Mary Byrnes

Biography

Mary Byrnes is an author and the Founder and Executive Director of Harrison’s Hope, a Canadian registered charity based in Stouffville, Ontario, specializing in lifelong support for individuals and families living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Drawing on experience in education, business, global project management, and her own life, she develops FASD-informed programs, training, advocacy, and community supports. Mary began her career in education and childcare leadership after earning a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and psychology from Western University and a diploma in early childhood education. She worked with children and families and later served as Principal of Queens Montessori School. Her grounding in early childhood development and special needs continues to inform her approach to learning, behaviour, and individualized support. She subsequently moved into sales, consumer packaged goods, supply chain management, and corporate program and project management. At Johnson & Johnson, Mary worked in global major program management, coordinating with manufacturing teams across multiple time zones. She later left the corporate sector to focus on her family’s support needs. That experience led Mary to establish Harrison’s Hope. As Executive Director, she applies her project-management and organizational leadership background to building structured, long-term services for people with FASD and their caregivers. The charity provides virtual caregiver support groups, guest-speaker programs, workshops, coaching, service navigation, advocacy, respite initiatives, and consulting and training on neurodiversity and disability inclusion. Its work also includes Journey’s Forward, a youth mentorship and transition program grounded in lived experience, and Pathways Through Justice. Harrison’s Hope additionally provides accessibility audits and accessibility co-design services for organizations and institutions. Mary is an international speaker, trainer, coach, and mentor who has presented in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. She contributes to research and policy discussions intended to strengthen the role of people with FASD and caregivers in shaping education, healthcare, and social policy. She is a member of the Prevention Network Action Team, a pan-Canadian network focused on FASD prevention issues and research, and is certified in Nonviolent Resistance for Brain-Based Disabilities, an approach integrating neurodevelopmental science, trauma-informed care, and systemic practice. Mary is the author of Everything Clicks: A Story of FASD, Motherhood, and the Life I Didn’t Know I Was Living. The memoir follows her experience as an adoptive mother and advocate and explores how that experience shaped her work with families. Written for families, caregivers, and professionals, it extends her broader work to improve understanding of FASD across the lifespan. Her long-term vision includes sustainable supported-housing communities in Canada that integrate employment assistance and community services for adults living with FASD.