Rep. Mike Thompson Recognizes Mary O'Riordan

Each year at its annual fundraising dinner, the Parent Hospital Association singles out one or two people who have made outstanding contributions to the lives of the disabled and PHA's efforts on behalf of Sonoma Developmental Center. The honorees at this year's Heroes With Heart event this past Saturday were Markley Stevens Sutton, licensed psychologist with Sonoma Developmental Center, and Mary O'Riordan, previous PHA President and longtime advocate for the developmentally disabled.

Congratulations and heartfelt thanks go out to both of this year's honorees from all of the PHA membership.

Mary O'Riordan

Mary O'Riordan was also recognized this month in Sacramento by Rep. Mike Thompson for her work on behalf of PHA and her advocacy over the years. From his proclamation:

Ms. O'Riordan dedicated her life to serving persons with developmental disabilities. As President of PHA, she was in constant contact with state legislators in Sacramento and federal representatives in Washington, DC, traveling multiple times to both capitals to advocate on behalf of association members. She also served six years on the board of directors of VOR, the national advocacy group for persons with developmental disabilities.

Ms. O'Riordon's advocacy is rooted in her personal experience. Michael, the second of her four sons, was severally disabled and lived at Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) until his death in January 2011. It was his experiences at SDC, the place he called home, that led her to champion the institution, its staff and its residents.

Ms. O'Riordon was passionate about her calling, stating, "I look forward to the day when every family--those who have a developmentally disabled child and those who do not--are equally involved, engaged and concerned about the special needs of our developmentally disabled citizens and to the day when all legislators have their needs on the top of their list of priorities.''

You can read the entire proclamation here: Honoring Mary O'Riordan, Parent Hospital Association, County of Sonoma.