Class of 2025

David Cummings recently joined the Northern Ireland Civil Service through the Fast Stream Graduate Management Programme and has since worked on range of complex policy issues across a number of departments, including health, infrastructure, and most recently economy.

Prior to joining the public sector, David previously worked in academia and completed a government-funded doctoral thesis in French colonial literature whilst teaching at universities in Northern Ireland and France.

Following this, he worked in international sales as the lead account manager at a large multinational corporation for the European territories of France and Belgium.

Fiona Corvan has worked extensively with communities across a range of contexts including local government, education, higher education, ed-tech and the community & voluntary Sector.

She was previously the development manager at Holywell Trust, a leading community relations and development organisation based in Derry-Londonderry. There she specialised in leadership capacity building within the community sector as her work addressed and examined a range of the most challenging and sensitive issues affecting civil society; building peace and prosperity is at her work’s core.

Fiona is passionate about people, building relationships, and working strategically to create innovative change.

Brendan Corr is a policy researcher in the office of the NI Assembly’s Leader of the Opposition, Matthew O’Toole MLA. Brendan was also most recently deputy campaign manager of the SDLP South Belfast NI Assembly election campaign in 2021.

Before joining the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), he worked as a policy officer for the General Medical Council and the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

Brendan has a master’s degree in Legislative Studies and Practice from Queen’s University Belfast. He is also a member of the SDLP’s Management Committee and provides policy research and advice to the party’s New Ireland Commission.

Scott Carson graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a degree in Politics in 2010 and shortly after commenced working as a researcher for Paul Givan MLA, later progressing to office manager.

Scott entered frontline politics as a councillor in September 2013, being co-opted onto Lisburn City Council and was elected to Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council serving Lisburn North in 2014 and 2019. In 2022, he held the role Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh during a historic year for the borough.

Scott is married to Ruth with two daughters.

From the Omagh area of West Tyrone, Nicola Brogan became an MLA for the constituency in November 2020. Nicola is a member of both the Assembly’s Finance Committee and the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (AERA) Committee, as well as the Sinn Féin spokesperson for climate and the environment.

She is also the chairperson of the Assembly’s All Party Group on Early Education and Childcare. As climate and environment spokesperson, Nicola has campaigned to develop an action plan to tackle the issues facing Lough Neagh.

She has worked alongside Lough Neagh community groups, the DAERA Minister and other parties to ensure the Lough is protected, and to ensure its essential roles in the environment, tourism, fishing and water supply can develop.

Ruth Barry joined Alzheimer’s Society as a national influencing manager in July 2023, having previously worked as a senior policy impact and influence manager for the Patient and Client Council, The Cabinet office as a regional researcher for NI, Scotland and Wales, and as an adviser at the Northern Ireland Office.

Ruth has spent the last sixteen years managing, commissioning, and developing public policy for organisations, including the voluntary and statutory sector, and has spent over ten years working in the voluntary sector.

She is passionate about using robust evidence-based policy and a systems leadership approach to achieve positive system change.

Declan Barry is the founder of ExportExplore, an economic development consultancy specialising in innovative strategies for job creation and trade promotion.

Declan has represented Northern Ireland in London and Brussels and worked with multiple US states in Europe.

He holds a degree in International Marketing and a master’s in Executive Leadership from Ulster University. Currently, he serves as the Authorised Trade and Investment Representative for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the UK and Ireland as well as the Swiss Canton of Neuchâtel.

Declan is a dedicated to community growth via the sport of boxing and sitting on the board of Antrim Enterprise Agency.