Accessible Climate Strategies (ACS) is the nation’s only dedicated disability and climate change consulting firm. It was founded in 2020 by disability climate justice advocate Alex Ghenis, who saw an unmet need for intersectional disability and climate consulting. Alex had spent 6 years at the World Institute on Disability working on disability and climate education and policy. While at WID, he saw countless climate justice efforts that failed to engage with disability – or failed to engage well – and a disability community that worked on inclusive disaster management but missed other crucial climate topics. ACS was founded to help address these missing pieces, filling gaps in knowledge and expertise so organizations can tackle comprehensive and disability-forward climate justice.
ACS supports organizations pursuing climate justice and disability justice – and helps them blend the two together using intersectional frameworks. We offer full-day trainings on the intersections of disability and climate plus hourly consulting services for everything from project development to organizational strategy. Check back in the coming months and years for other offerings, including white papers and mapping products.
Accessible Climate Strategies (ACS) was founded in April 2020 with a mission to help organizations pursue disability-forward climate action. Alex Ghenis, MPP – ACS’s founder and CEO – recognized the connection between disability and climate while working on energy storage policy in 2013-2014 and began building a career around disability and climate. After 6 years managing the World Institute on Disability’s climate efforts, he moved to private consulting, founding ACS while in lockdown in Berkeley.
Above all, ACS was founded to support organizations looking to improve their own climate justice and disability justice work: governments pursuing inclusive climate planning, disability stakeholders safeguarding community well-being, climate stakeholders addressing disability needs, and businesses developing disability-forward climate products and services. There are endless opportunities to support stakeholders and, by extension, the disability community. To do so, ACS uses an intersectional approach that addresses climate disasters, migration, urbanism, sustainable transportation, energy systems, public health, and other climate topics, plus both the social and medical side of disability.
ACS was originally a part-time effort as Alex held other positions from 2020-2025 – including as Climate Hive Director of Content from 2023-present. In winter 2025, Climate Hive CEO and former Climatebase Fellow Kevin Drolet encouraged Alex to apply to the Climatebase Fellowship and fully develop ACS as a capstone project. Alex did just that, working with fellows Samantha (Sam) Beleutz and Daisy Xie to assemble a fresh business plan for ACS. A stakeholder survey revealed a large desire for trainings, workshops, and several other consulting products. Market research also showed a complete lack of other disability-forward climate consultancies. With information in hand, Alex and Sam built a full-day disability and climate training and “relaunched” ACS in summer 2025. The ACS team plans to expand trainings, workshops, and consulting services to meet more client demands in the coming years.
ACS looks forward to helping a variety of stakeholders address disability in the climate crisis. Contact us if you’d like to collaborate on disability-forward climate action.
Alex Ghenis, MPP, is a disability-and-climate policy specialist, educator, writer, public speaker, and advocate. Alex joined the disability ranks at age 16 when he acquired a C5-6 spinal cord injury in a cycling accident. He attended UC Berkeley – the home of the modern disability rights movement – and pursued a BA in geography with a focus on climate, land use and the built environment, then received a Master’s in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy. He worked at the California Energy Storage Alliance from 2013-14, where he recognized the connection between electric power needs and people with disabilities. With that spark, he started the New Earth Disability newsletter in 2014. It was the first ever publication focused entirely on disability and climate.
Alex was hired as a research fellow at the World Institute on Disability (WID) in 2014. He advanced to a Policy and Research Specialist and then led WID’s climate programs, including community education, policymaker engagement, disaster-related trainings, and a $500,000 equitable transportation project. In addition to climate projects, Alex supported WID’s financial literacy and empowerment efforts. He left WID at the beginning of the Covid pandemic in March 2020, then founded Accessible Climate Strategies to provide tailored disability and climate consulting services to a range of clients.
From 2020-2025, ACS had a modest portfolio while Alex held other positions in the disability and climate worlds. He served as a contract Associate at Social Policy Research Associates (SPRA), where he was on the LEAD Center team addressing disability and employment. After SPRA, Alex was Deputy Director at the fledgling disability-and-climate nonprofit Sustain Our Abilities, where he focused on education, advocacy, and organizational development. He cofounded the climate business development firm Climate Hive in late 2023 and currently serves as Director of Content, helping climate-focused startups tell their stories and build qualified business relationships.
Alex is a frequent writer on disability topics, with pieces in Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Equality and Diversity, Environmental Health News, and New Mobility magazine, where he has 37 bylines. Alex started the DisabilitYIMBY newsletter focusing on disability, urbanism, and climate in 2024; his piece Urban Form, Age/Disability, and Wildfire Evacuations in California serves as a key example analyzing the intersection of housing policy, urban development, and disproportionate climate risks faced by people with disabilities.
Samantha Beleutz is a dedicated climate justice advocate based in Toronto, Canada, with a B.Sc. in Natural Resources Conservation from the University of British Columbia. Her expertise lies in climate equity analysis, relationship-building, and impactful research, which she utilizes to promote systemic change for underserved communities.
She specializes in conducting research on complex socio-ecological relationships and developing actionable strategy plans for real-world change. With a strong background in project management and stakeholder engagement, she has successfully conducted high-level analyses on disability-inclusive climate policies, sustainable transportation initiatives, and Corporate Social Responsibility programs.
Currently serving as a Research Intern with the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, Samantha focuses on social equity in biodiversity and urban issues through a global, intersectional lens. While participating in the Climatebase Fellowship program, she connected with Alex over a shared vision of equipping organizations with climate resilience strategies that are truly inclusive and reflect the needs and rights of People with Disabilities. Living with lifelong chronic illnesses affecting mobility and vision, she leverages her personal and professional experiences to help ACS’ clients implement accessible solutions to complex climate challenges.
Kevin Drolet is a certified marketing and sales expert with over 20 year experience in company growth strategies. He has worked with thousands of companies and managed over 100M in marketing campaigns. Highlights include developing a 4 year student recruitment campaign for UC San Diego elevating the school to the number 2 position in the UC system. He has led and taught hundreds of sales reps nationally in understanding and positioning marketing solutions and sales. His superpower is connector.
He founded KDRO Consulting, his second marketing agency, in 2019 to provide fractional CMO services, marketing and business development consultation and coaching programs for renewable energy and climate tech companies. Through storytelling and strategic networking he helps companies attain business opportunity, talent and investment. His mission is to enable climate innovators to become climate impactors.
Kevin and his wife Susan live in San Diego CA with their two dogs. Kevin is passionate about climate, learning, coaching and exploring the intersection of human behavior and positive climate impact.
