PATRICK BARDSLEY President and Co-founder Spectrum Designs Foundation Twitter: @PatrickBardsley
Patrick Bardsley is the president and co-founder of the Spectrum Designs Foundation, which is a network of nonprofit social enterprises that provide job opportunities and training for teens and young adults with autism and related developmental disabilities. Along with his co-founders, Bardsley has founded five such enterprises: Spectrum Designs, Spectrum Bakes, Spectrum Grows, Spectrum Suds and an educational agency, the Nicholas Center, where he serves as a board member. The most well-known of these is Spectrum Designs, which prints and sells custom apparel and promotional products. Under Bardsley’s leadership this startup has grown to a nationally recognized organization with close to 50 full- and part-time employees and $1.4 million in gross annual sales. As a natural leader and innovator, he spends most of his time securing future growth and relationships to improve and expand the Spectrum brand, and recently spearheaded the purchase of a new $2 million home for Spectrum Designs. This will allow it to double the number of job opportunities, and double the capacity of this rapidly growing apparel business. Bardsley brings a skill set that spans many disciplines as well as more than 11 years of experience working with teens and young adults with autism. Bardsley is also a member of both the internationally renowned NationSwell Council and the invite-only Young Entrepreneur Council. He earned a bachelor’s degree in media, culture and society and a master’s degree in special education. What experience has most directly influenced the trajectory of your career? As an 18-year-old, I worked at a special needs summer camp in upstate New York. Listening to parents express the fear of what will happen when they are no longer able to take care of their disabled child. What will their child be able to do? Will they work? Will they be productive? Will they be happy? I knew I had to try and answer some of those questions for them.