About accessibleGO
accessibleGO is the leading accessible travel website in the United States for people with disabilities to book their travel needs and be part of a dynamic community of like-minded travelers.
With proprietary accessibility information, an unparalleled booking experience and a community of people with disabilities sharing experiences, why book anywhere else? In addition to making sure your needs are met, we offer discounted rates exclusively for people with disabilities and their traveling companions. Our site provides a level of confidence, trust and transparency on accessibility that is unprecedented in the travel industry.
Please reach out to us with suggestions, feedback and any concerns by emailing contact@accessibleGO.com
The inspiration
behind accessibleGO
accessibleGO was inspired by Emma Eljas, the mother of cofounder Miriam Eljas Goldman. A resident of Silicon Valley, Emma was a wheelchair user with multiple sclerosis who never let life's obstacles hold her back from living life to the fullest. Emma served as a commissioner on the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Disability Advisory Commission and helped make regional transportation more accessible. With a wheelchair-lift van, Emma and her family traveled the Bay Area and took advantage of the beauty of the region. While many venues were accessible, countless were not. Even calling in advance, only to be told misinformation by well-intentioned employees, didn't solve the problems.
Miriam recalls an impressionable incident as a teenager where she and her mother went to a local movie theater in San Jose. Over the phone, they were told the theater was completely accessible. Upon arrival, there was a series of steps to enter the actual theater from the lobby. Disheartened, Miriam asked the theater manager how employees could give such incorrect information. The manager, not to be deterred, took a flimsy, cracked ramp made of fractured plywood out of a broom closet and declared the theater accessible. Knowing full well there was no way Emma's power wheelchair would make it over the 'ramp', Miriam and her mother left the theater, disappointed and frustrated.
Given her first-hand exposure to accessibility issues, Miriam felt compelled to follow in her mother's footsteps. She knew that a difference could be made simply by sharing critical information in advance, just like on other travel websites where reviews are about the quality of a travel experience, but don't include accessibility. The vision of accessibleGO is to create a platform for travelers with disabilities to access information, share experiences and be inspired to travel the world.
Team
behind accessibleGO
Miriam Eljas Goldman
Cofounder and CEO
Miriam is a serial entrepreneur who founded and exited a media company in NYC. She then consulted for startups on strategy and business development, and subsequently became a manager in the business development team at OurCrowd, an investment platform for accredited investors and institutions to invest in startups. The idea for accessibleGO emerged from a conversation with Galia Kut, where both heartily agreed that travel for people with disabilities could be transformed if the game-changing accessibility information was made readily available.
Miriam lives for seeing ideas transformed into reality. accessibleGO is a manifestation of her dreams– powered by an undisclosable amount of coffee.
She is grateful for this amazing team of talented and passionate people who are working so hard to make accessibleGO a reality.
Favorite US travel spot: Monterey, California
Jeff Schlanger
Cofounder and CTO
Jeff is a seasoned software engineer with 20+ years of experience in IT. Jeff sharpened his technical skills at UBS, InvestorForce, Jupitermedia, Teach for America and Ultimate Software. Before joining accessibleGO Jeff architected, developed, and supported IT solutions at MagicLeap.
Jeff believes in technology as a tool for enabling meaningful progress. accessibleGO is a platform where he helps pursue that progress for the benefit of anyone looking to travel with confidence.
Favorite US travel spot: Anna Maria Island, Florida
Galia Kut
Cofounder and VP Strategic Planning
Galia Kut is an experienced "momtrepreneur" who mixes between bringing up 3 kids and helping startup companies grow. She has a degree in Computer Science from USC and a graduate degree in Computational Linguistics from Stanford. Galia was born in Toronto has lived in various places around the world. Galia feels that accessible travel is necessary - not just a "nice to have" and thinks that people generally want to help travellers with disabilities but need help to see what can be improved and loves being a part of accessibleGO.
Favorite US travel spot: When she has the time to travel, it would be to New York for the theater and shopping or to Palo Alto for a "technical recharge.
Lisa Promise
Head of Marketing
Lisa is a growth marketer with prior experience in marketing and partnerships roles at Vistaprint, TripAdvisor and DraftKings, and consulting with startups and emerging businesses across a variety of industries.
Lisa loves to travel and has been to nearly 50 countries and 6 continents. Her favorite international trip is Italy (thanks to the amazing scenery, food and wine!), visiting for the first time in 2010 and getting married there in 2014.
She has a passion for animals and animal welfare, and enjoys spending time with her cat, Sammy, and newly adopted Shiba Inu puppy, Samurai.
Favorite US travel spot: San Diego, California, in large part for the year-round beautiful weather.
Mike Hamm
Product Design
Mike is a seasoned digital solutions expert with over 20 years of experience. He has worked with some of the world's leading brands, including Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, and Oracle. His expertise in travel booking has been honed over 10 years at Expedia, where he helped to develop innovative solutions that made it easier for customers to book travel. This experience gives him valuable insights into the needs of travelers with disabilities, which he is now applying to his work at accessibleGO.
Favorite US travel spot: Northern New England
Liudmyla Lytvynova
Software Engineer
Liudmyla is an experienced and hardworking software engineer. She has experience of working on many projects and with various technologies, from small lifestyle blogs to large financial and insurance products and work with AI. She always says that she has two passions in life - coding and exploring the world, which she loves to share with her family and friends. Liudmyla loves to travel around her native country, as well as throughout Europe and the countries of the Near and Middle East. She sincerely believes that technology is one of the main tools that will make the amazing world of travel accessible to everyone.
Advisors
Joel Maryles
Business Advisor
Joel Maryles has held numerous senior positions in the financial sector over the past four decades. Joel was a Managing Director at Citigroup Investment Banking where, in addition to his role as a senior technology banker, he founded and managed the Israeli investment banking operations of Citigroup/Salomon Smith Barney. He has also held senior roles in Venture Capital, Investment Management and Sell-Side Research. Joel holds a B.Sc. degree in Engineering from the University of Illinois, an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Favorite US travel spot: Sequoia National Park
Laurel Van Horn
Accessible Travel Advisor: Open Doors Organization
Laurel Van Horn has specialized in accessible travel and hospitality since 1987, working as a writer, educator and consultant. For the past 15 years she has been the VP Director of Programs for Open Doors Organization (ODO), the Chicago-based non-profit best known for its nationwide studies of the disability travel market.
Vic Walia
Travel Industry Advisor
Vic Walia has specialized in leading global brands in the area of growth marketing for the past 24 years. He brings a wealth of travel industry knowledge and leadership having served as the VP Global Brand Marketing for Expedia for over 12 years.
Favorite US travel spot: NYC
Elan Zivotofsky
Business Advisor
Elan Zivotofsky is a managing director at Moelis & Co., head of its Israel office and has 25 years of global experience in technology investing, venture capital, banking, equity research, M&A and entrepreneurship, at such multi-national firms as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Lehman Brothers.
Elan brings vast business expertise to accessibleGO, playing a role in the company’s growth and advancing its vision of improving the travel industry for people with disabilities.
Favorite US travel spot: Jackson Hole