Maureen has decided to retire from her role as Honorary Director of The Hope Foundation Ireland. She is stepping back from the day-to-day operations of the Irish organisation and assuming the role of Founding President. As such she will be a member of the HOPE Ireland Board and a member of a new HOPE Ireland Advisory Committee. She will continue to manage the HOPE India operations for the present time and will also continue to support and engage with HOPE Ireland on an ongoing basis.
The HOPE Ireland Board has appointed Fiona Heraghty and Maura Lennon as Co-CEO’s to assume Maureen’s (non-Indian) managerial responsibilities, as CEO of Head Office Operations and CEO of International Operations respectively. Maura and Fiona will be reporting to the Advisory Committee and the HOPE Ireland Board.
After 23 years at the helm of The Hope Foundation, there are no words to thank and acknowledge Maureen enough for her tremendous achievements in bringing help and hope to the poorest of the world’s poor. Her incredible tenacity, dedication and heart has built The Hope Foundation from the ground up into what it is today; a strong and impactful international NGO changing the lives of thousands of underprivileged children and families in India every single year.
Back in 1999, having seen the plight of women and young girls in the streets and slums of Kolkata, Maureen decided to take action and to ‘Be the Change’. From there her life’s work has been to empower those on the margins of society to not only access their basic rights but to attain brighter futures than would ever have been possible without HOPE. There can be no greater calling and no greater legacy than to have changed so many lives for the better.
Maureen will of course remain very involved with HOPE in the capacities mentioned above however the HOPE team would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge her incredible life’s work of which it is truly an honour to be a part. We look forward to continuing to work with, and be inspired by, Maureen in her new capacity with HOPE.
– The HOPE Team