Lisa Beers is head of the Social Value Unit at the Strategic Investment Board Northern Ireland, where she has worked for the last seven years in various roles related to social value. She leads the team responsible for advising the public sector on including social value on public sector contracts. This has included the development of training and guidance on scoring social value in Northern Ireland. Prior to working with SIB, Lisa worked in the third sector, managing programmes supporting young people who were disadvantaged into employment and self-employment.

Cheryl Brownlee is an MLA for East Antrim since September 2023. Cheryl possesses several years of experience working in various roles in local government before entering the Assembly, including deputy mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, and is a member of Libraries NI board. She has also been recognised at the NILGA awards for ‘Best Initiative by a Councillor’ for her work in mental health. Alongside serving her constituents in East Antrim, Cheryl currently serves as an on-call firefighter.

After graduating with a First Class Honours in French and Politics from Queen’s University Belfast, Jason Bunting was elected for two terms as Vice President for Education in Queen’s Students’ Union, representing all students on their academic interests. In 2021, Jason joined the central team of the Social Democratic and Labour Party as a press and policy advisor, before his appointment as parliamentary advisor to Sinéad McLaughlin MLA in 2022. He is an alumnus of the Washington Ireland Program and a former campaigns assistant with Amnesty International NI.

Sarah Bunting is a Democratic Unionist Party Councillor for Balmoral DEA in south Belfast and the Party’s group leader at Belfast City Hall. Sarah is the first female to hold the role for Democratic Unionist Party in Belfast. She also works as a constituency casework officer for David Brooks MLA & Edwin Poots MLA. Sarah is a passionate advocate for the community & voluntary sector and became involved in politics through volunteering with her local community group, where she continues to volunteer today.

As comptroller and auditor general for Northern Ireland, Dorinnia Carville is the head of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) and an officer of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Dorinnia is responsible for the financial audit of central government departments and their arm’s length bodies, as well as reporting on value for money studies and promoting good practice. She has a degree in Law with Politics from Queen’s University Belfast and is qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG London and has worked in local government as deputy chief executive and director of corporate services at Newry Mourne and Down District Council.

Born in Belfast of first generation Chinese, Eileen Chan Hu is passionate about adding diversity, inclusion, creativity, and colour to our society. With over twenty-five years’ experience in the field of race, covering English language teaching, community development, and community safety initiatives, Eileen is the founder and executive director of CRAICNI, whose mission is to Cultivate Respect, Appreciate Inclusion in Communities in Northern Ireland, through training and education regionally, across the island of Ireland, across Europe, and globally. She was a member of the Centenary Forum and an Equality Commissioner (2018 – 2020) and is currently on the All-Island Women’s Forum, Vice Chair of Migrant and Minority Ethnic Council NI, Trustee of New Europeans UK and a Patron of Horatio’s Garden.

Anne Clarke is a member of the senior leadership team at NIE Networks and a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland. Anne began her accountancy career as a trainee chartered accountant in Energia Group in 2007, gaining experience in a range of finance roles within the electricity generation and retail businesses. In 2017, she moved to NIE Networks and is now the finance business partner for the Network Assets directorate which provides strategic direction for NIE Networks’ ongoing capital investment in the electricity network.

Beverley Copeland is a director at Ulster Carpets, one of Northern Ireland’s leading businesses. Beverley is responsible for the company’s sustainability strategy alongside people & talent development, quality, safety and environmental. Her passion for Northern Irish manufacturing is also illustrated through her previous roles in organisation development, business improvement and human resources. Beverley is a chartered member of the CIPD and holds a degree in Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast. Outside of work, she is a sports leader and recognises that sport plays an important role in bringing people together from all aspects of life instilling values of fairness, discipline, perseverance, and respect.

