I’m Karin Willison, a disability consultant, advocate, writer, and travel blogger. If you want to make your business, organization, brand, or program more accessible to people with disabilities, I can help!
Services
Here are a few ways we can collaborate. I’m always open to new ideas!
Accessibility Consulting
I assist businesses and organizations of all sizes with improving their ADA accessibility, creating a welcoming environment and brand image, and increasing disability representation and equity. I specialize in working with the hospitality, travel, and entertainment industries, including but not limited to theatres and theatre companies, museums, theme parks, restaurants, and hotels. I also have experience with event planning and program development for nonprofit organizations.
Brand/Destination Reviews and Partnerships
I form strategic relationships with companies and brands to promote travel and cultural experiences for people with disabilities and their families. With my skills, education, and experience, I can be a valuable partner in bringing your product, service, or destination to a new and diverse audience.
My focus on road trip traveling — even cross-country — makes me an ideal candidate to promote wheelchair accessible vehicles, mobility devices, inclusive outdoor adventures, hotel chains of all sizes, state tourism initiatives, and more. I love the arts, and enjoy visiting and reviewing museums, Broadway shows, live music events, and more. I appreciate the outdoors and wheelchair accessible parks and trails. My service dog Aria and I also love to review pet products and dog-friendly destinations.
Please note that the Free Wheelin’ blog does not accept “guest posts” from outside writers who are not either known to me personally or prominent members of the disability community.
Accessible Camper and Home Design
If you’re designing accessible vehicles, campers/RVs, tiny houses, cabins, homes, etc. I would love to collaborate with you — there is tremendous untapped market potential for these products.
Public Speaking
I’ve been doing public speaking since I was 12 years old, and have given presentations for businesses, nonprofit organizations, service clubs, conferences, and schools from elementary to university level. I can present on topics including: growing up with cerebral palsy, school inclusion, service dogs, the psychology of disability, traveling with a disability, and disability in movies, TV, and media. I’d love to speak to your group about any of these topics and more!
Freelance Writing
I am a professional writer and editor and am open to additional opportunities in this area.
My Consulting Philosophy: Creating AWEsome Experiences
I use a three-step process to evaluate and develop recommendations for your organization. My goal is to create an AWEsome experience for all of your customers, clients, or patients, with and without disabilities.
AWEsome means:
Accessible
Accessibility starts with following the rules and regulations outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act. I can conduct a survey of your facilities and programs to determine whether they are ADA-compliant and suggest improvements where needed.
Increasing your business’ accessibility won’t necessarily cost a lot of money — that’s a myth. Many changes cost little or nothing to implement, and when money does need to be spent, you can rest assured that it will improve the experience for all of your customers.
Welcoming
ADA compliance is legally required, but it’s only a starting point. If you want to attract and retain disabled customers and be known in the community — and I bet you do, since you’re here — a few simple choices and improvements can make your business or organization not just accessible, but actively welcoming to the disability community. People with disabilities are loyal to brands that actively include and represent us, so being welcoming makes great business sense.
Equitable
Equity is all about offering qualified people opportunities to work for your organization and participate in your programs and services. I can help you develop initiatives to hire employees with disabilities and provide strong support to those already working for your organization.
Equity has become a somewhat controversial term these days, but it shouldn’t be. Equity doesn’t mean hiring someone who isn’t qualified or giving a group unfair advantages. It does mean recognizing that society systematically disadvantages certain groups of people, and that changing those structures can enable ALL people to participate and thrive.
Karin and Aria at the New York Botanical Gardens
Background and Qualifications
Education
I received my BA in English with a creative writing emphasis from Stanford University, and MA in Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles.
Experience
From 2016-2022, I was Disability Editor/Senior Editor at The Mighty. In those roles, I wrote dozens of articles and edited and published more than 5,000 stories by people sharing their lived experiences with disability. I also wrote and edited sponsored articles for advertisers such as pharmaceutical companies.
During my time at The Mighty, I developed a language guide to ensure that company communications and stories from contributors were respectful and inclusive of people with disabilities. I also developed educational materials that have been utilized internally and externally at The Mighty, and trained new editors and writers in best practices.
My blog, Free Wheelin’, has a growing audience and occupies a unique niche in the travel blog market. I am one of only a few travel bloggers with disabilities, and to my knowledge, I’m the only one who (sometimes) travels with a service dog. I’ve also created a new online community for people with disabilities, The Ability Toolbox.
Currently, I am Co-President of Mobility Aids Lending Library, a small non-profit organization that refurbishes donated walkers, wheelchairs, and other medical equipment, and distributes items free of charge to people in need. I’m also a member of the Bloomington, Indiana Council for Community Accessibility.
Personal
I use a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, and I’m a member of the LGBTQ+ community. I believe that people with disabilities are the experts on our own lives and should be the leaders in developing and implementing programs and policies that affect us. When combined with professional training, our lived experiences make us uniquely qualified to support each other and help businesses and organizations to become more accessible and inclusive.
Contact Me
Please email me at karin@freewheelintravel.org – I look forward to hearing from you!
Karin and Aria in San Diego
