Introducing TravelAbility Fellows Lauren Badolato and Ellie Satkin

Please welcome Lauren Badolato and Ellie Satkin, the newest additions to the TravelAbility team!

The TravelAbility fellowship provides the opportunity to meet university internship requirements, while making a real difference in the world of inclusion through marketing. The interns are already working behind the scenes on all things TravelAbility – from event planning for the Emerging Markets Summit to designing this newsletter.

Lauren Badolato

Lauren is a single mom to two children, ages six and eight, with disabilities. Originally from Brooklyn, she now lives in Orlando as a graduate of Valencia College. She’s been around the hospitality industry since she was a child, but the merge of hospitality and inclusion became a priority when her second son was born with a rare genetic disorder. Having a son who may never walk has changed the way she experiences travel, and has fueled a passion for creating a barrier-free travel experience.

As part of a college internship course, she was able to observe a mock interview of a Rosen Hospitality student with Wheel the World. She connected to the cause immediately because of her own struggles in hotels with her son. As a constant advocate, working to raise awareness for a variety of her son’s 42 diagnoses, TravelAbility made the perfect next step for linking passion, purpose, and profession.

Ellie Satkin

Ellie is a business student at San Diego State University, entering her junior year. As a business major and Hot Yoga instructor, her goal is to work with people in health and wellness. She was looking for virtual internships for location flexibility when family ties uncovered the perfect marketing internship through TravelAbility. 

Working with TravelAbility has been an eye opening experience that is impacting every area of Ellie’s life. During her training as a yoga instructor she learned about adapting experiences for the different abilities of students she would encounter – from pregnant women to diabetics, but she had no idea just how wide and diverse that range was. She says she’s growing in awareness in a way that she can bring into other circles of life – from adaptive yoga to recognizing accessibility barriers on her own college campus. Inclusion has taken on new meaning as she works to make it a reality.