NICHS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governance Board
Christine Donnelly is a part-time lecturer at the Belfast Metropolitan College and was previously the Head of Ireland for TUI Travel, Falcon/JET and Thomson Holidays with responsibility for a business with a turnover in excess of 150m.
She is a founding member of N.I.F.T.I., an initiative formed by travel industry professionals to present an experienced voice to government to ensure that the Northern Irish tourism market reaches its international potential.
Christine is a member if the Institute of Directors and the Bank of England Business Consultative Team in Northern Ireland.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Declan Cunnane is our Chief Executive. He is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience of working in the private and voluntary sectors, including 15 years in professional practice as an advisor to the voluntary sector. He was awarded Institute of Directors NI/First Trust Bank Third Sector Director of the Year 2017 and was Highly Commended in the ‘Best Newcomer' category at Chief Officers Third Sector (CO3) Leadership Awards 2017. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the UK Health Forum and a member of the European Heart Network (EHN). Through his membership of the EHN he has access to the World Heart Federation and the international heart network. He is Honorary Treasurer and Board Member of a number of other charities.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governance Board
- Consultant Stroke Physician
Dr Brian Gallen has been a Consultant Stroke Physician and Geriatrician in the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen since 2015.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Director of Public Health
Fidelma Carter is our Director of Public Health. She joined the organisation in October 2012. After starting out her career in health promotion, following her studies at Galway National University Ireland, Fidelma then worked for 14 years in the NHS in London. Fidelma has held various senior management, public health and commissioning roles requiring her to work across and with statutory, community, primary care and 3rd sector planners and providers to promote health, equity and reduce inequalities. She has a strong track record in business planning, strategic thinking and formulation and in developing high quality and equitable services that meets the needs of local populations. Fidelma left the NHS in 2012 as Director of Inclusion, Communications and Engagement, to live in Northern Ireland with her partner and two young children. She worked as a volunteer for NI Confederation for Health and Social Care (NICON) and previously served as a chair of governors for over 5 years for an inner city London school and served as co-opted member for other boards.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chief Executive
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Gareth McGleenon is our Deputy Chief Executive. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in both the private and public sectors. Prior to joining NICHS, Gareth held senior management positions in PricewaterhouseCoopers, Invest NI, in Industry and most recently with First Trust Bank. Gareth has also been on the Board of a number of Not for Profit Organisations.
Job Titles:
- Honorary Treasurer
- Member of the Governance Board
- Chairs the Finance Committee
Ian Lindsay FCA is our Honorary Treasurer. He was formerly senior partner at Moore Stephens Chartered Accountants. He is Honorary Treasurer of a number of other charities.
Ian chairs the Finance Committee of NICHS and is an ex-officio member of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Director of Income Generation
Jackie Trainor is our Director of Income Generation. She has over 20 years experience in the Third Sector and has worked in a variety of charitable organisations, largely in a management capacity. Previous roles have included Corporate Manager with Concern Worldwide, Business Development Manager with Carecall, and Head of Income Generation with War on Want NI. More recently she moved into the development education sector which included two years as Major Gifts Manager at Queens University, Belfast. She has provided in kind consultancy and support to several charities over the years and is passionate about raising funds and building awareness for worthy causes. She has been a charity Board member since 2013.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governance Board
Jim Scholes practiced as a barrister in private practice before joining the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. In 2007 he was appointed Deputy Director and subsequently served as Acting Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland for two years prior to his retirement in 2012.
He currently sits as a Parole Commissioner and as a Civil Service Commissioner. In 1980 he was appointed Chair of the Friends of the Joss Cardwell Centre, a then newly formed voluntary group, and played significant role in resisting attempts to close the Centre, thereby allowing its ultimate incorporation into the Musgrave Park Regional Acquired Brain Injury Unit, which opened in 2006.
Professor Mahendra Varma OBE was a Consultant Cardiologist at the Erne Hospital in Enniskillen since 1981, up until his retirement.
Since 1984 he has been Chairman of the Fermanagh support branch of NICHS and has been a member of the Council of NICHS since 1985.
He has been Chairman of the Medical Staff Committee at the Erne Hospital (now South West Acute Hospital) for many years. He is a former President of the Irish Cardiac Society.
Prof Varma was recently honoured with an OBE in the Queen's birthday honours list.
Mike Shields retired in 2020 and is now Emeritus Professor of Child Health (Queen's University Belfast) and Consultant Paediatrician (respiratory Medicine), Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. He developed the regional respiratory service for children and set up regional difficult to treat asthma clinics and clinics for the respiratory management children with neuromuscular disorders. He set up and chaired the N Ireland paediatric respiratory & allergy network (NIPRAN). Previously he co-chaired the British Thoracic Society (BTS) Asthma Guidelines (Pharmacology section) and wrote the BTS Cough in children guidelines.
Job Titles:
- Vice - Chair
- Vice - Chair of the Governance Board
Mr James (Jim) Collins is former Director of the Ford Motor Co. in Finaghy. He has held several public appointments.
He is a currently a member of the Northern Ireland Council for curriculum examinations and assessment and is also a Board member for the NI Health and Safety Executive.
He is a former Board member of the Labour Relations Agency NI. He is currently Chairman of ORTUS, a social enterprise based in West Belfast.
Jim is a member of the NICHS Finance Committee and has recently been elected Vice Chair of NICHS.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications at the Open University
Tara Craig is currently Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications at The Open University in Ireland. She has over 20 years marketing and communications experience, and her previous roles include Editorial Director for Ireland's leading publishing and exhibition company, and Head of Marketing and Communications for The National Trust in Northern Ireland.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governance Board
- Senior Officer in the HR Department at Queen 's University Belfast
Tony Earley is a Senior Officer in the HR department at Queen's University Belfast. He has over thirty years experience as a personnel practitioner and is a chartered member of the Institute of Personnel and Development. Tony is also a board member of Employers for Disability Northern Ireland.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Director of Care Services
Ursula Ferguson is our Director of Care Services. She joined the organisation in May 2022. Her career started in Health and Social Care over 30 years ago as a care worker within a residential setting for the elderly. Having then spent several years as the registered manager for a residential home she then went on to study at Queens University Belfast and practised as a person centered counsellor. Ursula has developed specialised counselling services for blind and partially sighted people in Northern Ireland and more recently for stroke survivors and their carers. Ursula has held various senior management roles requiring her to work across and with statutory, community, primary care and 3rd sector providers to deliver programmes and services for beneficiaries across the province. Ursula has managed a number of large multi-disciplinary teams and has a particular interest in service development. Recently Ursula completed a four-year term as a Trustee for a medium sized charity.