy and culture advisory.

   +

   • → ATS integrations (Greenhouse, Workday, Lever)
   • → Manager & recruiter training with completion & impact data
   • → Physical & digital accessibility audits
   • → Accommodations process redesign
   • → Targeted role campaigns to a 50K+ candidate pool
   • → Policy, accommodations, and culture advisory
2. — 02

   Opportunities board & community

   A free, fully accessible Opportunities Board and peer community for Disabled professionals — the front door most career platforms fail to build. Every employer listed is vetted and trained by Making Space on disability inclusion, so jobseekers apply with real confidence they'll be set up to succeed once they land the role. AI matching translates lived experience into transferable skills, and peer spaces connect members with others navigating the same systems.

   +

   • → Every employer vetted & trained on disability inclusion
   • → Free for every Disabled jobseeker, forever
   • → AI job-matching trained on lived experience
   • → Peer community & mentorship spaces
   • → Screen-reader–first, keyboard-navigable, low-bandwidth
3. — 03

   Free accessible education

   On-demand learning for Disabled people — technical skills, soft skills, and self-advocacy. Every course ships with accessibility built in, not bolted on: ASL interpretation learners can toggle on or off, captions, transcripts, customization, compatibility with assistive technology and plain-language summaries.

   → See the full course library

   +

   • → Technical skills, soft skills & self-advocacy
   • → ASL toggle on every video
   • → Captions, transcripts & plain-language summaries
   • → Self-paced, mobile-friendly, no cost
4. — 04

   Safe-to-Earn benefits navigation

   A free navigator that helps Disabled people take jobs, raise wages, and save real money without losing healthcare or cash benefits — modeling the SSI/SSDI asset limits, SGA cliff, work incentives, and ABLE accounts as the statutory shelter that lets wages and savings grow without triggering benefit loss.

   → See the full Safe-to-Earn section

   +

   • → ABLE-account guidance
   • → SSI/SSDI work-incentive modeling
   • → $1,620/mo SGA cliff coaching
   • → Plain-language explanations

09 — Benefits to Work

Benefits to Work — a clearer path.

The same programs that prevent destitution — SSI, SSDI, Medicaid — also create the steepest disincentives to work in U.S. social policy. Recipients are forced to choose survival over mobility. Our navigator closes that gap, walking Disabled Americans up the economic ladder: onto the safety net, up within it, and — when they're ready — off it into lasting employment.

The three-stage ladder

1. — 01 · Get on

   Help eligible Disabled adults access the SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, and ABLE supports they're entitled to but often never reach — the foundational floor of economic stability.

2. — 02 · Earn while protected

   Coach recipients through the asset limit, SGA cliff, and work incentives so they can take jobs, raise wages, and save real money without losing healthcare or cash benefits. This is where most mobility happens — and where almost no tool exists today.

3. — 03 · Transition off

   For those whose earnings and stability allow it, route into Making Space's accessible training and vetted Opportunities Board — every employer trained by us on disability inclusion (Microsoft, Salesforce, Walmart, Lionsgate, Coca-Cola, Red Bull) — so recipients step into roles where they're set up to succeed, not just hired.

Why the gap exists

• $2,000 SSI asset trap

  Asset limit unchanged since 1989. Save a dollar past the threshold and risk losing cash and Medicaid overnight.

• $1,620/mo SGA cliff

  Earn above SSDI's Substantial Gainful Activity threshold consistently after the trial work period and benefits end.

• Fragmented navigation

  WIPA runs ~80–90 projects nationally with multi-year waitlists. VR caseworkers carry 200–500 clients each.

• Inaccessible portals

  A 2024 audit found zero of 50 state government websites fully meet DOJ ADA Title II accessibility standards.

06 — The Founder

Keely Cat-Wells.

CEO & Founder

Entrepreneur and Disability rights advocate. After acquiring a disability at 17 and facing discrimination in the creative industry, Keely founded C Talent — the leading agency representing Disabled artists in The Hunger Games, Avatar, and The Last of Us — acquired in 2022 in the largest acquisition of a Disabled-led talent company.

She then founded Making Space to close the disability employment gap, now trusted by Netflix, NBC, Microsoft, Coca-Cola and Salesforce. Its flagship Ascend program has generated over $220M in projected lifetime economic impact. Keely is also co-producer of Fight to Fly with Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine, a Forbes Contributor, and a Disability subject matter expert to leaders from President Biden to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

• L'Oréal Women of Worth
• Forbes 30 Under 30
• Diana Award
• Cartier Fellow
• Obama Leader USA
• Presidential Leadership Scholar
• One Young World Entrepreneur of the Year

Continue reading →

12 — Contact

Let's make space together.

Whether you're hiring, training, or rebuilding access from the ground up — reach out directly and we'll meet you where you are.