Honoree Bio – CEO of Spectrum Designs, Patrick Bardsley
As Spectrum Designs Foundation’s CEO and Co-Founder, Patrick oversees the day-to-day running of Spectrum Designs and Spectrum Suds. He holds a master’s in special education, with a concentration in Behavior Analysis through Long Island University. A natural leader and born innovator, he spends most of his time securing future growth and relationships for the betterment and expansion of Spectrum’s social enterprises. Under Patrick’s leadership Spectrum’s businesses have generated annual revenues of over $6m and created more than 50 jobs for those on the spectrum in a team of 70+ employees. Patrick brings an enormous skill set that spans many disciplines, as well as almost 20 years of experience working with people with developmental disabilities.
Since co-founding Spectrum Designs Foundation and The Nicholas Center in 2011, Patrick has received various awards including Top 40 under 40 Rising Stars by New York Non-Profits, the “Wunderkind” award by 914 Magazine, Business Council for Westchester’s “Top 40 Under 40” and Spectrum Designs was named Non-Profit of the Year by Long Island Business news under his leadership. Patrick is a graduate from the Goldman Sachs 10k Small Business program and a member of the Neurodiversity @ Work Employer Roundtable- an international collection of cross industry employers and innovative leaders who run autism-focused hiring initiatives. He is also a member of the invite-only Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC).
Patrick is chairman of the board at NYSID (New York State Industries for the Disabled) which is responsible for more than 4,700 jobs for New Yorkers with disabilities who earned $79.8 million in wages in 2023 . He is also a proud Ambassador for Delivering Jobs, an inclusion campaign dedicated to creating pathways to 1,000,000 employment and leadership opportunities for those on the Autism Spectrum, intellectual and/or developmental differences by 2025.