2012 Rotary Foundation Dinner, Seminar & Open Forum on New Grant Policies
REGISTER HERE - http://reg.district5110.org/
October 12, 2012 - Rotary Foundation Dinner
October 13, 2012 - TRF Seminar & Open Forum on New Grant Policies
Location: Florence Events Center - 715 Quince Street - Florence Oregon
Jean Irwin
Jean Irwin is a retired Teacher of the Deaf from Reno, Nevada. She has taught in grades pre-school through 12th grade in 12 different schools. In 1989, Jean was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to England. She is one of The Rotary Foundation’s most vocal and supportive alumni and addresses Rotary Groups regarding the long term effects of investing in the Foundation. Jean’s story is unique and personal and she talks about her passion for Rotary and The Foundation on many levels.
The Ambassadorial Scholarship Jean received 23 years ago allowed her to do research into reading and deafness which earned her a Master’s Degree from Nottingham University. Following her education at Nottingham, her students broke what is considered to be the “glass ceiling” for the deaf and achieved high levels of reading.
One of the most important roles Jean has had was as a grassroots coordinator for the passage of a legislative bill to make the testing of hearing mandatory before a baby leaves the hospital in Nevada. As a result of the passage of this bill, Nevada moved from 36th to 8th in the nation for children tested at birth for hearing loss within two years after this bill passed, resulting in the early intervention that is so critical to language development.
Jean is now the District Literacy Chair for 5180 in Northern California. Her focus is One-on-One volunteers to teach children to read. She also serves as an advisor to Playmakers, a Football camp, which has a literacy component.
Following her return to teaching after the scholarship year in England, Jean was named the "Reading Teacher of the Year" in 1992 by the International Reading Association.
- In 2004 she was named a recipient of the “Best of Education” award by her local newspaper, the Reno Gazette Journal.
- In 2009 the Rotary International Board of Directors named her a recipient of the "Service Above Self” Award, Rotary’s highest honor.
Jean is a very popular and frequent speaker at Rotary Zone Institutes, PETS, District Foundation Seminars and District Assemblies. She has spoken to over 300 conferences for both Rotarians and teachers of the deaf about what she learned as an Ambassadorial Scholar.
She is the mother of a son, Kent, age 22 who is a University student in Reno, and a daughter Katy, age 26, who is an actress in New York City. Her husband, David, is learning about Rotary and its ways- keeping in mind that it is a Paul Harris Fellow, not a Phil Harris Fellow
