About

Caroline is an energetic and outgoing achiever who experienced childhood in Dublin with the understanding that all kids with glasses were clumsy. Caroline learned that she was visually impaired and considered legally blind only on her 17th birthday; after receiving driving lessons as a gift from her parents. To avoid labels or restrictions on her ability, her parents did not reveal this information. For the next 11 years, Caroline struggled to accept her disability, and rarely revealed it to others. A top student, she excelled in college, travelled extensively, founded a horticulture and landscape architecture business at 22, and eventually began a successful career as a business consultant with Accenture. At 28, it became impossible to hide her disability, and Caroline hit a wall at Accenture—a crushing blow for a confident and hard worker. At the same time, Caroline summoned all of her courage and embarked on a life time dream to trek across India on an elephant’s back.

Realizing that this adventure could be a good fundraising device, she established The Aisling Foundation in 2000, as a vehicle for the IR£250,000 she had targeted herself with raising for various disability groups. The wall Caroline hit with Accenture, coupled with the difficulties she experienced engaging corporations to fundraise for disability groups, were some of the barriers she sought to remove.  

A few weeks before the trip, Caroline raised IR£67,000, but with the support of her entrepreneurial father, Caroline left Accenture to pursue her dream full-time. A prime-time appearance on a national television talk show saved the day by introducing her and giving her access to corporate leadership. Her agenda expanded from purely fundraising to promoting the capacity and capability of people with disabilities. Through these dialogues, Caroline realised her ability as a communicator and motivator. Her honest and heartening story raised IR£480,000 as she embarked on a 1,000 kilometer trek that would be both mentally and physically demanding. But despite significant hurdles, Caroline became the first western woman to achieve the status of elephant mahout. She returned with a media profile as an inspirational figure and the expectations were overwhelming. However, when promoting the ability of people with disability, she simply could not fail. Caroline organized her first ability conference for business and political leaders in 2001.

As a child, Caroline learned about positive affirmation—recognising people’s reactions to being told how amazing they are, for example, “You catch more bees with honey than with vinegar.” This is one of the fundamental insights behind the success of The Ability Awards; combined with a steely determination, Caroline has successfully set a benchmark nationally and internationally for the promotion of the abilities of those with disabilities. Caroline’s achievements have been recognised across the world by many organisations. Most recently, Caroline became the first Irish person elected to the Young Global Leaders of The World Economic Forum, and the first Irish social entrepreneur to receive the Eisenhower Fellowship.

“I believe I am luckier than most, because I was made to believe that I could.” -Caroline Casey