ADAPT Leadership Awards Gala To Honor David Muir, Tamron Hall, Peter M. Meyer, And John and Mark X. Cronin

Edward R. Matthews, CEO of ADAPT Community Network, announced the 2019 ADAPT Leadership Award honorees for its 2019 ADAPT Leadership Awards Gala to take place on Thursday, March 14th, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.

The awards honor the accomplishments of extraordinary individuals and corporations who have made an impact on people with disabilities and have inspired others through their professional and charitable endeavors. The gala benefits the important ongoing programs and services of ADAPT Community Network.

The 2019 ADAPT Leadership Awards Honorees are:

David Muir - Anchor & Managing Editor, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir & Co-Anchor, ABC's 20/20

Tamron Hall - Journalist, TV host, philanthropist

Peter M. Meyer - Market President New York City TD Bank

John and Mark X. Cronin - Founders, John's Crazy Socks

The event will be hosted by Cara Buono, actress, activist, and star of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, and Emmy-nominee for her role on Mad Men. The 2019 ADAPT Leadership Awards Honorary Gala Chairs are Al Roker, co-host and weatherman of NBC's Today Show, and Deborah Roberts, ABC News correspondent for 20/20, Nightline, Good Morning America, and ABC World News Tonight with David Muir.

Honorary Gala Co-Chairs are Susan Lucci, Emmy-winning actress, New York Times best-selling author, entrepreneur, and past ADAPT honoree and host; Tamsen Fadal, 11-time Emmy-winning anchor of PIX 11 News, past ADAPT host, and Honorary Vice Chair of the ADAPT Board of Directors; and Mike Woods, meteorologist and reporter for FOX 5's Good Day New York, and past ADAPT host.

Gala Co-Chairs of the 2019 ADAPT Leadership Awards are: Edward R. Matthews, CEO of ADAPT Community Network; Marty & Helaine Hausman; Marissa Shorenstein, President, Northeast, AT&T; and Alan Zack.

We are honored to have such distinguished and deserving honorees for our 2019 ADAPT Leadership Awards, says Edward R. Matthews, CEO of ADAPT Community Network. David Muir is not only a leader in the media world but has also been a past supporter of ADAPT Community Network. We recognize Tamron Hall for her leadership and important ongoing philanthropic work. We honor Peter Meyer and TD Bank for their longtime advocacy to empower people with disabilities. We are particularly pleased to honor Mark and John Cronin, father and son, whose vision and entrepreneurship is a story of success meets inspiration.

David Muir is an Emmy-award winning journalist for ABC News. Muir is the anchor and managing editor of ABC World News Tonight with David Muir and co-anchor of ABC's 20/20. For more than a decade, Muir has reported from international hotspots around the world including Beirut, Tehran, Tahrir Square, Mogadishu, Gaza, Fukushima, and the Syrian border. Muir's reporting overseas has earned top honors including the Edward R. Murrow award for hard news and the Society of Professional Journalists award for excellence in journalism.

Muir's exclusive interviews generate global headlines. He landed the first interview with President Donald Trump after his inauguration. Muir also secured the exclusive interview with President Barack Obama during the former President's historic trip to Cuba, and the exclusive sit-down with Pope Francis inside the Vatican. Muir moderated a historic town hall, Pope Francis and the People. He earned an Emmy for his work moderating a town hall with President Barack Obama, The President and the People: A National Conversation, about race, policing, and efforts to bridge the divide.

Muir has reported numerous award-winning primetime specials for ABC News. Most recently, he reported Breaking Point: Heroin in America and Flashpoint: Refugees in America.

A magna cum laude graduate of Ithaca College, Muir attended the Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University and studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain.

Tamron Hall is an accomplished TV host, award-winning journalist, and philanthropist. Her highly-anticipated syndicated daytime talk show will launch in fall 2019. The show has been sold into 50% of U.S. television households, including eight of the top 10 markets, through Hearst Television stations and ABC Owned Television Stations Group.

Since 2013, Tamron has hosted Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall on Investigation Discovery, taking an in-depth look at crimes that shocked the nation. The sixth season of the show is slated to premiere in summer 2018. Previously, Tamron co-hosted the third hour of Today and Today's Take for three years, and anchored MSNBC Live with Tamron Hall. She received the 2015 Edward R. Murrow Award for hard news in network television for her segment on domestic violence as part of Today's Shine A Light series. She has hosted several special reports for MSNBC and NBC News, including Education Nation: Teacher Town Hall, which was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2011, and she served as a correspondent for the NBC News special The Inauguration of Barack Obama, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Live Coverage in October 2010.

