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Director, Office of Accessibility and VSA at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

By Jennifer Allen

Betty Siegel has gone beyond bringing the arts to the disabled to bringing people with  disabilities to the arts.

Since its doors opened in 1971, the Kennedy Center has held as a core value that the arts are for everyone. Since joining the Kennedy Center in 1999, Betty Siegel has been ready to go beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act to the next level of inclusion. 

“When I came on board, it wasn’t just about compliance,” she recalls. “It was about genuinely engaging with the disability community and adopting a more holistic approach.”

Siegel’s work as the Director of the Kennedy Center’s Office of Access/VSA reflects her dedication to providing arts for everyone. Under her leadership, the Center’s accessibility programs have become a model for arts institutions worldwide. “Our motto? ‘Eager to remove barriers and find solutions to challenges,'” she explains. For Siegel, this isn’t just a slogan but a daily mission. Whether it’s establishing policies, offering staff training, or reviewing renovation plans, her role touches every aspect of the Center’s work. The scope is vast: In 2024 alone, her team trained over 500 staff and reached over 3,000 individuals through consultations, presentations, and educational programs.

“Our motto? ‘Eager to remove barriers and find solutions to challenges'”

Betty Siegel

Despite these many accomplishments, Siegel acknowledges that the journey is ongoing. “The world of accessibility is constantly evolving,” she says. “Technology changes, expectations change, and we’re always adapting.” This adaptability keeps her and her team busy as they continue to explore the latest innovations and ensure they meet the diverse needs of audiences. One current focus is a research collaboration with Gallaudet University and the Smithsonian, aimed at applying next-generation assistive listening technologies—a project Siegel is particularly excited about.

One of her proudest achievements is the culture of inclusion that has been fostered at the Kennedy Center. “We’ve worked hard to ensure accessibility is integrated into every aspect of what we do,” she says. This proactive approach anticipates the needs of guests, creating spaces and performances that embrace people of all abilities.

Looking to the future, Siegel remains focused on pushing the envelope. In 2025, the Kennedy Center will host its annual Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) conference in Cleveland, bringing together over 950 cultural arts administrators and accessibility leaders. This gathering, along with ongoing projects like the assistive listening research and efforts to support emerging artists with disabilities, shows Siegel’s continued drive to make the arts accessible to all.

When asked who she follows for ideas and inspiration, Betty recommended the ADA National Network. “The webinars produced by the Great Lakes ADA Center are always interesting and informative.” She’s been impressed by both their helpful resources and their knowledgeable technical assistance staff.

Betty Siegel’s passion, leadership, and relentless pursuit of accessibility have expanded access to the arts, set a powerful example for others to follow, and have set her apart as a TravelAbility Accessibility Champion.

In their latest iteration, Visit Charlottesville Albemarle County may have created the most comprehensive accessible landing page anywhere and a model for all to follow.  Not only is it useful to potential visitors, but residents will find it of value as well.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) is excited to announce a new accessibility landing page and grant-funded efforts aimed at improving accessibility infrastructure for visitors and residents. As part of its comprehensive American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville provided funds to the CACVB to build the tourism industry back stronger following the severe impacts of COVID-19. A portion of this funding supported more than 60 accessibility assessments for local tourism-related businesses and attractions through a strategic partnership with Wheel the World.

These efforts led to Charlottesville and Albemarle County being designated as Destination Verified by Wheel the World. This distinction sets the community apart from other destinations due to its wealth of accessible locations and experiences. The new CACVB landing page highlights these accessible experiences and provides important information about businesses with step-free and/or accessible entrances, transportation and parking, and accessible accommodation details like bed height, toilet height, and space available under bathroom sinks.

“This accessibility information is not only available to visitors looking for things to do, but also our residents,” said Courtney Cacatian, Executive Director of the CACVB. “With our recently passed strategic plan, we will continue building out these accessible experiences allowing us to foster a welcoming community for all visitors.”

In spring 2023, the CACVB secured a $20,000 DRIVE Outdoor grant through the Virginia Tourism Corporation to imagine the future of outdoor recreation in the area. The CACVB convened a stakeholder group consisting of City and County Parks and Recreation departments, the Shenandoah National Park, outdoor recreation outfitters, and environmental groups. This stakeholder group determined that the grant funds should be used to invest in accessible river equipment and training, which could be used by residents and visitors alike.

This funding was provided to the Rivanna River Company (RRC) to purchase three special adaptive kayaks. Additionally, RRC has created four accessible parking spots made from stone dust, giving visitors with mobility issues access to the site. RRC also used compacted stone dust to make the entrance area and a path to the accessible portable toilet more navigable. The adaptive kayak program will launch in spring 2025. Photos of the adaptive kayaks can be found here.

This winter, the CACVB will embark on another stakeholder engagement exercise to identify and promote accessible experiences for history lovers. Following stakeholder engagement meetings, the CACVB will apply for a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation to build an itinerary to promote and amplify these efforts. Influencers with accessibility needs will be invited to explore local sites and attractions that offer welcoming experiences.

