ESF Conference Speakers
Sir Reg Empey, Minister for Employment and Learning
Sir Reg was appointed Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, a position he held until the collapse of the power-sharing Executive in October 2002. During the summer of 2001 he served for a time as acting First Minister of Northern Ireland and in 2004 became Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Assembly Party. A year later he was elected Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party. Following the restoration of the Executive on 8 May 2007 Sir Reg was appointed to his present position as Minister at the Department for Employment and Learning. He has had an active career in Belfast City Council since 1985 where he has twice been Lord Mayor of Belfast. He was awarded an OBE in 1994 for his services to local government.
Aideen McGinley Permanent Secretary, Department for Employment and Learning
Aideen is the current Permanent Secretary of the Department for Employment and Learning and was previously the Permanent Secretary in the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (1999-2005). She was formerly Chief Executive of Fermanagh District Council. In her 25 years in local government, she worked in Community Services and Economic Development in Strabane and Fermanagh and as a Town Planner in Donegal.
She is a graduate of Salford University BSc Hons in Environmental Science (1975) and has a Masters in Social Policy, Administration and Planning (1983) from the University of Ulster who also conferred on her and Honorary Doctorate in 1998. She has successfully completed the Leadership Challenge (1992) and a United States 'Distinguised Victors' Programmeon Sustainable Economic Development (1994) and is a graduate of the Harvard Women in Power Leadership Programme (2006).
In 2000, she was awarded an OBE and in 2004, became an Honorary member of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects and a 'Women of Inspiration' Award in 2007.
Chris Webb is Director for Business Development and Partnerships, Tribal Plc.
Chris has operated at local, regional, national and international level and in a number of senior roles, including being a Chief Education Officer and National Director for the ITEC programme in the 1980s, which included setting up some ITECs in Northern Ireland. There has always been a strong European theme to Chris’ work and, most recently, he designed and delivered the £22 million Equal project known as ‘The Last Mile’, which focused on getting minority talent into the Cultural and Creative Industries, and Equal-Works which captured and organised the results of the Equal programme.
In his current role for Tribal he seeks to develop productive relationships with a range of complementary organisations ranging from the Foyer Federation, through Universities to major charities such as Action for Children
Dorothee Wagner, Proteus
Dorothee has a Masters in Business Administration Degree, MBA with Distinction and in 2000 was awarded the Guinness IMI Sir Charles Harvey Award. She also studied at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and completed the Leaders for Tomorrow Programme. She has been employed by PROTEUS NI Ltd. since 1992 and is responsible for the company’s finance and administration, PR and programme management aspects. She currently manages the company’s global grant allocation of £14m under the Peace II funding programme. She is experienced in programme / project monitoring and verification, and has a wide knowledge of the European Union funding landscape. Over the past 12 years she has designed and delivered numerous EU specific training courses to project promoters, government departments and agencies, and also gave a number of public speeches throughout the European Union. She furthermore promotes Open Space Technology as a tool for interactive conferences & events, and is also licensed to train users of the Rickter Scale®, a motivational assessment and evaluation tool
Lenia Samuel, Deputy Director General in the Directorate - General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
In 2005, Lenia Samuel was appointed Deputy Director General DG Employment and Social Affairs in Brussels. She was previously the Permanent Secretary, for the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance in Cyprus. She has chaired several committees and conferences of the ILO and the Council of Europe dealing with labour and social issues.
She has written a book entitled "Fundamental Social Rights", covering the case law of the European Committee of Social Rights, published by the Council of Europe and has co-edited an ILO publication entitled "Protection of Social Security". Lenia is a Barrister at Law, Bars of England and Wales and Cyprus, she also holds a postgraduate degree in public administration at the Institute of Social Studies
Ruth McAllister - RMA Systems
Ruth McAllister is a Director of RMA Systems, a Belfast based software company which she set up in 1999 with her co-director, Alan Frazier, to specialise in designing systems to manage European Funding Programmes.
Ruth, a past chairman of of the Belfast branch of the British Computer Society, has over 25 years' experience in systems design and has worked as a consultant for Invest NI, NCC, banks, insurance companies and large commercial organisations.
She has been heavily involved in the develoment of the new Internet-based system for the NI European Social Fund Programme. In her spare time, Ruth puts her design skills to good use by creating and exhibiting textile based artwork.
Heather Louden - Belfast City Council
Heather Louden of Belfast City Council has been the main driver behind the WINS project. Heather started work as an Audit Clerk in a local firm of Accountants and Auditors and she trained as an accountant at a time when there were very few women in the profession. From there, she entered the manufacturing world and worked in a variety of organisations heading up their finance section.