Gareth Edwards graduated with a degree in Law from Queen’s University Belfast and has nearly twenty years’ experience working in financial services in Dublin and Belfast, specialising in regulatory and compliance issues relating to the investment fund and banking industries. Now living in Belfast, Gareth is father to an active seven-year-old son. He is passionate about enabling the growth of the Northern Ireland economy to create quality local opportunities for its talented young people and to stem the ‘brain drain’ of graduates who move away from Northern Ireland for university study and never return here to live and work.

Deborah Erskine is an MLA serving Fermanagh & South Tyrone since 2021, where she was co-opted into the role and later elected in May 2022. Deborah is currently the youngest unionist MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly. During her time in the Assembly, Deborah has been a member of the Health Committee and was involved in several Assembly All-Party Groups such as Mental Health, Community Pharmacy, Early Education and Childcare, Higher and Further Education, Social Enterprise, and Youth Participation. She is the DUP spokesperson for promoting the Union with young people and new communities. Previously, Deborah served as councillor for the Fermanagh & Omagh District Council and worked as a journalist, writing for the Ulster Herald, before becoming a press officer for the DUP, working alongside former First Minister Arlene Foster.

Megan Fearon is a former Sinn Féin MLA for Newry and Armagh, Junior Minister in the NI Executive and Chairperson of the NI Assembly Women’s Caucus. She was the youngest political representative on the island and the youngest government minister in Europe. She currently works with The Open University in Ireland as Senior Manager for Policy and Public Affairs. Megan is a Trustee on the board of Conciliation Resources where she continues to advocate for women leading conflict resolution efforts for lasting peace.

Chloe Ferguson is a campaigner and activist, dedicated to peacebuilding through furthering the accessibility of education and creating a climate aware future. Since graduating in English and Social Anthropology in 2020 from Queen’s University Belfast, Chloe has stayed in elected leadership within the student movement, currently working full-time as NUS-USI President, the official spokesperson for over 130,000 students across Further and Higher Education. She currently sits as vice chair of Climate Coalition NI and has played a key role in garnering civic society support for Northern Ireland’s first climate legislation.

Martin Fisher trained and qualified as a solicitor with the Southampton City Council before returning to Northern Ireland in 2011 where he worked in private practice with Carson McDowell LLP and then the NHS for several years. Moving to the Irish League of Credit Unions in 2015, Martin advised and assisted Northern Ireland credit unions in a variety of legal and regulatory areas. He has been a member of the Bank of England & Prudential Regulation Authority’s independent statutory practitioner panel since 2017, representing Northern Ireland credit unions. Martin has been an associate tutor with the National College of Ireland and separately has been a lay plus committee member of the NHS Research and Ethics Committee for Northern Ireland since 2017. He is now responsible for advancing and leading on the strategy, legal, regulatory, policy, advocacy, and engagement agenda of credit unions in Northern Ireland.

Ciarán Fox is the director of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) which strives to enhance Northern Ireland’s built environment for the benefit of all through the promotion of architecture. Ciarán is the current chair of Climate Northern Ireland, a cross-sectoral network devoted to understanding and promoting adaptation and mitigation actions that can address the climate emergency in the region. He is a former chair of the Northern Ireland Construction Group and was a member of the Construction Industry Forum for Northern Ireland for over a decade.

With over fifteen years of experience in youth and community work, Amy Gribbon is committed to supporting mobilisation across community divisions, driving positive transformation, and establishing safe spaces for connecting, integrating, and nurturing meaningful relationships. Amy is a manager at Forthspring Inter Community Group, based on one of the largest interfaces in Northern Ireland and has committed the last ten years to the life and work of this small organisation. Her passion for peace building was ignited following her time with the Ulster Project, after which she pursued a journey in youth work and graduated from Ulster University.

Tierna Kelly graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics in 2022. After graduation, Tierna worked as the constituency officer for Patrick Brown MLA working in her home constituency, South Down. She briefly worked as a campaign assistant in Alliance’s most successful local elections in 2023, where she was also elected as the youngest councillor to Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. Since her election, Tierna returned to Patrick Brown’s office as communications and research officer. She is interested in integrated education and building a peaceful society for young people in Northern Ireland.

