welcome to release

thank you...

I have spent been working on Release since February 2003, and I could and have not done it alone.

I am absolutely in awe of the amount of help I have received both in Ireland and America. There have been so many people who have freely given of their time, experience and money it is absolutely overwhelming.

I'd like to list just some of them below. Thank you all for your help-we're going to make a difference!

But before we thank those that helped us business-wise, I must thank the extremely hard-working parents, teachers and SNA's who have given so willingly of their time, patience and love to working with their children! I have met so many parents who have been truly inspiring. Thank you all.

Release Ashoka Advisory Board

• Maurice Foley, Former MD, GPA;
• Danuta Gray, CEO, O2;
• Tom Kelly, Former Special Advisor to Minister for Health Mary Harney, T.D. and CEO of Merit Healthcare;
• Gareth Morgan, McKinsey Consulting;
• Olivier Kaiser, Vice President, Ashoka (International);
• Paul O'Hara, MD Ashoka Ireland.

Donators

• The One Foundation, especially Declan Ryan and Deirdre Mortell who have given me unwavering support
• The Iris O'Brien Foundation, through the generosity and support of Denis O'Brien
• Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, especially Sean Coughlan and Lynda Stopford for all their mentorship and financial support.
• Irish Autism Action, for choosing Release to provide all of your speech and language therapy needs
• Sean Hanley, Director of Hanley Office Depot for donating all of our office furniture in Dundalk hanlsean@gmail.com
• The Vodafone Foundation who donated €12K in scholarships which provided 15 children who hold medical cards free Release Assessments and Classes from September - December. Special thanks goes to Anne-Maire Moran and Olivia Dobbs.
• Special thank you to the Knights of Columbus, in Toms River, NJ. for their donation of Reynell Complete Kit, valued at $500.00
• An anonymous donor who kindly started a named fund for Release with The American Ireland Fund Business Advisors and Mentors
• Liza O'Connor, and the staff at The American Ireland Funds
• Vanessa Carey, Acting CEO, and the staff at the Dublin City Enterprise Board
• Tom Moran, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mutual of America
• Ed Kenny, Executive VP, Mutual of America
• Jerry Liston, Executive Chairman, The Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business
• Jonathan Mills, Consultant
• Tony Condon, Director of Development, UCD Business Schools
• Mike Hoffman, Chairman, Susan Carey Dempsey, Senior Managing Director, Changing Our World
• Seamus Sheerin, Head of Strategic Development, AIB

Affiliations and Support Organisations

• The entire staff and members of inclusion ireland
• ASHA, (American Speech and Hearing Association) Arlene Pietranton, Chief Staff Officer SLPs; Vic Gladston, Chief Staff Officer for Audiology; Patti Tice, Director Credentialing; Michelle Ferketic, International Director.
• Prof. Joyce O'Connor; Gerry Macken; Eoin O'Driscoll; Bernard McCarthy; National College of Ireland
• Dr Elizabeth Crais, Professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Dr James J Mahshie, Professor and Chair, Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, Gallaudet University
• Dr Janet Koehnke, CCC-A/FAAA, Chair, Department of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology, Seton Hall University
• Dr. Celia Stewart, MA, CCC-SLP, Chair; Erasmia "Iris" Benakis, MA, CCC-SLP, Off Campus Clinic Director, NYU
• Dr Barbara J Amster, CCC/SLP, Director, Speech-Language-Hearing Science Program, LaSalle University
• Patty Prelock, Professor and Chair in the Department of Communication Sciences at the University of Vermont
• Linda Brandenburg, Chair, LEAP Program, Kennedy-Krieger Institute
• Christina Riordan, Annette Walsh, Anne-Marie Madden, Down Syndrome Ireland
• All of the parents and children with learning disabilities I have met over the past two years, who have given me countless ideas, and even more importantly, the drive to keep the momentum going.

Consultants

• Niamh Lyons, Account Director; Niall O Muilleoir, Director of Public Affairs, Financial Dynamics
• Orlaith O'Brien, Solicitor, mcevoy partners
• Brian Greene and Peter Walsh, doopdesign