She had a brief foray into consultancy with Coopers & Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers and in the early nineties, she entered Local Government to head up the Commercial Support section in the newly created Contarct Services Department within Belfast City Council. For most of her working life, she has worked in a male dominated environment which is why she became involved in initiating and leading the WINS project. She also chairs the Local Government Staff Commissions steering group who are running an initiative called, 'Women in Local Councils'.
Stephen Matthews - Chief Executive, Cedar Foundation
Stephen is the Chief Executive of the Cedar Foundation, a position he has held since 1991. He was educated at the Universities of Ulster and Birmingham and is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute. He currently holds NVQLevel V in Startegic Management, and is a licensed IIP Assesor.
Interests include board membership of ACET (an inter-sectoral partnership promoting access in to Further Education and Training for people with disabilities). He is also a Board Member and Vice Chairman of Habinteg Housing Association, a specialist Housing Association that provides housing support for people with disabilities in integrated settings.
Stephen is a member of the Development and Audit Committees of the Association. Other interests include board membership and Vice Chair of CO3, The Association of 3rd Sector Chief Executives in Northern Ireland and advisor to The Henry Smiths Charity, a UK grant giving charitable foundation. Stephen has led the Cedar Foundation to wide recognition as an EFQM European Excellence Award winner and Investor in People Champion organisation, both achieved in 2007.
Olwen Lyner - NIACRO (Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders)
Olwen Lyner is NIACRO's CEO. NIACRO, the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, is a charity working to reduce crime and its impact on people and communities. Olwyn's previous responsibilities in NIACRO saw her managing a range of employment and training programmes for offenders and ex-prisoners.
In the last six years, NIACRO was lead partner in both Equal I and Equal II. Olwen is a member of the joint Community and Voluntary Sector Forum, the Criminal Justice Issues Group and the Belfast Community Safety Partnership. Olwen is currently Chair of CO3, the Association of the Chief Officers of 3rd Sector organisations.
Lorraine Boyd - NIUSE (Northern Ireland Union of Supported Employment)
The Northern Ireland Union of Supported Employment is a member-based organisation representing organisations and individuals promoting employment opportunities for people with disabilities; in particular, people with significant disabilities through the Supported Emplyment model. Lorraine Boyd has been working in the field of vocational training and employment in particular Supported Em[ployment for people with disabilities for nearly 20 years from a grass roots level (Supported Employment Practitioner) and more recently at a strategic level.
In 2005, Lorraine provided support to a group of individuals with a learning disability to successfully conduct a piece of action research on Supported Employment. This group then presented their findings at the European Union of Supported Employment (EUSE) Conference in Barcelona in June 2005. In 2007, Lorraine facilitated the SEA Project (funded under EQUAL) Beneficiary and Practitioner Focus groups to present at the 8th EUSE Conference in Belfast. Lorraine has completed the Diploma in Supported Employemnt and is currently working towards her PhD in Social Policy - Equality, Learning Disability.
Anne McAleer - SEA Project Participant
Anne McAleer is a memeber of the SEA Project Beneficiary Focus Group and is also employed by The Cedar Foundation as a Facilitator for the User Forum. Through her work, Anne attends many conferences, workshops and seminars to discuss issues and barriers that disabled people come up against in their everyday life.
In June 2007, as a representative of the SEA Project Beneficiary Group, Anne presented the outcomes from the "Readt, Willing and Able" Conference at the opening ceremony of the 8th EUSE Conference which was held in Belfast. At present, with members of The Cedar Foundation User Forum, Ane has ongoing discussions with Northern Ireland local Councils to promote positive attitudes and encourage participation by disabled people in public life.
Trevor Connolly - Head of Finance and European Division, DEL
Trevor Connelly is Head of Finance and European Division in the Department for Employment and Learning. In this role, he is responsible for the financial managementof the £955m annual budget within the Department and the Northern Ireland European Social Fund 2007 - 13.
He has a MSc in Accounting and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. He has been in his current position since June 2006.
Pat Donnelly - Chief Executive, Proteus (NI) Ltd
Pat Donnelly, Chief Executive of PROTEUS is responsible for the overall managementof the company. PROTEUS is the National Support Structure in Northern Ireland for the EQUAL programme, and is an Intermediary Funding Body for the Peace II programme. He has over 25 years' experience of working on European Union funding programmes, and has established an extensive network of contacts and partnerships locally, regionally and in Europe.
He has contributed to, and edited a number of publications connected with this EU level work. He has a lecturing background in business and languages. He has a BA Honours degree in Irish and French, a Master of Philosophy in Grammar, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, a Diploma in Business Administration and a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching Irish at third-level.