Lori Cleverly
Lori Cleverly is a Full-Service Travel Agent and the owner of Clever Adventures, where she specializes in disability, special needs, and accessible travel planning. With nearly four years of experience in the travel industry, she helps individuals and families design personalized, stress-free itineraries for business trips, vacations, weddings, Disney travel, and sensory-friendly experiences. Based in the Greater Phoenix Area, Lori is committed to making travel more inclusive, ensuring that every client—regardless of ability or circumstance—can confidently explore the world.
Before launching her travel business, Lori worked as a Physical Education and Health teacher. She stepped away from education when she was pregnant with her third son, choosing to stay home while also feeling limited by administrative challenges in her role. During this time, she focused on raising her children and managing a household that includes four boys, three of whom are on the autism spectrum, while balancing therapy schedules, specialized schooling, and family needs. With the encouragement of her husband, she explored new career paths that would allow her to work remotely and flexibly while continuing to care for her family.
Lori’s journey into travel was deeply personal. After the loss of her third son four years ago, she found renewed purpose in helping families create meaningful memories together while honoring the ones they carry in their hearts. Her caregiving experience also extends beyond her children—having supported her father through Parkinson’s disease, she developed a deep understanding of both physical limitations and invisible disabilities. These lived experiences fuel her passion for disability travel advocacy, as she works to connect families with resources, support, and opportunities that make travel not only possible, but enriching and accessible for all.
• Certified Autism Travel Professional
• Google Project Management Professional Certificate
• Northern Arizona University - BS, Health and Physical Education/Fitness
• Honored Listee
Marquis Who's Who
• CLIA (Cruise Line International Association)
• Travel Wish (terminal diagnosis travel nonprofit)
• Starry Foundation (autism organization)
• Community Pay It Forward (giving partner)
• Little League International
• Boy Scouts of America > Cub Scouts
What do you attribute your success to?
Definitely learning from failures, and just learning to work hard and there's therapy. You know, I've been through some things that there is a lot of bad things that are out in the world, and that can happen, but how you learn and react to it. There's something that we need to learn, whether it's something that we need to learn to improve our lives, or we need to go through something to help someone out and know that they're not alone, but just, you know, our experiences shape our lives. There's a reason for everything, whether we know it then, or we know it 50 years down the road, there's a reason for everything that we go through, and how we deal with it is how we deal with it, just is what how you become.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
You know who your true friends are when everything hits the fan, and I think just knowing people's true intentions or integrity. You know, you know who your support system is when you really need them, and you know who is only there to take from you.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You want to make sure that you find something that you're passionate about, whether it is where you want to specialize in, where you know, the type of people that you want to help, but make sure that you're ready, you know, that you're fully committed, and if you're not fully committed, like, just kind of be willing to branch out and see where you would actually start. You can never stop learning, and that's one of the things that drives me to try, that makes me love travel, is I never stop learning, and every trip is going to be different, no matter if you're given the same parameters every single time. It's still gonna turn out completely different. I just love that, you know, it's a puzzle, or it's a problem, it's a project, and I have to make figure out how to make everything work. So somebody that likes puzzles, or solving problems, or making everything go together, that's something that they can, you can enjoy with that, because it's essentially, you're doing that for somebody else, and you know, you can, there's always going, you know, always look forward to the next trip. You get home from vacation, go look for the next trip.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say challenges could definitely be, I know, the economy, or world events that can impact a lot of things. Some people are concerned about it, some people aren't. It's just listening to your clients and saying, okay, yes, you still want to go on this trip, or, you know, is there a concern, maybe advising them on, like, travel insurance just to, you know, in case something happens, or just, you know, making sure that they're fully aware. And so I would say that was that's probably the biggest struggle. I love that you can go anywhere in the world. If you want to go to Antarctica, you can go to Antarctica. You can literally go to all seven continents. So, everyone can see the world.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I love loyalty. Sometimes I'm loyal to a fault, but being loyal, I love people that are willing to work hard and do the work that they need, and I think being honest and have, you know, integrity in what you're doing, and you know, you could only do the best that you can, but you need to make sure that you have your own integrity and values and, you know, into what you're doing because if you want to deal with shady people or if you're a shady person, you know, you're gonna deal with shady people, or people aren't gonna trust you, and so, you know, you want to be honest, you want to make sure that, you know, my clients give me their information, and I'm like, I just want to make sure that you're, you know, nope, I don't save anything, you know, I wanna make sure that your information is okay, and so, just putting their fears at ease, too, and making sure that they under, that they know that I am, you know, here to protect them as much as I am to help them.