ONE FAMILY IRELAND - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Family Support Worker and Parent Mentor
Our Finance Manager Bernadette Donlon leads the financial, governance and reporting requirements of One Family.
Job Titles:
- Principal of Donagh McGowan & Co.
Donagh McGowan is the principal of Donagh McGowan & Co. solicitors and has almost 30 years' experience as a practising solicitor. His career has focused on providing services to private clients, most particularly in the areas of family law, wills & probate, trusts and residential property. Donagh's practice includes advising on all family law matters with a particular emphasis on judicial separation and divorce.
Donagh is a former Chair of the Law Society of Ireland Family Law Committee. He is a trained mediator and a trained professional in Collaborative Law. Donagh has tutored in the Law Society of Ireland and has spoken on many occasions at family law conferences, including the annual conferences of the Law Society of Ireland and the Legal Aid Board. He is also a regular media contributor on family law and other issues.
Job Titles:
- Director of Parenting and Professional Development Services
Geraldine Kelly leads One Family's Parenting and Professional Development Services. Geraldine has a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Care & Education. Prior to this, she qualified in Preschool Care and Applied Social Studies. She also has a Master's degree in Child, Family and Community Studies. She is a qualified Parent Mentor, having a level 6 award in Parent Mentoring and in Effective Communications, and is a practicing mediator specialising in parenting and family transitions.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chief Executive of the Policing Authority
Helen is the Chief Executive of the Policing Authority, the body which oversees the performance of the Garda Síochána. She is a Chartered Accountant having trained with PwC in Dublin. After her time with PwC, she spent 8 years in Malawi where she worked with the United Nations, the World Bank, and subsequently as an audit partner with Deloitte. She subsequently served as a senior internal audit manager with the United Nations World Food programme based in Rome. She returned to Ireland in 2006 to work as part of the team setting up the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority, the body, responsible for oversight of the accounting and auditing profession and became its Chief Executive in 2012. Helen has been a lone parent since her now adult son was three years of age.
Job Titles:
- Governance & Policy Officer With Spunout
Jack is Governance & Policy Officer with Spunout, Ireland's youth information service. His role is to support the Leadership Team and Board of Directors in matters of governance, compliance, strategy, communications and public policy. Between 2020-2023, Jack worked as political advisor to Senator Marie Sherlock and previously held roles in policy development and political communications for the Labour Party.
Jennifer Good is a practicing barrister having qualified in 2014. She practices in the area of general civil and commercial law and is briefed in a number of cases on behalf of a state body. Prior to that, she worked in the legal sector with solicitors' firms for a number of years and briefly in the European Court of Human Rights. Jennifer brings experience in governance and compliance to our Board. She is passionate about diversity in access to legal advice, education and wider social inclusion, having herself been a student of the Trinity Access Programme during her law degree and continues to volunteer with a law centre providing free legal advice clinics. This passion, in her view, is one which compliments and feeds into the broad strategic vision of one family.
Joanne Chee leads the IT, HR and Operational requirements of One Family. Joanne has 10 years office administration and coordinating experience and a qualification in psychotherapy.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- for Media Interview
- Spokesperson
One Family's CEO Karen Kiernan has been leading the organisation since 2001. As CEO, Karen is One Family's spokesperson and represents issues affecting one-parent families and those experiencing unplanned pregnancies in national media, to Government Committees, in written policy submissions and in a wide range of advocacy meetings, conferences and other fora.
Job Titles:
- Counselling Support Worker
Job Titles:
- Family Support Worker & Parent Mentor
Niamh Kelly has worked in One Family since 2021 and leads our policy work, with a particular focus on child poverty. Niamh represents issues affecting one-parent families at a wide range of fora including at Oireachtas Committees, with politicians and Government departments, in the media and as a member of alliances and working groups. Niamh manages research projects to inform One Family's policy work and writes submissions and position papers on a wide range of topics affecting the families we represent. Niamh has a Master's degree in Equality Studies from UCD.
Job Titles:
- New Futures Project Co - Ordinator
Job Titles:
- Head of Communications, Research and Innovation With the Legal Services Regulatory Authority
Nuala is Head of Communications, Research and Innovation with the Legal Services Regulatory Authority. Nuala's background is in journalism, she is a former award-winning correspondent with The Irish Times and also has extensive expertise as a press officer and communications consultant for the European Commission and electoral authorities overseas. Nuala previously worked as a political analyst, advocate and researcher in the areas of anti-corruption, democratic accountability, good governance and active citizenship for Transparency International Ireland and the independent progressive think tank, TASC. Prior to her current role, she was the Communications Director with the Social Democrats. Nuala lives in Dublin and is married with two children.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Accountant and Head of Fiduciary for Marsh Ireland
Rosemary is a Chartered Accountant and Head of Fiduciary for Marsh Ireland, a member of the Marsh McLennan Group, the world's leading insurance broker and risk advisor. She previously worked in the pharmaceutical sector, and prior to that, she worked as a Senior Accountant in the Charity sector for over 13 years, working with both national and international charities, one of which was One Family. She also served on the Board of the Irish Family Planning Association, sitting on the Audit and Finance Committee.
Job Titles:
- Adult Education & Information Manager
- Helpline Manager
Valerie has worked in One Family since 2013 and leads the Helpline & Information Service which incorporates the askonefamily helpline, email support, website information hub and social media information provision.
Valerie Maher currently holds the role of Adult Education & Information Manager with One Family and has worked with us since 2013. Valerie obtained her BA (Hons) in Psychology from Maynooth University and also holds a first class honours Master's degree in Social Science, Human Rights and Social Policy; specialising in labour market activation policies and their impact on lone parents. She is a registered member of the Irish Teaching Council in the area of further education and holds a Level 6 QQI Train the Trainer qualification.
Éimear is an experienced former civil servant, now working in independent consultancy. Her civil service career spanned a wide range of responsibilities in the justice, equality and child policy sectors. She set up the first Equal Status Unit in the Equality Tribunal as well as Cosc, the national office to co-ordinate government activity to tackle domestic and sexual violence, leading the development of the first national strategy on domestic and sexual violence. Other assignments included family court and criminal court registrar, senior roles at the Garda Inspectorate and in organisational development in the justice sector. In her position as Assistant Secretary at the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, she was responsible for operational standards and performance, policy and legislative developments relating to child welfare and protection, alternative care and related issues of children's rights. Her current work includes strategic, policy and governance consultancy with a number of NGOs, State bodies and government departments.