Class of 2025

Alan Lewis is a victim’s advocate working within the Victims and Survivors Service in Northern Ireland. Elected to Newry, Mourne and Down District Council in 2019, Alan was re-elected again in 2023 and was formerly a policy advisor in Stormont from 2010 to 2016.

During his term on council, he has twice served as chairman of the district Policing & Community Safety Partnership, and currently sits on the council’s Active and Healthy Communities committee, Strategic Policy and Resources committee, as well as a Safe Food advisory board member.

During his time as a victims advocate, Alan he has assisted with the Kingsmills Inquest, formerly working with the Family Research and Policy Unit in Markethill and now with the Fermanagh based victims groups SEFF, which have outreach offices across Northern Ireland.

Sam Jinadu is head of constitution and special projects within the Northern Ireland Office where his work has spanned strategy, legislation, and governance policy.

Prior to joining the Northern Ireland Office, Sam has spent time at a number of Whitehall departments working on the UK’s exit from the EU, the Covid-19 pandemic response, as well as on health, charity, and devolution focussed policy roles.

He is passionate about public service, delivering better policy outcomes, and improving people’s life chances through modelling collaborative problem solving and decision-making. Sam is a graduate of Newcastle University and has a young daughter.

Curtis Irvine graduated from Durham University in 2019 with a First Class Honours degree in International Relations. Following graduation, Curtis spent three years in the charity sector as a coach and communications professional, equipping young adults to engage with social justice issues.

In 2022, he began working for an Alliance Party MLA in casework and communications before taking on his current role as policy and communications manager for Kate Nicholl MLA in 2023.

Curtis has also completed a certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership with the Chartered Management Institute and is completing his master’s degree in International Public Policy at Queen’s University Belfast.

Cahir Hughes is head of the Electoral Commission Northern Ireland. Cahir joined the Electoral Commission in 2006 as a participation officer and then a senior communications and electoral administration officer before taking up the position of head in 2019.

He has been the lead author of numerous reports on elections and electoral registration and has overseen the delivery of large scale public awareness campaigns promoting engagement in the democratic process.

As a member of the Commission’s senior leadership team, Cahir also plays an active role in setting and delivering the Commission’s strategic objectives and goals across the UK.

Blaithnid Hughes is from Clare, Co Armagh and is wife to Paul and mum to two daughters.

Blaithnid has a degree in Irish History and Politics from Ulster University, an MSc in Business Improvement and is an alumnus of the University of the Ozarks, Arkansas, USA.

She comes to the Fellowship with over fifteen years’ experience across healthcare in NI. Starting out as a booking clerk, Blaithnid has worked her way to senior management positions within the hospital setting, including roles in governance, transformation and service improvement, stroke reform and operational management.

She is excited for how the Fellowship will challenge and develop her thinking.

Carl Hashim is a trained economist, having graduated with a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast.

Carl has nearly twenty years of experience working in the energy industry in Northern Ireland, specialising in economic regulation and compliance matters.

Carl works at NIE Networks, as its head of regulation strategy. When not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife and their three sons. An avid sports fan, Carl particularly enjoys watching and playing football and tennis.

Karen Gilgunn has a wealth of experience in communications and advocacy with over fifteen years’ experience.

As the senior communications and influencing lead at Mencap Northern Ireland, Karen leads on strategic initiatives to amplify the organisations mission and influence public policy.

With a strong background in social impact and stakeholder engagement, she has received multiple awards for her commitment to advancing the rights of marginalised communities in Northern Ireland.

Passionate about inclusivity and change, Karen is dedicated to improving the wellbeing of others within our communities. She also holds various voluntary board roles within local sports.

Róisín Finnegan is an independent contractor with over twenty years of senior-level experience in the corporate sector, specialising in innovation strategy and entrepreneurship.

Róisín has led major initiatives focused on commercialising innovation and integrating it into organisational frameworks. In addition to her professional work, she is a passionate community advocate.

Róisín has established several successful local initiatives, including founding a community dining project and founding and leading a business association that has secured public funding for infrastructure improvements, supporting local business development and broader community regeneration efforts.

Charlotte Dryden is the CEO of the award winning Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast.

Charlotte has been involved in the Northern Irish music community for over twenty years. She has a background in leadership, talent development, music and festival programming, venues, event management, music media and journalism.

Charlotte has initiated several of the key programmes at Oh Yeah including the Scratch My Progress talent development scheme and Women’s Work, a unique ground-breaking initiative for Belfast celebrating women in music.

She chaired the committee set up by Belfast City Council which led to the successful bid for Belfast to become a UNESCO City of Music in 2021.

Fiona Derry is part owner and director of Derry Group Ireland, a company specialising in the storage, order picking, and distribution of chilled and frozen product throughout the island of Ireland, with depots in Armagh, Dublin, and Cork.

As a qualified solicitor and graduate of University College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast, Fiona has built on the expertise she has cultivated in her profession as a solicitor and has applied these skills into ensuring that Derry Group Ireland remains at the forefront of their industry.