Finding Purpose Through Tragedy

Caitlin Conner is a Houston-based systems builder turning inclusion into everyday infrastructure. Her turning point came in 2014, when a motorcycle crash during early pregnancy exposed how hard it is to navigate care, information, and basic access. With few trustworthy resources in one place, she experienced the gaps firsthand and decided to build the thing she could not find.

Today, Caitlin is the Founder and CEO of Be More Adaptive, where she leads two flagship efforts: GloDAR, a Global Disability Resource Database that makes verified services, equipment, and education easy to find and use; and Emergency Resilience Hubs, a city-ready model that delivers clear, multilingual, accessible information before, during, and after a crisis—starting in Houston and designed to scale.

In public service, Caitlin serves on the Houston Commission on Disabilities and chairs its Emergency Preparedness Committee. She also sits on the Mayor’s Roundtable for Disaster Readiness, advocating for vulnerable populations and connecting partners to reduce silos and raise the floor on universal design. As a volunteer advisor, she collaborates with Houston Parks & Recreation, DAFN partners, and cross-agency focus groups to shape inclusive practices and people-forward plans.

Beyond policy and platforms, Caitlin works to open doors in media so others are seen on their own terms. She partners with brands, agencies, and production teams to make casting and sets accessible; develops inclusive call-for-talent processes; advises on adaptive wardrobe and on-set accommodations; and pushes for captions, audio description, and alt text as standard deliverables. She also mentors emerging disabled talent and consults to ensure authentic portrayal and fair compensation. Her own on-camera work with brands such as Ford, Under Armour, Adidas, Delta Air Lines, and Runway of Dreams at New York Fashion Week gives her a platform—and she uses it to move representation from a one-off feature to an everyday expectation.

Now and next, Caitlin is launching the GloDAR pilot, expanding the Emergency Resilience Hub model with accessible, multilingual alert pathways, and publishing plug-and-play toolkits cities can adopt quickly. Her larger aim is to change how the world views people with disabilities and to create universal design systems for all—proving that when access is built in from the start, communities, services, and businesses work better for everyone.