Michell Haase and Eric Lipp

Traveling on Trains and Amtrak with a Disability

Michell Haase, Founder and CEO of TravelinWheels.com talks with Eric Lipp from Open Doors Organization about traveling across country on trains and Amtrak accessibility.

Michell Haase has spent almost 20 years traveling with her daughter, Kelsey, a wheelchair athlete, who has Spina Bifida. They know, first-hand, the difficulty people with disabilities face when trying to research, book, and get to their destinations. In between travels, Michell spent most of her career developing web solutions for such companies as Motorola, Comcast, Time Warner, and Ticketmaster. She believed there had to be a better way to share information about accessibility and active things to do around the world, so she created TravelinWheels, a community website that provides accurate, objective information, coupled with reviews, stories, and tips for places to sleep, eat, and have fun. Her goal is to encourage, inspire, and enable disability travel around the globe. She is a member of the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality, The European Network for Accessible Tourism, and Tourism for All UK.


Eric Lipp is the founder and executive director of Chicago based non profit Open Doors Organization. He is credited with the authoring of the 2002 and 2005 Open Doors Organization Harris Polling Market Study’s on Travelers with Disabilities. He is the recipient of the 2003 ASTA Access To Freedom award and is a frequent speaker at Travel industry trade shows, including US Travel Association, National Restaurant Association, Airports Council International and National Tour Association. Open Doors work has been featured in various prominent newspaper articles, travel, and entertainment trade publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, MSNBC, Miami Herald, Travel Agent Magazine, and TV and radio programs.

Dr. Glen House

11 / 1 / 2011