Ridgefield Resident Among Those Honored For Mental Health Advocacy

**News Release Submitted by Ability Beyond**

Nov. 13, 2023

Ridgefield resident and former PepsiCo Chief Executive Officer Eric Foss was among those honored during Ability Beyond’s annual Autumn Mental Health Breakfast last week. Foss has been a tireless advocate for Ability Beyond and individuals with disabilities.

Others honored during the event include Charles Coretto from Catholic Charities of Fairfield County and Tracey Dolan from Nuvance Health. More than 450 people attended the breakfast, which raised nearly $100,000 for mental health services in Connecticut and New York.

Foss founded the Theresa Foss Memorial Award in memory of his wife Theresa Foss, Past-President, and member of the Board of Directors of the National Charity League’s Ridgefield chapter. She gave countless hours volunteering for Interlude, now Ability Beyond, helping it develop into an organization that benefits more than 3,000 individuals annually in both Connecticut and New York.

Eric Foss received the Celine Karraker Memorial Award during the breakfast, which was held at the Amber Room in Danbury on Nov. 9. Foss has served as the chief executive officer at two Fortune 250 companies; PepsiCo and Aramark. He is currently serving as Board of Directors Chairperson for Diversity Holdings.

The award, named in honor of Interlude founder Celine Karraker, honors an individual who has made a direct and positive impact on people with disabilities. The breakfast is one of Ability Beyond’s signature events and brings together hundreds of people to support the region’s mental health community.

Karraker founded Interlude, which merged with Ability Beyond in 2012 in the late 1970’s when searching for services for her daughter Nell who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. At the time, institutionalization was the norm, but Karraker knew there had to be a better way. Her vision was to help people with mental illness live successfully in a community setting. It’s a mission we continue to this day.

Coretto and Dolan received the Theresa Foss Memorial Award during the breakfast.

Coretto directs all the community mental health services for Catholic Charities of Fairfield County. In his role, he also works closely with Ability Beyond on referrals and additional client support as individuals in his program move into our residential, life skills and employment training programs.

Dolan, the manager of crisis intervention and mobile outreach services for Nuvance, works with our staff to keep our greater community strong and responsive to the diverse needs of people with mental and physical challenges.