Keely Cat-Wells is an Entrepreneur and Disability Rights Activist dedicated to making social, systemic, and economic change. Keely founded her first company at a young age during her time in hospital, which developed into C Talent (acquired by Whalar).
C Talent is transforming the entertainment, advertising, and media industries by representing high-profile Disabled talent and changing the way the world views disability. With a roster of artists who reach over 50 million people, C Talent has placed talent in thousands of projects for major brands like Savage X Fenty, HBO, Disney, and Google Pixel. The recent acquisition by Whalar is a significant investment in Disabled talent and a major milestone for the creator industry.
Since the acquisition, Keely has founded Zetta, a startup that is revolutionizing the way we learn through their universally designed social learning platform. Zetta has a strong focus on democratizing accessible education for creatives and partners with the largest employers to create opportunities for their existing and prospective workforces. Zetta achieves this by providing accessible education and training options, such as reskilling, upskilling, and enabling career mobility opportunities. By breaking down barriers Zetta is bridging the gap between education and employment.
Keely has participated as a Disability subject matter expert in discussions with the President of the United States, Joe Biden and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Keely has been appointed as an Advisory Board Member to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation and sits on the Board of Directors for No Barriers USA and 2-Gether International.
Keely has spoken for companies and organizations including, The LEGO Group, United Nations, NBC, Vidmob, Cannes Lions, Cannes Film Festival, The Valuable 500, and Virgin Media among others. In addition she was a youth leader at the inaugural Mental Health Youth Action Forum hosted by MTV Entertainment Group, in coordination with the Biden-Harris Administration and 18 leading mental health nonprofits. Selena Gomez, First Lady Dr Jill Biden, Surgeon General Dr Murthy and President Joe Biden were in attendance and conversation. The forum took place at the White House, driving mental health awareness to action through storytelling and media.
On 2 December 2022, on the eve of the International Day for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Keely became a laureate of the Youth Activist Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Summit celebrates young people who have achieved outstanding results in advancing sustainability and human rights.
Keely has won many awards and honours for her work including; The Diana Award which was established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, The Diana Award is the most prestigious accolade a young person can receive for their social action or humanitarian work, Forbes 30 Under 30 , AdWeek Young Influential, Great British Entrepreneur of the Year, most powerful executive in the creator economy by Fast Company, Linkedin Top Voice, One Young World Entrepreneur of the Year, Meaningful Business 100, Aerie Changemaker, Rebel Girl Changemaker and was featured their best-selling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series.
Keely is a Forbes Contributor, Tory Burch Fellow and has spearheaded many notable projects, including C Talent’s film, “Accessing Disabled Audiences” which was commissioned by Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for LIONS Decoded. In partnership with UN Human Rights and other organizations, C Talent serves as a founding member of #WeThe15. A Silver and Bronze Cannes Lions winning campaign called sports most significant human rights movement in history that aims to transform the lives of the one billion disabled people globally.
On the legislation side, Keely is working with Sara Hart Weir to eliminate section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, an 80+-year-old discriminatory statute that provides the foundation of a system that permits employers of disabled workers to file for certificates that allows them to pay disabled employees subminimum wage – even to this date.
Keely is represented by Kruger Cowne for speaking related enquiries.
“I believe to change the world; we have to learn to tell and listen to a new set of stories about the world we want to create, in accessible spaces and with authentic voices. Knowledge is power, and the media is a global teacher whether we actively realize it when we are watching entertainment or not.”