Staff

Meet the EDEX team

EDEX was founded in 1997 by Stan Ryan. Neil Norton was employee number one. Neil is now CEO of EDEX and oversees the daily running of the company. Neil is still coordinating in some schools and although only dealing directly with a limited number of students he keeps an eye on all students that come through the EDEX office. Every week EDEX staff discusses all the issues, good and bad so that we are all aware of what is going on. This in turn means that each member of staff knows to some extent what is going on in every school.

Originally Neil came from an IT background. IT wasn’t fulfilling and through volunteer work and professional development he changed careers and branched out into youth, counselling and then International Education.

Outside of work Neil is an avid waterspouts enthusiast but due to having 2 small children doesn’t get onto the water as often as he would like. Neil loves his job and the company and puts in more hours than he should, as he says “Life-Work balance isn’t an issue for me as EDEX is as much a part of my life as going to the shop to buy bread. I have been with EDEX for over 14 years, prior to that I would change jobs every few years but I truly love what I do”

Mary Roche is a Director in EDEX and also acts as the office manager making sure everything is ticking over. Office Manager does not do her justice as Mary works with Neil to ensure that everything runs as it should. If Neil puts in a lot of hours Mary seems to do more.

Pablo Cornejo, Kirsten Noone, Michelle Whelan and Caroline Behan are the core coordinating staff at EDEX. All are extremely experienced and are the best in the business. They work tirelessly to ensure that all aspects of the students’ life here are taken care of. They are the “mothers and fathers” while the students are here in Ireland. This can mean being a friend to the student but also means being there to enforce rules when this needs to happen.

Along with these key staff members we have our Child Protection Officer (CPO) who has worked in social care, specialising in minors for over 25 years. Our CPO is an integral part of the team and advises on child protection matters thus ensuring “best practise”. There are plans to have a regulatory umbrella group in Ireland that will ensure members are complying to best practise. With the help of our CPO EDEX provides a service that is second to none and way beyond the suggested “best practise”.

The EDEX team also includes other part time staff that help out at the airport, with transport and other general duties that may arise.