Ivana Švingrová Pešatová, Ronald McDonald House Charities

Ivana Švingrová Pešatová is the director of the Czech branch of the non-profit organization Ronald McDonald House Charities, which was founded in the USA almost 50 years ago and has been operating in the Czech Republic since 2002. Ivana has been at its head for five years, during which the organization’s main project – the construction of the Ronald McDonald House for families of seriously ill children on the premises of the Motol University Hospital – was completed and started operating. She studied special education at Charles University and has spent her entire professional career working in the non-profit sector. She also gained experience abroad during her study stay in Belgium and later as a professional in Boston, USA. As her career developed, she gradually went through the roles of worker in direct care, methodology, project coordinator, up to leading managerial positions, in which she was able to build and develop specific services or projects. For 16 years, she has also been serving in her most important role – as a mother of two sons. She perceives the family and its functionality as a very important unit and an inherent part of the development of each individual.