Dorothy Necco

Married for over 60 years, Dr. Ed and Dorothy Necco have spent much of their lives working with the most challenging children thrust into the most difficult of circumstances. When they weren’t working directly with children and families, they were consulting others on the most effective practices for achieving positive outcomes.

Ed began his career in 1962 teaching emotionally disturbed and behaviorally challenged youth in Gary, Indiana. That summer, Ed and Dorothy headed up the first summer camp in Lake County, Indiana for 100 special needs children. During the next three decades, they worked as consultants, directors and educators in public schools, residential treatment centers and universities. During their individual careers, Ed and Dorothy served children with severe developmental and physical disabilities, emotional disturbance and behavior disorders. Ed held teaching positions at the University of Virginia and the University of Illinois before moving to Huntington, West Virginia where he accepted a professorship at Marshall University. He retired from there in 1998. Dorothy taught elementary school and supervised Head Start programs while helping raise the couple’s twin children. In 1995, Dorothy became the director of a foster care program in Ashland, Kentucky before leaving the company to help Ed and her son, Beau, co-found Necco.

Ed and Dorothy each hold a B.A. and M.A. degree in Elementary Education with Special Education certifications from Indiana University. Ed also holds an Ed.D. in Education with an emphasis in Child Behavior Disorders from the University of Virginia. Both remain very active in their community, where Dorothy tutors migrant children and Ed leads lectures on history and the humanities.