Carol Wheeler, Founder and Co-Chair of the Patrons' Committee
Tom Wheeler
Manus Conney
Susan Davis, Co-Chair of the Patrons' Committee
Jerry Easom
Jerry Hogan
Joe & Lynne Horning
Jim Kennedy
James C. Kenny
Peggy O'Beirne
Ron & Patti Rosenfeld
Ali and Mark Russell
Matt Stanton
Mary Anne Sullivan
"A Tribute to Carol Wheeler" (from WIP's 15th Anniversary Event Program)
In 1995, Carol Wheeler, the volunteer director for Project Children in Washington, D.C. came to the decision that something more had to be done to help the young people of Northern Ireland who had grown up surrounded by the violence of the Troubles. Carol's brilliant idea was to pull young university students, Protestant and Catholic, out of Northern Ireland for six weeks of leadership training and professional work experience.
Started as the "Young Leaders" program, this new initiative was nurtured by countless Project Children volunteers on both sides of the Atlantic. From the very beginning the program was rooted in the belief that the conventional wisdom that the Troubles were intractable had to be bucked. Carol along with so many others dared to hope for a better future for Northern Ireland and that was reason enough to act. And so she did.
It is fair to say that WIP got started in Carol's living room as she rounded up internships, host families and recruited dedicated volunteers. Carol got the full backing of Denis Mulcahy, the founder of Project Children, to work with Brian Heading from the Queen’s University Students’ Union and Belfast Project Children organizer Monica Culbert to find young people who were willing to look beyond the sectarian divisions that so easily separated the young people of Northern Ireland.
Over the course of ten years, as WIP grew and established itself as a stand-alone organization, Carol could count on Kathie Hepler and Paul Costello, WIP's first executive directors, to bring their passion and commitment to everything they did. Paul in particular, felt deeply that every Irish intern had a story to tell and he made absolutely sure every intern found his or her voice.
From the initial class of 13 Queen’s University students in 1995, WIP has spread to every university in Northern Ireland and the Republic in addition to countless universities in Scotland and Great Britain. WIP's progress has been sustained by the generous support of the Irish Department of Education and Science and the Northern Ireland Executive as well as a growing program of university partnerships.
Four hundred strong, the alumni of the Washington Ireland Program now represent a rising generation of leaders who respect the diversity of traditions but who remain equally committed to shaping an inclusive and shared future for a new Ireland. WIP is what it is today because of the dedication of so many volunteers, host families, Board members and university partners but we owe a special thanks to WIP's "Mom" Carol Wheeler.
