By Jennifer Allen
While most people are familiar with the five senses, KultureCity teaches about eight. Then they introduce a powerful ninth: the sense of belonging.
Some leaders build programs. Others build belonging.
TravelAbility’s Advisory Board member Meg Raby Klinghoffer is doing both. As Chief Koji Officer at KultureCity, sensory training developer and trainer, writer, speaker, and autistic self-advocate Meg’s default setting is “world changer” – on and off the clock.
KultureCity is the nation’s leading nonprofit in sensory accessibility and inclusion, serving the one in four individuals with invisible disabilities or sensory sensitivities. While most people are familiar with the five senses, KultureCity teaches about eight. Then they introduce a powerful ninth: the sense of belonging.
“Yes, there are tools that are needed. Yes, there’s training that’s needed,” Meg says. “But that foundation of curiosity and empathy toward guests, patrons, and your own staff is essential for actual accessibility and inclusion to happen.”
That ninth sense of belonging is what Meg champions every day.
Leading with Curiosity
If it seems like Meg’s work and life blur together, it’s because her passion is deeply personal and woven through every part of her story. As a child, and an autistic rule-follower, she wore a back brace 23 hours a day for her scoliosis. She had many diagnoses and exceptionalities, but living in constant physical discomfort while navigating life with autism sharpened her empathy early.
It also shaped the advice she now shares with partners across the country: “It’s all about having curiosity about one another.”
In her trainings, she encourages staff to assume guests are well-intentioned. To pause before reacting. To wonder what kind of morning someone may have had. To consider what unseen challenges might be influencing behavior. “It’s not just a cliche phrase, it’s completely truthful: no matter who it is, or how averse to a person you may feel, we have no idea what’s going on in someone else’s life.” When we operate from curiosity instead of judgment, everything changes.
That same empathy extends beyond trainings and boardrooms.
In 2019, Meg published My Brother Otto, a children’s book celebrating neurodiversity and sibling connection. The book has become a powerful entry point for conversations about autism, difference, and belonging.
She also serves as the autistic maternal voice for Scary Mommy, where her honest, often humorous essays on parenting and neurodiversity have reached thousands of readers. Through storytelling, she does what she does best: makes invisible experiences visible.
Turning Passion into Impact
Meg wears many hats at KultureCity. She oversees Koji, the organization’s free AI communication tool within the app. She co-develops and delivers more than a dozen sensory accessibility trainings, including specialized modules for environments like zoos, aquariums, and museums. She leads customer success and partnership engagement. She also helps guide the organization’s growing footprint in travel alongside TravelAbility.
With more than 3,000 certified locations and over one million sensory bags distributed, KultureCity now partners with organizations ranging from local businesses to NFL and NBA venues. Super Bowl host stadiums are required to be trained. Airports across the country are embracing sensory inclusion. Entire cities are exploring certification.
For Meg, success is simple: someone walks into a space, goes to a game, or boards a plane and thinks, They thought of me.
What Keeps it all Moving
When asked about the KultureCity’s fast and steady expansion, Meg brings it back to personal connection and story. There’s always some connection to someone with a need, and that’s what will continue to fuel passion and growth. For example, moved by the story of a coworker’s autistic son, the Salt Lake City International Airport didn’t stop at installing a single sensory room — they built three, thoughtfully spaced throughout the facility. They paired them with staff training and sensory bags for travelers.
When an artistic river tunnel connecting terminals began causing dizziness and migraines for some seniors with dementia, the airport reached out again, asking what more could be done.
Of course KultureCity was ready with suggestions: strobe-reduction glasses, noise-canceling headphones, clear signage, and sanitizing stations on both sides of the tunnel so travelers can borrow tools as they pass through.
“That’s when you know a partner is all in,” Meg says. “When they ask, ‘What more can we do?’”
Creating Cohesion in a Fragmented Space
“There’s so much out there, so many options that it can put you into freeze mode, and you don’t know where to begin,” Meg explains. “The issue with all things disability is there are not a lot of go-to resources with cohesion.” You may look at dozens of options, and they’re all good options, but how do you know which one will make the most difference?
The KultureCity symbol has become a widely recognized sign of welcome for those seeking sensory-friendly spaces. “Our goal is not to be a monopoly, but to be a symbol — that all who see it will think, ‘Oh my gosh. They thought of me, or of my child, or mother, or brother, or sister.’”
That symbol matters. Because visibility matters.
“We’re in this to make the world better for those who feel unseen,” she says. “It doesn’t have to take much money or much time, and the impact is immeasurable.”
For organizations hesitant to begin, she offers reassurance.
“People will think, ‘I have to change so much.’ And there’s something gentle and inviting about partnering with KultureCity.” It’s accessible and comprehensive — meeting organizations wherever they are on their inclusion journey.
Inclusion doesn’t require perfection. It requires intention.
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