Courtney Wallace

I attribute my success to my passion and drive to fix inaccessibility problems and educate people about them. Having lived with spina bifida for 46 years and experiencing different chapters of mobility myself, I understand firsthand what it's like to be blocked out of spaces and experiences. That personal experience fuels my determination to raise awareness and create change. I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit and have been attached to organizations that help with accessibility and finding community, which has been super important to me throughout my life. My work isn't just about pointing out problems. It's about putting people in wheelchairs so they can experience it themselves, educating future designers at universities, and advocating for those who can't advocate for themselves. I want everyone to have the same access, and that should be a right for everyone.

The best career advice I got was actually from my daughter. She told me, 'Mom, follow your heart, do what people need. Use your voice to advocate for the people and change lives that you can change.' You know, we aren't sure we're doing it right all the time, but she makes me proud every day that I'm doing it the right way. That advice from her gave me the confidence to launch Access UpRising and dedicate myself fully to this mission of accessibility and advocacy.

Use your voice. Use your voice, use your experience, and make yourself heard. God gave you a voice for a reason, so use your platform and use it in the best way possible. Advocate for those who can't advocate for themselves. Don't let anything hold you back from speaking up and making the changes that need to be made. Your voice matters, and the people who need help are counting on you to use it.

The biggest challenges in my field right now are funding and awareness. Most business and homeowners are not aware of ADA issues. Only 2% of businesses are actually ADA compliant, and the other 98% only find out they're not when they get sued. Nobody's actually checking on it, even though the ADA has been around for 35 years. There's also this misconception that historical buildings are exempt from ADA requirements, but that's not true. They have to meet certain qualifications, but everybody just takes the 'we're exempt' excuse and runs with it, and nobody checks into it. The opportunity is enormous because 1 in 4 Americans has a disability or will have one in their lifetime. Businesses are leaving money on the table by not being accessible. If I can't get into a restaurant for a birthday dinner, my friends and family aren't going there either. The aging in place movement is a big deal right now, and universal design benefits everybody. Those curb cuts benefit everyone, from people with disabilities to parents with strollers to delivery people. We need to educate future designers, which is why I'm working with students at Ball State University. These kids want to learn and do better because they are the designers of our future.

Family time is very important to me. My daughter is an aviation student at Purdue, and she inspires me every day. She's the one who opened my eyes at Graceland to how many people couldn't access what they paid for, and she gave me the best career advice to follow my heart and advocate for people. I love hanging out with my friends and family and visiting my daughter at Purdue. Beyond family, advocacy is incredibly important to me, particularly getting better ADA compliance because currently only 2% of businesses are ADA compliant. I'm driven by the mission to give voice to those who don't feel like they have one and to make sure everybody has the same access. It's not about shaming people. You don't know what you don't know because you've never been in that situation. But once you are, you have a chance to raise awareness, educate, and modify so that life doesn't become harder than it already is. I want to stay financially responsible to my organization and to my family as well, making sure I'm careful with every decision I make.