Chris Leech graduated from the University of Northumbria in Business Studies. Having worked in the IT industry for fifteen years, Chris moved into the faith sector where he has spent the last fifteen years leading churches and developing community impact initiatives. He also leads in the development of strategy for Emmanuel, focusing on the wellbeing of the Craigavon area and is the chairman of the Craigavon Area Foodbank. Chris is passionate about tackling poverty, injustice, and social exclusion. He currently sits on several Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council committees relating to poverty.

Graduating with a Law degree from Queen’s University Belfast, Martin McAuley has worked in communications and policy development for senior political leaders since 2013. Involved in the SDLP all-party negotiations team during Haas/O’Sullivan, Stormont House and the Fresh Start negotiations, he now leads the party’s communications team since 2019. Prior to taking up his current role, Martin was the UK national policy lead on climate change and rural land for a global professional body in the built environment sector.

Through his current role at the Department for Communities, Christopher McConnell leads on infrastructure and community development support for the voluntary and community sector delivered through initiatives at regional, sub-regional and council level. Early in his career, Christopher worked in a local authority before moving into management consultancy, advising clients in the public and private sector on strategy and policy. Since transitioning to the public sector, he has worked in a range of policy areas including housing reform, public sector reform and information management. During this time, Christopher also undertook a secondment to the Northern Ireland Office, working in external affairs and engagement, including the Irish Government.

Paula McKernan is a barrister at the Bar of Northern Ireland, specialising in Children and Family Law. Called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2005 and to the Bar of Ireland in 2012, Paula is a member of The Bar Council of Northern Ireland. She is appointed to the Government Legal Service Civil Panel of Barristers and the Directorate of Legal Services Panel of Family Law Barristers. Paula is an examiner in Speech & Drama for the University of West London and an alumnus of the Washington Ireland Program.

Adriana Morvaiová is an accomplished Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Specialist, a TEDx Speaker, and NLP Practitioner. Originally from Slovakia with Hungarian heritage, Adriana embarked on a transformative journey to Northern Ireland in 2005. She serves as a dedicated trustee on the board of Mediation NI, having completed Mediation Theory & Practice in 2022. Adriana takes pride in leading a Lean in Circle established in 2023, fostering a vibrant community of professional multicultural women across NI. She has previously collaborated with esteemed organizations such as Transport for London, Croydon Council, and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.

Áine Murphy is a Sinn Féin MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone and is currently the youngest female MLA in the Assembly. Having been politically active from fourteen years of age, Áine is very passionate about her community and strives to address regional imbalance in rural communities and the border region. Having grown up in Lisnaskea not far from the Monaghan/Cavan border, she has lived experience of the difficulties and challenges that many rural communities face, both socially and economically. Áine also has a very keen interest in GAA with an educational background in physiology.

Janet Schofield, the passionate CEO of CAN (Compass Advocacy Network), is driven by her commitment to people. Janet’s hands-on approach empowers lives and amplifies voices for children and adults with learning disabilities, autism, and mental health issues, as well as their families and carers. With over twenty-seven years in the community and voluntary sector, she advocates for the vulnerable amidst uncertainty. Excited about the Fellowship Programme, Janet aims to forge cross-sector partnerships and create meaningful change. Personally, she is a married mum of three on the north coast of Northern Ireland, with a menagerie of pets and diverse creative interests.

Róisín Wood is the CEO of the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, and previously the CEO of Kick It Out, English football’s equality and inclusion organisation. Róisín was awarded an OBE in 2018 for services to tackling discrimination in football. In October 2020, she took on a new challenge as an inclusive leadership consultant. Within the Community Foundation Róisín has brought with her the passion and commitment towards an inclusive society, enhancing the focus of the Foundation’s work on diversity, equity and inclusion, transformative funding strategies, supporting grass roots community organisations and advocating for the VCSE sector at all levels.