AccessAble and two of its team members named on Disability Power 100 List for 2022
We’re delighted to see AccessAble featured in the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 List for 2022, alongside our Founder and Chair Dr Gregory Burke, and Head of Marketing Carrie-Ann Lightley.
The Disability Power 100 is an annual list of disabled people and organisations who the Trust identifies as being the most influential in the UK. This list celebrates success, inclusion, and advocacy and highlights the pioneers, the changemakers, and the influencers opening doors for future generations.
AccessAble has been featured in the Community Action category, alongside many of our peers who work to bring down barriers, change perceptions, challenge inequality, and bring innovation and the power of lived experience to create an inclusive society for all.
AccessAble, originally called DisabledGo, was founded in 2000 by Dr Gregory Burke as a result of his own experiences as a wheelchair user and disabled walker. Today we are the UK’s largest provider of detailed disabled access information.
Gregory says,
I founded AccessAble to put the control back where it has always belonged, with disabled people themselves. How many times have we been to places where “level access” was actually two steps up? Or the “accessible toilet” was anything but?
We can’t change the reality of the access there and then, but we can faithfully tell you what you will find and then you can decide whether that venue is right for you. And if you try somewhere new with us, you can do with confidence. As a wheelchair user myself, I know that’s key. And it has been key for the 4.6 million people who trusted us in the last year alone.
Read AccessAble’s profile on the Power 100 website
Dr Gregory Burke
A wheelchair user from 16 years old, Gregory is a multiple award-winning scholar achieving an MA, MPhil and PhD from King’s College, Cambridge.
While a student, in 2000, he founded DisabledGo, later named AccessAble.co.uk, in response to a national consultation Gregory conducted as to why disabled people were so excluded from society. He learned an array of information that many disabled people need to know in order to feel confident in accessing a venue: from the direction doors open, the surface of flooring, how far to walk, to the degree of lighting at reception and much more on a pan-impairment basis.
22 years on, AccessAble provides Detailed Access Guides to nearly 400 large organisations including 100+ universities, 100+ local authorities, 80+ NHS Trusts and 100+ national businesses. In the last year, 4.6 million disabled people used AccessAble.co.uk. AccessAble employs 80 people, turning over £3 million.
While Gregory was Chief Executive of AccessAble, he trained as a Barrister. He was called to the Bar in 2012. By 2017 he was Head of Employment Law at 7 Bedford Row (7BR) leading a team of 28 Barristers; possibly the youngest ever Head of Team at a Leading Set in terms of ‘call’. He works predominately on employment and discrimination cases, while remaining Chair of AccessAble. He is recognised in the peer directories as a leading Barrister.
Gregory is Chair of Access at 7BR. Recently he has influenced a £3m refit of chambers including an investment of £0.3m into 7BR’s accessibility such as the Sesame Steps; making 7BR one of the most accessible and disability-welcoming Barristers’ chambers in the UK.
His legal expertise and lived insight of disability, combined with that of hundreds of others, has led AccessAble to now provide E-learning and consultancy support to help organisations tackle the societal barriers facing disabled people.
Speaking about his position in the Disability Power 100 List, Gregory says,
I am both delighted and grateful to be part of the Disability Power 100; among so many impressive disabled people who – by virtue of their talent – are educating wider society about how inclusivity benefits the whole community. We are still pushing against the grain because a great many disabled people have huge barriers preventing them unleashing their potential. Along with many others, I will continue to work for more equitable opportunity. If I can help you, please get in touch.
Read Gregory’s profile on the Power 100 website
Carrie-Ann Lightley
Carrie-Ann Lightley leads the marketing team at AccessAble and is one of the UK’s leading accessible travel bloggers.
Carrie-Ann has responsibility for the management and development of the AccessAble brand. This includes the creation of inspirational, SEO relevant content and developing collaborative partnerships to increase the reach of our service.
In addition, Carrie-Ann has established the highly successful AccessAble Ambassadors (previously AccessAble Champions) network of freelance disabled content creators, which has grown to 30 members in 2022. Members of the network have worked on award-winning projects, with client feedback stating, “The success of this project depended on finding people who could tell their stories with intelligence, humour, charm, and courage, and every one of you delivered.”
Carrie-Ann leads on AccessAble’s work with tourism industry partners. In 2021 Carrie-Ann secured a partnership with Visit Scotland, working with them to create a pilot accessible itinerary to Glasgow. The itinerary will inspire and enable anyone with access needs to visit Glasgow, whilst giving them the crucial detail they need to work out if a place is going to be accessible to them.
Carrie-Ann is a member of England's Inclusive Tourism Action Group and Manchester Airport's Accessibility Forum. She’s a judge for the prestigious Catey Awards and Visit England's Awards for Excellence.
Speaking about her position in the Disability Power 100 List, Carrie-Ann says,
I’m thrilled, and so grateful, to be part of the Disability Power 100 for the fourth consecutive year. My dream when I started working in the accessible travel industry was simple; putting words on a page to connect people with places. 17 years later that passion still burns brightly, and in my role at AccessAble I have the privilege of working with so many talented disabled people to realise that dream. True power comes from collaboration, from ‘nothing about us without us’, and from authentic representation of our lived experiences.
Read Carrie-Ann’s profile on the Power 100 website