As Chief Executive Officer and Founder of The New England Center for Children (NECC), Vincent Strully, Jr. directs all aspects of clinical and financial administration, program development, fundraising, facility design, and strategic planning.

Mr. Strully has 38 years of experience working with children with autism and related disorders. He grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey and is a graduate of Newark Academy (1965) and Hamilton College (1969).

Mr. Strully began his career in 1970 as a residential child care counselor for children with behavior disorders at Vanderheyden Hall in Troy, New York. In 1972, he became one of the six founding teachers for the autism unit at Spaulding Youth Center in Tilton, New Hampshire.

In 1975, Mr. Strully and colleagues established the first NECC school with $40,000 in start-up funds at the Taunton State Hospital. The second NECC school was founded in Framingham, Massachusetts in 1980. The two schools merged in 1987.

NECC is an internationally recognized leader in autism intervention, research and professional development. In addition to NECC’s national awards (2000, 2005), the center achieved a $450,000 challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation to complete a five million dollar Capital Campaign (2007).

In 2005, Mr. Strully received the Alumni Achievement Award from his high school alma mater, Newark Academy. This award is presented to a graduate who has distinguished himself in his field of endeavor, whether in the professions, public life, the business world, or the arts. In 2007, Mr. Strully was named Ernst & Young’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year for New England .