Management

Debbie Simons – Executive Director

Ryan House welcomes Debbie as its Executive Director beginning October 25, 2010. In addition to her leadership abilities, Debbie’s background has included VP of Operations and Development. She has also been a senior marketing manager of community relations for Westcor Shopping Center and was responsible for working on cause-related projects at the corporate and property level, bringing the unique perspective of being on both the sponsor and charitable foundation side. In addition, Debbie has first-person experience with stress caused by her twins being born prematurely and spending a significant time in the NICU. We are confident that Debbie will put that perspective and energy to excellent use and we welcome Debbie!

Holly Cottor – Community Liaison

Holly brings her deep experience as a parent of a child who lives with a life-threatening condition to the role of connecting directly with children, parents and siblings who are part of families like hers. Holly also focuses on working with medical professionals, community groups, community-based and grassroots organizations, and also condition-specific groups in order to increase understanding of and connection to the mission of Ryan House.

In addition to her first-hand experience with pediatric palliative care as a parent, Holly has both Bachelor and Master degrees in Education; in her teaching career, she focused on early interventions in literacy with at-risk students. Holly’s professional and personal background bring compassion and commitment to helping the community understand the critical importance of providing pediatric palliative care to children in need and their families.