For more detailed information on how the CACVB went through its extensive accessibility work, please listen to the Destinations International Architects of Destination Advocacy podcast.

Check out their current accessibility landing page, here.

Triumphs of our own – How the TravelAbility Community is Leading Accessibility Innovators in Transforming Travel and Tourism Worldwide

Take it from us – disability travel influences share best practices for partnering for inclusion.

Last year’s summit included a panel of disability travel influencers sharing how they work with destinations to both celebrate and improve accessibility and inclusion. Representation matters in any corner of marketing, but how much more so amongst the group that needs to see if a destination can work for them before visiting. These videos and destination reviews have matchless value in showing travelers what’s possible in your destination.

This year we have 10 disabled travel influencers attending the Summit where we will be inaugurating our Speed Dating with an Influencer sessions to make it easy for destinations to connect with leading influencers in the accessible travel space.

Here’s what the influencer panel had to say last year:

Part one.

Part two.

Survey of 25 Hotels Reveals that ADA Room Bed Height and Toilet Seat Height can vary by as much as 14 inches.

TravelAbility has announced the launch of a pioneering initiative to map hotel bed heights, addressing the primary concern for wheelchair travelers: the unpredictability of bed heights in hotel accommodations.  

For individuals who use wheelchairs, traveling can often feel like a gamble due to the lack of standardized information on hotel accessibility. While their homes are tailored to their needs, and they are familiar with accessible local businesses, the same cannot be said for hotels they may visit. Images of hotel amenities abound, yet details on ADA-compliant rooms are scarce, leaving wheelchair users without the necessary information to plan their travels. 

The Challenge: The ADA, which was passed in 1990, took over a year to write after back-and-forth from advocates, architects, business leaders, disability groups, and, of course, lawyers.  The result was that it was written for the median which means it works for half the people and doesn’t work for the other half.  For wheelchair users, since there’s no clear ADA for information, its like “accessibility roulette: they don’t know which half they’re in until they arrive. 

 The Pilot Program: In collaboration with four members of TravelAbility’s Destination A11Y Club, TravelAbility developed a pilot program in which essential data on the accessibility of hotel sleeping rooms and bathrooms.  You’ll find the variations for bed height, distance between bed and floor and toilet seat height for hotels in four destinations. Below you’ll find the results just for bed and toilet seat height. 

Destination Ally Club members	# Participating Hotels	Bed Height-Hi-low-Range	Variance	Toilet Seat Height	Variance
Alexandria VA	8	24”-38”	14”	15.5”-17.5	2”
Tampa FL	7	18’-30”	12”	17”-30”	13”
Lexington, KY	7	24”-29”	4”	17”-18.5”	1.5”

Imagine, if you will, three different wheelchairs users researching a hotel in Alexandria, VA.   As you can see from the table below, there was 14-inch variation in bed height from just eight properties.

Hotel	Bed Height	Space under Bed	Toilet Height
Hotel Indigo	24.5 in.	4 in.	16 in
Westin Alexandra	28 in.	7 in.	17 ¾ in
Hotel Heron	26 in.	4.5 in.	17 in
Hyatt Centric	25 in.	0*	17.5 in
Hotel AKA Alexandria	24 in.	0*	18 in
Sheraton Suites	28 in.	11.5 in	17 in
Hilton Alexandria	26 in.	0*	17.5 in
Hilton Garden Inn	38 in.	7 in	15.5 in
*Platform beds

The following are three wheelchair users who are prominent members of the disability community. If there were accessibility pages on the websites of each of the hotels, 

Cory Lee, founder of  Curb Free with Cory Lee,  is a power chair user who may find the Westin, Sheraton, or Hilton Garden Inn most suitable as the they have the most space under the bed for a Hoyer lift.

Kristy Durso, 2023 Miss Wheelchair Texas and owner of Incredible Memories Travel, uses a manual chair, and the Indigo or AKA hotels may work best for her as their beds are lower and easier to transfer into.

Chelsea Bear, a content creator with nearly 800k followers is a member of the Travelability Advisory Board. She has Cerebral Palsy and although she uses a scooter name Scootz, she can walk short distances but may have difficulty transitioning from sitting to standing. The Westin Alexandria highest toilet seat would be a good selection.

This information will be made available on the dedicated accessibility page on each DMO’s website, ensuring that wheelchair users—as well as locals hosting visitors with mobility challenges—have access to the information they need to make informed travel decisions. But hotels should include an accessibility page on their website that also includes photos of accessible rooms as well as descriptions. Every image and data point sends a welcoming message to travelers with disabilities.

We’d like to thank the accessibility leaders of the four destinations for being part of this groundbreaking pilot program.  Claire Mouledoux, Visit Alexandria (VA), Patrick Harrison, Visit Tampa Bay(FL),  Arin Arnold, Visit Lexington (KY).

About TravelAbility: TravelAbility is committed to making travel more accessible for everyone. By providing crucial information and resources, TravelAbility empowers individuals with mobility challenges to explore the world with confidence.

For 29 low cost/no cost accessibility fixes for hotels, click here.