The Wheel's Board

Inez Bailey – Elected in June 2017

Inez is currently Chief Executive Officer of the Centre For Effective Services, having previously been the CEO of NALA, the National Adult Literacy Agency, for over 20 years. She is also Chair of the Southside Partnership, Chair of the Mounttown Neighbourhood Youth and Family Project, Chair of the Rockford Manor Secondary School and Member of the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Local Community Development Committee. Previous board memberships include: CORU, the Health and Social Care Professionals Regulator; the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs; Dublin & Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board; the Education Finance Board; the National Consumer Agency; the Citizens Information Board; the Information Society Commission; and the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland.

Sarah Benson – Elected in June 2020

Sarah currents serves as CEO of Women’s AID Ireland, having previously served as CEO of Ruhama and recently stood down from the board of the National Women’s Council of Ireland. She has over two decades’ experience working for Community and Voluntary organisations (18 years at senior management/CEO level). Her work at Board and Executive level has also given significant direct experience of both fundraising and working and collaborating with vulnerable, marginalized communities and individuals, particularly; victims/survivors of violence and abuse, and members of minoritised ethnic groups including migrants.

In 2019 Sarah completed a Master’s in Business Studies in Business practice with the IMI/UCC, receiving first class honours in each component category of study: Executive Coaching, Strategy and Innovation,and Leadership – also receiving the overall course award for final thesis (RIA) She has also completed studies through the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Leadership of Not for Profit Organisations.

Jonathan Buttner – Appointed in November 2017

Jonathan is a senior business executive with extensive commercial knowledge and experience gained over 25 years in Ireland and the UK. As a former member of the leadership team in Ulster Bank (part of the global UK bank RBS), he led specialist Corporate, SME and Commercial Real Estate business divisions with responsibility for both ROI and NI markets. Senior member of Ulster Bank governance committees including Risk Appetite, Credit Risk Policy, Assets & Liabilities and Corporate Banking Division Management committee. Jonathan provides strategic business advice to companies in Ireland and the UK helping with commercial growth strategies, organisational change, finance, risk management and governance. Jonathan also co-founded a start-up venture in the alternative lending space seeking to address the SME funding gap in Ireland by providing affordable flexible funding solutions.

Mary Doyle – Co-opted in November 2018

Mary was Deputy Secretary of the Department of Education and Skills from 2012 until her retirement in April 2018. As Deputy Secretary she led the Higher Education and Quality Division in the Department. Previously, she worked as Director General in the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Prior to that she was the Assistant Secretary in the Department of the Taoiseach. She served as a member of the National Economic and Social Council and of the National Statistics Board, and a Forum Member of the Economic and Social Research Institute. She holds a degree in European Studies from the University of Limerick and a Master’s in Public Service Management from Trinity/Irish Management Institute.

Ellen Farrell – Co-opted in April 2022

Ellen is an executive with over 20 years of international Financial Services experience, with a record of delivering organisational transformation and regulatory change. Currently, she is an Associate Director in Fidelity International’s Global Investment Compliance division and member of key governance committees including Investment Risk and Financial Markets. As a former member of an Irish State Body (ReBo), Ellen provided strategic business advice to companies in Ireland regarding growth strategies, organisational transformation, finance, risk management and governance. With Committee and board experience in private, public and nonprofit sectors, her qualifications include MBA, post graduate Diploma in Strategy & Innovation, Diploma in compliance, Diploma from Institute of Director & Degree in Accounting & Finance.

Caitriona Freir - Elected June 2023

Caitriona is Education and Training Manager with Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, having previously worked in the role of Youth Programmes Co-Ordinator with the centre, and Youth Officer and Coordinator with Foroige.

As part of her role Caitriona represents DRCC on a number of external committees collaborating with other members of the nonprofit sector. She heads up the internal and external training function for the organisation, delivering a wide variety of prevention and support training programmes and project collaborations including the recent Justisigns 2 (Erasmus) Project along with a consortium of European experts from Ireland, Belgium, Spain and the UK providing training and resources for deaf and migrant women who experience Gender Based Violence.

Caitriona sits on the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland ESP Forum and previously sat on the board of the Dublin 15 Citizen Information Centre. She holds a Masters in Child, Family & Community from TU Dublin and a level 9 Certificate in Leadership and Management from the National College of Ireland.

