Senior Management Our Senior Management Team have a wealth of experience and ensure that the charity's mission, vision and and strategic objectives are met. Expand Kevin Doherty, Chief Executive Kevin has broad management experience in the private and public sectors over the past 20 years and has extensive consultancy experience. He also has extensive Strategic Planning experience within Government structures at UK level. Kevin has extensive international experience working in all areas of disability and is currently an associate expert with the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Kevin has represented Disability Action on a number of occasions at the UN in New York and in Washington DC. Dermot McCluskey, Deputy Chief Executive Dermot is a Qualified Chartered Accountant who joined the organisation in 2001. Prior to this he had 13 years experience in the commercial sector in Northern Ireland and England in the areas of auditing, venture capital and the provision of financial consultancy services.In his role as Deputy CEO, Dermot is responsible for the strategic financial management of the organisation including the corporate facilities of HR, Finance, IT and Transport Services. Karen Hall, Assistant Director (Policy & External Relations) Karen has been with Disability Action for 15 years and has responsibility for External Relations and Policy functions of the organisation. A Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Karen has a keen interest in Social Marketing and using communication tools to engage stakeholders on a wide range of issues.Karen has responsibility for Disability Actions information and policy team and has experience in developing key areas of policy. Karen worked with OFMDFM in the development of the Disability Strategy and has been involved in a wide range of policy areas including Digital Inclusion and Engagement. She has led on the development of the UNCRPD Alternative Report in Northern Ireland for the past number of years and most recently worked with DPO’s in Northern Ireland to provide evidence to the CRPD Committee in Geneva. Orla McCann, Assistant Director (Access, Transport & Planning) Orla provides strategic management to the Access and Housing Unit, the Mobility Centre and the Disability Action Transport Scheme (DATS). With 20 years professional experience in the field of Design for All, including domestic, public buildings, industrial, retail, cultural, historical buildings and landscape design, Orla has working knowledge of Building Regulations, British Standards, Planning Policy, Transport Policy, Equality and Disability Discrimination legislation. Orla Participates in various sectoral partnerships including the Equality Commission’s Built Environment Advisory Forum established to advise the Commission on the impact of the Disability Discrimination Act, and is a member of the Working Group established to write the Code of Practice for the 2004 provisions of the DDA in Northern Ireland. Kieran Teague, Assistant Director (HR & Governance) Kieran obtained his honours degree in Economics from Queens University Belfast in 1989. He graduated in personnel management in 1994 and is currently a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. He has worked in the community and voluntary sector for over 25 years, initially working for a small local community group engaged in delivering a government based job creation scheme. He worked in a similar role for the Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureau from 1991 before taking up the position of Personnel Officer with Disability Action in 1997. Now as Assistant Director (HR & Governance) he is responsible for ensuring the provision of all internal human resources services of Disability Action. Laura McCartney, Assistant Director (Employment & Training) Laura has ten years’ experience of supporting people with disabilities to resolve employment issues and nearly twenty years’ experience of policy and strategic development in the fields of employment and equality. She has responsibility for the five services within the unit – Job Match, Employment Support, Workable NI, Training Support and Employment Advocacy. All five services focus on supporting disabled people to achieve employment equality, addressing the barriers and collectively supporting over 900 people with disabilities in work and training. All interventions are benchmarked against the rights bases ethos of Disability Action.
