PARADES COMMISSION - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Commissioner
• Member of the Commission
• Strategy Consultant

Billy Gamble now works as a Strategy Consultant following his retirement as a senior civil servant in the Northern Ireland Civil Service. During his civil service career, he held roles including Director of Equality and Head of Good Relations and Reconciliation Division in the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, and Director of Regional Planning and Transportation in the Department for Regional Development. He has previously held a number of board and trustee appointments, including membership of the board of the International Fund for Ireland, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, the Community Relations Council, the Integrated Education Fund and Community Foundation for Northern Ireland.

Job Titles:

• Commissioner
• Member of the Commission

Derek Wilson is a former banker who chaired the Northern Ireland mortgage committee of UK Finance. He currently serves on a number of boards, committees and governing bodies, including the Northern Ireland Housing Executive Board where he chairs the Resources and Performance Committee, having previously served on the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee for over five years. He is the Non-Executive Chair of the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, he is vice Chair the Co-ownership Board, is a member of the governing body of the South Eastern Regional College and serves as a lay member on the Statutory Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of NI and is an independent member of Belfast City Councils Audit and Risk Panel.

Job Titles:

• Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Equal Rights Trust

Professor Evelyn Collins CBE is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Equal Rights Trust, a Trustee on the Board of the Abraham Initiatives UK and a member of the National Statistician's Inclusive Data Advisory Committee. She is an Honorary Professor in the School of Law at Queen's University Belfast. Evelyn was Chief Executive of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland from March 2000 to February 2023. She was Chair of the Board of Equinet, the European Network of Equality Bodies, from October 2013 to October 2017.

Job Titles:

• Commissioner
• Member of the Commission

Joelle Black is a Barrister who is Principal Public Prosecutor with the Public Prosecution Service. She is a serving Commissioner with the Parades Commission and is due to stand down on 31 March 2024.

Job Titles:

• Commissioner
• Member of the Commission

Nicola Rountree was appointed to the commission in January 2024. Nicola is a barrister. She was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2009 and practices in both criminal and family law.