Team category

Class of 2026

Alderman Gareth Wilson

DUP Councillor, Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council

Gareth Wilson, from Aghory, Co Armagh, is a long-serving DUP councillor. Gareth was elected to the former Armagh City & District Council in 2005 and more recently has served in Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council (ABC), serving as Lord Mayor in 2017. He has completed twenty years in local government this year, gaining a valuable insight into many aspects of civic life, democratic processes, and engagement across the political spectrum. Gareth works as a parliamentary assistant to William Irwin MLA, supporting constituency services and public communications. Passionate about community engagement and civic life, Gareth is also active in his Christian faith and local activism. Married to Allison with two children, he enjoys construction projects, target sports, and restoring classic vehicles in his spare time.

Aoibhinn Treanor

Clerk to the Education Committee, Northern Ireland Assembly

Aoibhinn Treanor LLB LLM has worked in a parliamentary environment for over twenty-five years. Aoibhinn is currently clerk to the Committee for Education at the NI Assembly. Previous roles include deputy editor of Hansard, advising MLAs and the Speaker on Executive and non-Executive legislation, and clerk of the Public Accounts Committee. She has also worked in other parliaments. Aoibhinn is an ambassador for the Global Ecovillage Network and a member of Amnesty International.

Ola Sobieraj

Project Manager, the3million

Ola Sobieraj is project manager at the3million, the largest grassroots organisation representing EU citizens in the UK after Brexit. With twenty years’ experience in grassroots NGOs across Northern Ireland and Great Britain, Ola is a passionate community organiser, advocate, trainer, and facilitator, working to empower underrepresented and marginalised communities to participate fully in public life. Ola is vice-chair of the MME Think Tank and an active member of the Friends of Poland All-Party Parliamentary Group.

Jonathan Rogan

Managing Director, SQC Digital

Jonathan Rogan is the founder of SQC Digital Limited, a performance-led marketing consultancy based in Belfast. With a background in sales and marketing, Jonathan takes a consultative, data-driven approach to delivering tailored digital strategies across SEO, PPC, and content. A graduate of the Institute of Leadership, he is passionate about collaboration, innovation, and sustainable business growth. In January 2025, he co-organised the Shaping a Prosperous Future event, bringing together local leaders to discuss economic opportunity and regional development.

James Redmond

Head of Transport Planning, Modelling & Data Analytics, Department for Infrastructure

James Redmond is a fellow and chartered traffic and transport engineer/planner (CEng) of over twenty-three years, with a wealth of experience gained within both the public and private sectors across the UK and Ireland. James is currently the head of Transport Planning and Modelling Unit within the Department for Infrastructure. Prior to this role, he previously worked in private consultancy delivering transport planning, mobility and engineering design solutions. In his spare time, James enjoys travelling and is a sports enthusiast, coaching younger generations in GAA and soccer at the weekends for his local clubs.

Dr Matthew O’Neill

Climate Project Lead, Institute of International & European Affairs
Matthew O’Neill is the climate project lead at the Institute for International and European Affairs (IIEA) in Dublin. At the IIEA, he has led two key research areas: the Pathways Project, which explores emissions reduction strategies in Ireland’s agri-food sector, and analysis of the sustainable energy landscape across the island of Ireland. His research includes policy papers on the agricultural climate transition, processor–farmer relationships, and emissions pricing mechanisms. Matthew holds a PhD in Politics from the Mitchell Institute at Queen’s University, Belfast.

Cllr Micky Murray

Alliance Party Councillor, Belfast City Council

Cllr Micky Murray is a Belfast City Councillor and a member of the Alliance Party, who served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 2024 to 2025, becoming the city’s first openly LGBTQ+ Lord Mayor. He has a strong background in the community and voluntary sector, with frontline experience in youth work and homelessness, before working for an MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Micky is a passionate advocate for inclusion, equality, and community engagement, with a particular focus on social justice, economic development, and social value.

Meadhbha Monaghan

Chief Executive Officer, Patient and Client Council NI
Meadhbha Monaghan was appointed CEO of the Patient and Client Council NI (PCCNI) in 2023. Her interests in advocacy, participation, and policymaking lie particularly at the interface where social injustice and the social determinants of health impact most profoundly. Meadhbha has over ten years’ experience in the homelessness, harm reduction, and refugee sectors in the UK, Ireland, and in the US as a Global Health Corps Fellow; providing frontline services to adults and families, and engaging at a strategic level in policy design and service development. Meadhbha holds a degree in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies from the University of Oxford.

Steven Mills

Chief Operating Officer, Northern Ireland Football League

Steven Mills is chief operating officer at the Northern Ireland Football League, the governing body for professional men’s and women’s football in the region. A University of Ulster graduate, he brings over twenty years of experience in sports development across local councils and national governing bodies including boxing, netball, and football. As an active volunteer in a range of sporting roles, Steven is deeply committed to harnessing the power of sport to drive positive change in Northern Ireland, particularly through education, employment, and community cohesion.

Lewis McVitty

Senior Press Officer, Ulster Unionist Party

Lewis McVitty is a graduate of Queen’s University, Belfast, with a degree in History and Politics. He has served two Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLAs, formerly Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard and Diana Armstrong MLA as constituency manager. Politically active since the age of sixteen, Lewis is secretary of the Ulster Young Unionists and is passionate about helping people across his community. Raised on a family farm in Fermanagh, he has a keen interest in rural affairs and the local economy. He is committed to pragmatic Unionism and promoting the successes of Northern Ireland.