Chairman and CEO
Neil Peterson, founder of the Edge Foundation, is the Edge Foundation Chairman and CEO. His responsibilities include providing overall guidance and vision to the Foundation, recruiting staff and members of the Board of Directors, and raising capital.
Neil has served in a variety of leadership positions in both the public and private sectors. His background includes founding five companies, the latest of which, Flexcar, the award-winning car-sharing company, was recently purchased by Steve Case, the founder of AOL. He has been a consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton and served as the CEO of the public transportation agencies in the Seattle, Oakland, and Los Angeles metropolitan regions. He has served as a City Manager and as the COO and CFO of a state Health and Human Services Agency, managing the state’s mental health programs and programs for the disabled. In the foundation world, Neil has served as Vice President of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.
Neil has two children with ADHD and dyslexia. He is a member of CHADD, ADDA, LDA, and IDA.
Executive Director
Robert M. Tudisco is a practicing attorney, freelance writer and an adult diagnosed with AD/HD. He is currently the Executive Director of the Edge Foundation and is a past member of the National Board of Directors of Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD). He is a current member, and immediate past chair of CHADD’s Public Policy Committee. Robert is also a former Vice President of the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA). Since his diagnosis, he has researched and written extensively on the subject of practical coping mechanisms and systems for adults with AD/HD. He is a frequent resource for the media about AD/HD and disability advocacy and has been published in ATTENTION!® Magazine and regularly contributes as a columnist on adult, parenting and legal issues in addition to sitting on its Editorial Advisory Board. He is also the expert legal columnist for ADDitude Magazine.
Robert received his Juris Doctor at the Fordham University School of Law in 1989. He subsequently served four years as an Assistant District Attorney in Bronx County. For the last twenty years he has practiced criminal and civil litigation as a practicing attorney in New York. Since his diagnosis, he has dedicated a growing portion of his practice as an advocate for special needs children, adolescents and adults in the area of legal, administrative and educational issues. He also lectures at conferences throughout the country and speaks at special education PTA meetings. He also accepts engagements as a keynote and motivational speaker for parenting and student groups.
Robert is an avid runner and six time marathon finisher. He lives with his wife and young son in Eastchester, New York. He welcomes comments and questions at rtudisco@edgefoundation.org.
Program Administrator
Denise von Pressentin has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration degree from Seattle University. She has worked in a variety of accounting and administrative functions for numerous companies in the private sector including Kyokuyo Co, USA; Whitney Foods, a seafood producing and processing company; Transportation Solutions; and Flexcar. In addition she has worked for the US Forest Service in the public sector. Denise has served on two condo associations boards and as an officer for an investment club.
