Eric Lipp & Craig Kennedy

Eric Lipp, Executive Director/Founder, Open Doors Organization

Eric founded Open Doors Organization (ODO) after personally experiencing the restrictions that people with disabilities face in everyday life due to lack of awareness and knowledge by businesses. In the 15 years since, he has assisted countless companies, primarily in travel, tourism and transportation, to better serve the disability community while also encouraging individuals with disabilities to travel and participate fully in their communities. Eric has developed and conducted training for airlines, airline service companies and airports. He has travelled around the globe, working with over 30 foreign carriers. Eric also assisted in preparing Heathrow ground handlers for the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012. In 2013 he trained TSA’s Passenger Support Specialists and received their Community Partner Award.

Craig Kennedy, Consultant & Course Trainer, Open Doors Organization

Craig Kennedy works as a consultant and course trainer with Open Doors Organization, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization based in Chicago, Illinois. With more than 20 years of experience, Craig has become highly knowledgeable on travel and tourism as related to travellers with disabilities. Craig began focusing on accessibility after personally experiencing the limitations that individuals with disabilities face in everyday life. In 1994, Craig moved from the Adirondack in upstate New York to Steamboat Springs, Colorado where a skiing accident left him paralyzed from the waist down just two years later. Now, he is a published author and Co-Founder of an adaptive travel resource company called Access Anything, with his wife Andy, and founder of CK Consulting. Craig has spent the last 20 years motivating people with disabilities to look beyond their perceived abilities and to advocate for their rights as both people and travellers. He has spent the last 7 years as a founding Board Member and Program Director for Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports, helping to grow the adaptive sports program from the ground up while teaching others with disabilities how to recreate in the outdoors. Craig also works as a Whole Food Nutrition and Business Coach with the Juice Plus company, where he continues to bring positivity towards change, better health, and improved access to the world of disabilities.