Leading Autism Organization Appoints New Program Director

by Katie Wilson
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Geneva Centre for Autism, Canada’s leading autism service provider, is pleased to announce the appointment of Debbie Irish to the position of Program Director, effective January 4, 2010.

In this role, Ms. Irish will oversee the Centre’s internationally renowned Training Institute and the Centre’s pre-eminent international symposium. She will have lead responsibilities for the agency’s role in the provincial respite services network and will bring her expertise to the many interagency, community planning tables in Toronto and across the province.

During her 10 years at Geneva Centre, Ms. Irish has supervised the development of the respiteservices.com team in Toronto and facilitated the development of the interagency respite network. She oversaw the transformation of that service to a provincial level and managed the three year project to develop a province wide respite network.

Ms. Irish also recently led the Centre’s Provincial Training Initiatives; a major three-year partnership with the Province of Ontario delivering training to enhance knowledge and understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders to over 11,000 Teachers’ Assistants, Resource Teachers and Home Visitors. Related to this project, she has been responsible for the development of the organization’s e-learning capabilities which has consolidated the Centre’s role as the go-to resource for autism strategies and resources.

‘Debbie will play a key role as Geneva Centre for Autism seeks to expand supports for children, youth and adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Our goal is to work with community partners to ensure the best possible range of services for families and collaborate with our funders to reinforce the sector for its long term sustainability.’
Margaret Whelan, Executive Director, Geneva Centre for Autism