Vincent Keenan (CHAIR) – Elected May 2014

Vincent is Chief Executive of North and East Housing Association since 2014. North & East was incorporated in 1993 having been established by a small number of volunteers. Having been run as a small-scale, mainly voluntary organisation it is now a well-established housing provider with a proven track record in the delivery of high-quality homes, comprehensive housing management services and tenant supports. Vincent worked previously for Co-operative Housing Ireland (formally NABCO) for 12 years as Executive Director with responsibility for housing and community services. Vincent has 25 years’ experience in housing, homelessness, housing development, management and social and community service development. He has participated in negotiation of social partnership agreements and was appointed by the Minister of Housing to the National Homeless Consultative Committee on which he served 7 years. Vincent has also served as non-executive director on a number of not for profit organisations.

Cherif Labreche – Elected July 2021

Cherif currently serves as CEO of New Communities Partnership, having previously been CEO/Founder of both Flower Childcare Early Learning Centre and Hanine Media Development Agency. He has over two decades of board and management committee experience including as founder of the Africa Centre. In his work in New Communities Partnership, he represents and empowers new communities in Ireland, as they strive to overcome the obstacles and difficulties that arise for people building a new life in Ireland. Cherif has also established the Ethnic Media Development Project a social enterprise programme supported by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland where the focus is to provide EMLOs with the media and Intercultural communication skills to take a lead role in addressing inequalities that they experience. He holds a BA in Journalism and MPhil in International Peace Studies.

Kerry McLaverty – Elected July 2022

Kerry currently serves as CEO of LauraLynn Children’s Hospice. Kerry is a highly experienced healthcare professional with over 15 years’ experience working in the healthcare, nonprofit and voluntary sectors. She is a long-standing member of the LauraLynn team, having been initially recruited to the Physiotherapy Department in 2012. Since then, Kerry has assumed the position of Clinical Services Manager in 2014 and later in 2016, she commenced the role of Head of Operations at LauraLynn before stepping into the role of CEO in 2020.

Kerry also sits on the Council of Partners of the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care Providers, having previously been Secretary of Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists and Chair of the Physiotherapists in Intellectual Disability Clinical Interest Group.

Janis Morrissey - Elected June 2023

Janis is Director of Health Promotion, Information and Training at the Irish Heart Foundation having previously also worked in several roles within the organisation, and as Executive President and Director of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute.

In her role, she acts as media spokesperson on heart health matters and coordinates the organisation’s heart health information. Her work includes leading on health promotion programmes and campaigns in communities, schools and workplaces, as well as CPR training programmes for the general public and health professionals. She leads teams that conduct innovative projects with underserved communities which were recognised by government and the World Health Organisation

Janis also serves on the board of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Faculty of Public Health Medicine and as a council member for the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. She has an Honours BSc in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from DIT Kevin Street/Trinity College Dublin, an MSc in European Food Regulatory Affairs from the University of Ulster and a Certificate in Charity Law, Trusteeship and Governance.

Felix O’Regan – Co-opted in October 2021

Felix served as Director of Public Affairs with the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, having been with the organization for 30 years until his recent retirement in 2020. With BPFI he led on areas of public affairs, stakeholder & public relations, serving as the organisation’s spokesperson. He previously served as CEO of the Consumers’ Association of Ireland for over 10 years.

In his voluntary and board experience, Felix was appointed to the board of the Social Finance Foundation, by former Taoiseach Brian Cowan TD, and to Microfinance Ireland by Richard Bruton TD, the then Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation. He is active in his community, in particular with his local GAA club, Clanna Gael Fontenoy.

Michael Smyth– Co-opted in December 2022

Michael joined COPE Galway as CEO in May 2021. He previously served as CEO of SCCUL Enterprises and a lecturer in GMIT School of Business. Michael is a graduate of GMIT (BA Gno agus Cumarsaid 2012) and NUIG (MBA 2020 and MSc Strategic Marketing 2013). He has served for over ten years on a number of voluntary boards and committees, including for NUIG School of Business External Advisory Board, BIA Innovator Campus, Bizmentors and Charities Insitute Ireland.

Michael is a keen sports fan and fluent in Irish. He holds a passionate belief in people’s potential and the power of community. He brings experience and perspective of social enterprise and rural Ireland to our board.