The talent acquisition and learning platform

Since becoming Disabled at 17, Making Space CEO & Founder Keely Cat-Wells has dedicated her life to advancing the rights of Disabled people. After moving to the USA, Keely lost a job due to disability discrimination, prompting her to found her first buisness, C Talent, a talent agency that increased disability representation in media and built a roster with a reach of over 50 million. Acquired in 2022, C Talent became the largest acquisition of a company specializing in Disabled talent, marking a major investment in Disabled talent and a milestone for the creative industries.

Following the acquisition, Keely founded Making Space to close the disability employment gap, where disabled professionals face twice the unemployment rate of their non-disabled peers. Making Space builds accessible pathways to employment, career advancement, and economic mobility, connecting disabled talent with leading employers, equipping both sides for long-term success, and providing AI-powered benefits navigation technology that helps professionals maximize the resources they've earned without risking the life-sustaining support they depend on.

In 2024, Making Space launched the Ascend Fellowship with the support of the GitLab Foundation. Ascend is a 12-month workforce mobility program supporting Disabled professionals with benefits navigation, social capital, mentorship, and paid apprenticeships With two tracks serving both early-career and mid-career professionals, Ascend has delivered a 123:1 social return on investment, and partnered with companies including Salesforce, Visa, Red Bull, and Indeed.

Alongside its talent programs and technolgy, Making Space runs a consulting practice that partners with organizations to embed accessibility and disability inclusion across physical, digital, and cultural environments. Grounded in lived experience and powered by a global pool of pan-Disabled subject matter experts, the practice has delivered systems-level change for clients including The Broad Museum, The Television Academy, Salesforce, Blue Origin, Red Bull, Sesame Street, NBC's Paris Olympics & Paralympics broadcast, Cannes Film Festival, Netflix and many more. The work spans employee training, accessibility audits, inclusive design consultation, and creative development.

Under the umbrella of Making Space, Keely partnered with disability rights advocate Sophie Morgan to build Making Space Media, a division producing film, TV, and branded content that centers the disabled voice. They secured a first-look deal with Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine and co-produced the critically acclaimed documentary Fight to Fly, which led to policy reform for Disabled travelers.

Keely's leadership has been recognized globally, from Forbes 30 Under 30 and the Diana Award to the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders and fellowships with Gloria Steinem and the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program. She serves as an advisor to Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, is a Forbes contributor, and has authored op-eds in TIME and Rolling Stone. She has delivered over 200 speeches — including a TED Talk, the White House, the United Nations, and the Cannes Film Festival.

To close the disability employment gap for good, by building the infrastructure that connects disabled talent to careers, economic mobility, and leadership at scale.

At Making Space, our vision is to create a welcoming and equitable work environment where all workers can thrive. We are dedicated to continuous learning and advocacy. By providing Disabled professionals with the tools, resources, and opportunities they need, we believe we can unlock everyone's full potential and build a more inclusive, equitable, and successful society.


We firmly believe that anyone with any type of disability is a valued member of our community, including those who do not yet feel comfortable self-identifying.
In this pursuit, we are building careers and shaping the future of leadership, where Disabled voices are at the forefront, driving change.

We envision a future where disabled professionals are recognized as experts, leaders, and innovators across every industry, and where the systems that kept them out are replaced by infrastructure that brings them in.