Title: Regional Director
Company: Parent to Parent of New York State
Location: New York, NY United States

In her position as the regional director of Parent to Parent of New York State, Ellen McHugh advocates for children with special needs, and ensures that the funding and support necessary is available so that they can be successful in society. She also works with other teachers and professionals in order to write grant proposals for children with special needs. Armed with a sense of humor and a willingness to learn and change with the times, Ms. McHugh has thrived in the industry. She credits much of her success to the strong women in her family.

To prepare for her career, Ms. McHugh attended dozens of workshops to develop more skills through philanthropic associations, and learned from attending various demonstrations. The biggest challenge she faced along the way was overcoming the misconceptions and emotional impact of special needs children. Ms. McHugh had to work hard to educate people and family members about them. She succeeded though, and was instrumental in successfully earning inclusion for children with special needs in two of the schools in her local district.

In the future, Ms. McHugh would like to see earlier diagnosis and more training and direction for the families of special need children so that they can appropriately deal with the overwhelming impact this can have on their lives. She also wants to mentor and guide people. Ms. McHugh is inspired by her family and all of the other immigrants who come to this country to ensure that their children receive the education they weren’t able to have. When she has spare time, she enjoys sewing baby hats to give to her grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends.