Creating Systemic Change: Keely Cat-Wells on The Untapped Power of the Disabled Community

Keely Cat-Wells is an entrepreneur and disability rights advocate that truly believes kindness can change the world. At 17, Keely was living her dream of attending a dance academy in London when she started experiencing health scares which led to multiple surgeries, medical malpractice and ended with a permanent ileostomy. It changed the trajectory of her life, and it led Keely to create monumental change for the disability community with the launch of her businesses C Talent and Making Space – both aimed at creating space for disabled talent. Most recently, Keely worked with disability rights advocate Sophie Morgan to get more disabled talent employed on NBC’s Paralympics coverage as well as a first look deal with Hello Sunshine. Today, on PRETTYSMART, Keely reflects on how she’s helping disabled artists and creators achieve their dreams and why starting her own business was the smartest decision she’s ever made. She shares:

• How she went from living her dream as a dancer to navigating malpractice and mistreatment by the health system at 17. 
• How her life changed when she realized that even though she may not live her original dream, she can still help others realize theirs.
• How she understands her own disability in the disability community.
• How she lost a job because of disability discrimination, and how it led her to creating her own agency for disabled artists: C Talent.
• That she’s made peace with the journey she’s currently on as opposed to what could’ve been. 
• The untapped power of the disability community, and how she’s trying to harness it to create long lasting change.
• What portrayals of disabled characters she’d like to see in Hollywood.
• The parallels between entrepreneurship and the lived experience of disability.
• How the mission of her company, Making Space Media, is to center the disabled voice.
• How people can be an ally to the disability community.
• What she’s learned from Gloria Steinham.
• How Making Space worked with NBC Sports to increase the employment of disabled people at the Paralympics.

Follow Keely here

Check out Making Space here

Book Rec: Driving Forwards: An inspirational memoir of resilience and empowerment after life-changing injury by Sophie Morgan