Tamron was honored with Temple University's prestigious Lew Klein Alumni in the Media Award in both 2010 and in 2015 and was appointed to Temple's Board of Trustees. In 2016, she received an Honorary Doctorate from Peirce College and most recently she was a Variety Power of Women Honoree. Tamron is also an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Tamron is passionate about many causes, including domestic violence, homelessness, and literacy, and she has dedicated her time to many deserving organizations over the years. She is an ambassador for Safe Horizon, a domestic abuse organization which also honored her with their Voice of Empowerment Award in 2014. She recently partnered with Safe Horizon to launch The Tamron Renate Fund in honor of her sister to help victims and families affected by domestic violence. Additionally, Day One, a New York-based advocacy group for victims of domestic violence, honored her work, and she received the Ackerman Family Advocate Award for her efforts to raise awareness for families who have a loved one experiencing abuse.

Tamron is a native of Luling, Texas, and she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism from Temple University.

Peter M. Meyer is Market President New York City TD Bank. He is responsible for Commercial, Small Business, Middle Market, and Not-for-Profit Banking. Peter joined TD Bank, N.A. in 2002 to execute the bank's aggressive expansion into the market. During this time, TD has grown to 142 retail stores and has become a major lender to small and middle market companies as well as nonprofits and healthcare institutions.

Peter began his banking career as a teller while attending college, working his way to branch manager, and was trained as a commercial lender. He has held senior positions with various banks in New York City and has been instrumental in shaping loan programs and products for businesses in NYC as well as for healthcare and nonprofit organizations, thereby providing greater access to capital for companies and organizations delivering essential services to New Yorkers.

A graduate of St. Joseph's College, Peter earned his MBA from Long Island University. Peter grew up in Woodhaven, Queens and is a lifelong New Yorker.

Active in the community, Peter is past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Queens Museum and is past Chairman of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (and continues to serve on the Executive Committees of each organization). He is a trustee of St. Joseph College and is active in a number of other local nonprofit and civic organizations.

Mark X. Cronin is President and co-founder, along with his son John, of John's Crazy Socks, a social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. His leadership has demonstrated that pursing social goals, demonstrating what people with differing abilities can achieve, and giving back makes for good business.

Mark spent much of his career in the health care field building innovative organizations focused on improving the delivery of health care, particularly to the poor and Medicaid recipients. He served as the Director of Medicaid Health Services for the New York City Medicaid Program, served as Chief Operating and Technology Officer for two health care management firms, and led multiple consulting organizations. Mark was founder and President of New Gutenberg Software which produced interactive software.

His organizing work has included several political campaigns. He was the co-leader for the Barack Obama Grassroots Campaign on Long Island and served as one of President Obama's appointees on the Rules Committee at the Democratic Convention in 2008. He has taught graduate studies at NYU and lectured on management at Columbia's School of Public Health. Early in his career, Mark taught school in Queens and worked as an aide for Congressman Joseph P. Addabbo.

Along with his son John, Mark advocates for the rights of differing abled people. He works with the National Down Syndrome Society to support their #DSWORKS and End Law Syndrome campaigns. He and John have testified before Congress twice and have made numerous trips to Capitol Hill to advocate for the rights of people with differing abilities.

John Cronin is a 22-year-old entrepreneur who happens to have Down syndrome. John is the co-founder and Chief Happiness Officer of John's Crazy Socks which has a mission to spread happiness. John is the face of the business, giving tours, meeting with visitors, and making videos. John also performs speaking engagements with his co-founder and father, Mark X. Cronin, and they have spoken throughout the U.S. as well as in Canada, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates. John is a fierce advocate for people of differing abilities and has testified twice before the U.S. Congress. Outside of work, John is active in the Special Olympics and is known for his dancing.

About ADAPT Community Network

ADAPT Community Network (formerly United Cerebral Palsy of New York City) is the leading human service not-for-profit and a pioneer in providing cutting-edge programs and services for people with disabilities. Every day, we build a more inclusive world for thousands of New Yorkers through education, technology, health, residential, and recreational programs in all five boroughs. Our schools and services encompass many people who have challenges beyond cerebral palsy such as autism, Down syndrome, spina bifida, and neuromuscular disorders, among others. We are the largest provider of pre-school education for children with disabilities in New York. ADAPT's 100 comprehensive programs serve over 18,000 children and adults with disabilities and their families.

For more information about ADAPT Community Network go to: www.adaptcommunitynetwork.org.