Leadership

John Cromie Joins High School Education Advisory Committee

John Cromie, CTO of Touch Press, has joined the advisory committee for the US-Ireland Alliance’s high school education program. John graduated from Trinity College Dublin with first class honours in Software and Electronics Engineering and went on to complete a research masters. He is a software and digital business professional with 20+ years of experience delivering successful projects on leading desktop, web and mobile platforms. He has completed several projects with the Apple QuickTime team and has authored a book in the QuickTime Developer series. Software architecture and cross-platform development are areas of special interest. John has developed extensively on the iPhone and iPad platforms for his natural history business BirdGuides, and other clients, and now leads the software team at Touch Press. He is a keen naturalist and is active in conservation and research in Ireland. He currently serves as chairman of BirdWatch Ireland, the leading nature conservation charity in Ireland. John is based in County Donegal, Ireland.

US-Ireland Alliance president Trina Vargo welcomed the addition of John to the committee: “I am a big fan of the work of Touch Press. When I saw that an Irishman was part of the Touch Press team, I reached out to him to ask if he might volunteer to give our project some tech and creative guidance. We finally met in London recently and had a chance to discuss possible means of delivery for the educational materials we’re pulling together. I’m thrilled to be able to tap not only his expertise and experience, but his enthusiasm as well.” John noted that "Communicating and conserving Ireland's rich and diverse heritage—both cultural and natural—is something I have always been passionate about. I am delighted to be able to assist with this initiative."

Other prominent individuals on the committee include Roddy Doyle, Roy Foster, Joe Lee, Declan Kiberd, Maureen Murphy, Geraldine Kennedy, and Fiona Shaw. Click here for bios.

The Alliance plans to provide online materials so that secondary school teachers can teach about Ireland. RTE and the Irish Times have also pledged to support the project. The Alliance also plans to work with a travel company to design trips that allow and encourage high school teachers to take students to Ireland. Vargo noted that "while the main objective of the project is to educate young Americans about Irish history and culture and Ireland’s impact on America, it can also create a new generation of American tourists for Ireland." The program could also be expanded for use around the world.