Board of Directors Disability Action’s Board of Directors is responsible for the strategic governance of the organisation. Expand Leonard Sproule (Chair) Leonard took early retirement from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive after 37 years service. He obtained corporate membership of the Chartered Institute of Housing and completed a number of management development programmes including Common Purpose.As Chairman of Disability Action’s Board Leonard hopes to use his housing management experience to focus on the needs of people with disabilities. Leonard has a particular interest in user involvement and strengthening the quality of service provision to the disability sector. Gerry Maguire M.B.E. (Vice-Chair) Gerry works for the Western Health & Social Care Trust in administration. He also works part time for the Appeals Service N.I.C.S. He sits on the Advisory Panel for Disability for the Fermanagh / Omagh District Council; is a member of the Advisory Panel for Day Care in the Western Trust: a member of the Local Housing Executive Scrutiny Panel; a member of the Regional Disability Housing for NIHE; and a member of the local Museum Advisory Panel. He was awarded a M.B.E in 2005 for services to Disability in Northern Ireland. Tom Alexander (Treasurer) Tom qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1984. Tom is a Chartered Tax Advisor, an Associate of Institute of Indirect Taxation and is past chairman of Northern Ireland VAT Practitioners Group. He has always worked in the accounting profession, specialising in taxation for the last 28 years, and is a tax partner in KPMG. Tom has also accumulated considerable commercial experience through his career. Patricia Bray Patricia is the co-founder of the North West Forum of People with Disabilities in 1994 and is currently Chairperson of the Management Committee. The Forum is a human rights organisation and is 100% led by disabled people. Patricia has been involved in the human rights movement for over 30 years. During this period she worked with Disability Action as Statutory Duty and Policy Officer - working to ensure that the public sector equality duties under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Disability Discrimination Order 2007 were implemented. Patricia continues through North West Forum of People with Disabilities, various fora and committees to promote the human rights and voice of disabled people in all aspects of political, economic and social life in Northern Ireland. John Carberry M.B.E. John is a Deaf Awareness and Sign Language Trainer working in the sector for more than thirty years. John works in a freelance capacity for many clients throughout Northern Ireland and on the Sign Language Project in conjunction with the University of Ulster. Previously John worked for 23 years for Action on Hearing Loss (RNID) and a national body for communication skills with Deaf people. John has served as a committee member on the following organisations: The National Deaf Children's Society (NI), Northern Ireland Disability Council (forerunner of the Equality Commission) and the Ulster Television Regional Advisory Group. John has been a long-serving member of the Board of Trustees and Governors of Jordanstown School for Deaf and Visually Impaired Children. John Coghlan John is a founder member and Chairperson of Disability Aid Abroad, a voluntary Northern Ireland charity formed to help people with disabilities in developing countries, running projects for disabled people in Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Nepal. During his career as a professional photo-journalist covering wars and civil conflicts, he has witnessed at first hand the appalling plight of people with disabilities, producing television news items on the effect that war has on civilian populations in particular on landmine victims in Angola and Cambodia. As a result he has a passionate interest in promoting the rights of disabled people globally, particularly in utilising the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability. Irene (Rene) Fulton Since retiring from the Civil service Rene has volunteered for several bodies, including Newtownabbey Council and the Citizens Advice Bureau. She is also a member of Newtownabbey Senior Citizens Forum where she helped set up a Writers Group for over 50 yr olds which is going from strength to strength. More recently Rene became a Peer Advocate for older people through the Age No Barrier project run by Disability Action, which aims to help older disabled people get the benefits they are entitled to and helps them hone their I.T. Skills as required. Rene feels as a member of the disabled older community she is able to identify this need. Ursula Marshall Ursula is currently Chair of Mid-Ulster Disability Forum. She has a background in community activism over a 20 year period providing her with a broad, comprehensive understanding of social issues, particularly in relation to disability. She champions disability through a range of organisations that she is involved with such as; NIHE Housing Community Network, NIHE Disability Forum, Town Centre For a (Cookstown and Magherfelt), Womens Aid (both local and regional), Mid Ulster Child Contact Centre, CYCSP Locality Group, Shopmobility Independent Member of Mid Ulster PCSP (dealing with policing and community safety). Drennan McBride Drennan took early retirement from Belfast City Council and turned back to his first love, the community and social economy sphere as a volunteer and director. His wide interests though confined to North and West Belfast have latterly included: Executive Chair of Argyle Business Centre, facilitating employment of 420+ people and economic regeneration in the Shankill area of Belfast; Chair of Governors of Hazelwood Integrated Primary and Nursery School in North Belfast, full to capacity with 460 happy pupils; Board Member of Paisley Park Sportsplex working to redevelop a multi-use sports ground for community use in West Belfast. His interest and support for ‘Disability’ stems from contracting Polio in 1957. William (Bill) Riddall After 30 years as a manager in the Lloyds Bank Group, Bill retired home to NI. An Economics graduate of Exeter University, Bill also has several professional and postgraduate qualifications. He was involved in UK disability rights campaigns and held was a board member of a number of UK charities in the arts and disability. He is now the Treasurer of Centre for Independent Living NI. As a tetraplegic wheelchair user, he is committed to the integration of disabled people into all aspects of political and social life in Northern Ireland; promoting independent living; and improving arts access.