Caroline Casey (activist)

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Caroline Casey
Caroline Casey (born 1971) at World Economic Forum Davos 2021.png
Speaking at the 2021 World Economic Forum
Born (1971-10-20) 20 October 1971 (age 52)
Education University College Dublin
Occupation(s)Activist, management consultant

Caroline Casey (born 20 October 1971) [1] is an Irish activist and management consultant. She is legally blind due to ocular albinism. [2] [3] In 2000, aged 28, she left her job in Accenture to launch the Aisling Foundation, with an aim to improve how disability is treated. [1] [4] [3] In 2001, she trekked across India, solo, on elephant back for c.1,000 km, raising €250k for The National Council for the Blind of Ireland and Sightsavers. [5] [4] Casey became the first female mahout from the west. [6] The journey was the subject of a National Geographic documentary Elephant Vision [3] and a TED Talk. [4]

Contents

Background

Casey was diagnosed with ocular albinism as a child but was not personally informed until her 17th birthday. [2] She graduated from University College Dublin with BA, DBS and MBS degrees. [7] She worked at a couple of jobs including as a management consultant for Accenture. [4]

Aisling Foundation/Kanchi

The Ability Awards, styled as the O2 Ability Awards for sponsorship reasons, were set up by the foundation in 2005 to recognise organisations that promote disability inclusion. [8] [9] [3] [6] In 2011, the Telefónica Ability Awards were launched in Spain, with further versions planned for other countries in Europe. [6] [10] In 2008 the foundation was renamed in honour of the elephant "Kanchi" used on the Indian expedition. [3] [11]

The Valuable 500

Casey founded The Valuable 500, an organisation that aims to get disability on the leadership agenda. [12] [13]

Recognition

Affiliations

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References

  1. 1 2 "International Women's Day 2016". HSE . Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 Casey, Caroline (21 October 2014). "Would being legally blind change the way that you see yourself?". Irish Independent . Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Reddan, Fiona (27 June 2008). "Aisling Foundation is going global". Irish Times . Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Inspiring Irish legally blind adventurer's TED Talk". IrishCentral. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  5. ↑ Ni Cheallaigh, Gillian (10 January 2001). "Element of blind date in 1,000 km elephant ride". The Irish Times .
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Barrio, Esther (14 April 2011). "Para integrar la discapacidad en la sociedad hay que cambiar la mentalidad, no las leyes" [To integrate disability in society a change in mentality, not laws, is needed]. HazRevista.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  7. ↑ "Caroline Casey – UCD Entrepreneurial Graduates". NovaUCD. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "O2 Ability Awards - 2005 Overall Winners". 2006. Archived from the original on 19 November 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2017– via archive.org.
  9. ↑ "O2 Ability Awards 2007". RTÉ.ie. 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 "Caroline Casey wows the audience as BPW marks quarter century". Galway Advertiser . 26 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  11. ↑ Burke, Sinead (9 October 2014). "Inspiring businesswoman Caroline Casey on how she's managed the tough times". Irish Independent . Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  12. ↑ Joyce, Annie (31 August 2021). "Sky News Daily Podcast: Meet the women shattering the glass ceiling - but is it job done?". Sky News . Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  13. ↑ Partington, Richard (18 May 2021). "500 global firms put disability inclusion on boardroom agendas". TheGuardian.com .
  14. ↑ "HVAA Past Recipients".
  15. 1 2 3 Conway, Pádraic (7 April 2016). "Caroline Casey – Doctor of Laws" (PDF). National University of Ireland . Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  16. ↑ "Nominations sought for Dublin's outstanding young people awards". IrishLegal.com. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  17. ↑ "Caroline Casey | Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker". www.ashoka.org.
  18. 1 2 "The Power of Believing in the Right Thing and Your Extraordinary Potential". AspireWomen.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
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