Dermot McCarthy retired as Secretary General to the Government and Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach in July 2011 having served since January 2000. A graduate in economics from Trinity College Dublin, he served in the Departments of Industry and Commerce and Health, and as Director of the National Economic and Social Council from 1990 to 19993, when he joined the Department of the Taoiseach.

Since retirement, he has served on the boards of a number of voluntary bodies and is currently Chair of St Francis Hospice, St Andrew’s Resource Centre and the Irish School of Ecumenics Trust.

He was Chair of the Audit Committees of Trinity College Dublin and of St Patrick’s College (prior to its incorporation into Dublin City University). He chaired the Board Review Working Group in TCD and served as a member of the President’s Advisory Board in University College Dublin.

Dr. Fiona C. Killard-Lynch is an accomplished professional in the higher education sector. She presently holds the role of Chief Scientific Officer and Director of Research & Innovation at the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT). In her capacity as Director of Research and Innovation, Dr. Killard-Lynch plays a crucial role in steering the future course of NIBRT, driving innovation, and spearheading impactful biopharma manufacturing research in line with the institute’s mission. Prior to joining NIBRT, Fiona was the Head of Strategic Research Development and Director of the Office of the Dean of Research at Trinity College Dublin. In this key leadership role, Fiona managed the team in the Office of the Dean of Research, provided valuable guidance to the Dean of Research and drove the development and implementation of Trinity’s research strategies and policies. She collaborated with external agencies such as the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS), the Irish Universities Association (IUA) and the League of European Research Universities (LERU) ensuring the University’s active involvement in external policy development.

With over two decades of experience in the higher education sector, Fiona has worked in various HEIs across France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Her educational background comprises a B.Sc. (Honours) in Analytical Science and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry. She has also held postdoctoral positions at the SFI-Funded Biomedical Diagnostics Institute. Prior to joining Trinity College, Fiona worked at the University of Bristol, where she successfully established and managed the Bristol Doctoral College (BDC) and was an invited member of the UK Council for Graduate Education. Her expertise in securing European Union funding and her role as a Framework expert across multiple programs further highlights her commitment to research development and innovation.

Throughout her professional career, Fiona has been instrumental in shaping and executing innovative research policies and strategies. Her dedication to advancing research excellence and her comprehensive understanding of the higher education landscape have established her as a respected leader in the field.

Lianne Patterson is a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland and an accountancy graduate from the University of Kent, England. She has worked in leadership roles across both the private and public sector in Northern Ireland for much of her career. Lianne joined the Northern Ireland Civil Service in 2005 and since then her roles have included Deputy Permanent Secretary within the Department of Education, Director of Justice Delivery in the Department of Justice, and Senior Finance Director in the Department for Regional Development.

Prior to joining the Civil Service Lianne led organisational strategy and operations teams within Deloitte and was an audit manager in Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Her areas of expertise include financial management, strategy development, corporate governance, human resource management and mentoring.

Lianne currently serves as a Non-Executive director of the Housing Finance Agency in Ireland and is Chair of its Audit Committee, is a Board member of the Health and Care Professions Council UK, and is an Audit Committee member of the Institute of Cancer Research, London.

Chris Clifford is President of the Union of Students in Ireland for the academic year 2023-2024. Chris graduated with a B.Sc. in Health and Leisure with Athletic Performance in 2020 and went on to spend three years working in ITT/MTUKSU. He served one term as Education Officer and two terms as President. Chris is primarily focused on increasing engagement between students and USI, and between students and their local Students’ Unions. Chris believes this is the key foundation on which USI will achieve its mission. Chris plans to advocate for a radical overhaul of the higher education system into one that has the needs and development of students as its main priority.

Professor Emeritus Mark Rogers was Deputy President, Registrar and Vice President for Academic Affairs in University College Dublin from 2011 to 2022.  He become Acting President of UCD in 2022 and retired in 2023.  He holds a BA in Science from the University of Dublin (Trinity College) and a PhD in Genetics from the University of Glasgow.

Following 4 years as a Post Doctoral Fellow in the University of California, San Franciso Department of Neurology, he joined the faculty at UCD where he took on teaching, research and management duties giving him an in-depth knowledge of higher education in Ireland and abroad.  He was Head of Department and Dean of Science before becoming Deputy President and Registrar.  He coordinated several large EU research awards involving partners across Europe.

He is an internationally recognised researcher in prion diseases including the development and licencing of a European approved rapid diagnostic test for BSE.  He was awarded the Nova UCD award for innovation in 2004 and the Knowledge Transfer Ireland Licence2Market Impact Award in 2015.

He served on the Governing Authority of UCD, and the Senate of the National University of Ireland.  He has been non-executive member on a number of other Boards including the Central Applications Office (CAO), English Language Academy, National Academy of Art and Design and the Postgraduate Applications Centre (PAC).

Paula Fyans is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin (Pharmacy) and University College Dublin Smurfit Business School (1^st class hons). She is a qualified pharmacist with almost 20 years of experience in the Pharma industry at senior European level across a number of roles, including Strategy, Medical Education and Scientific Publications. She has high-level expertise in a number of medical specialties, in which she has collaborated with international thought leaders to advance the knowledge of health care professionals.

Paula lectured pharmaceutics in Malawi and spent four years at Imperial College London, where she successfully established and managed a commercial clinical trials unit, leveraging the expertise of academic clinicians in commercial collaborations.

She holds a diploma in Corporate Governance (Distinction) and is a member of the Institute of Directors. She is also a consultant on Gender Equality and Women in Leadership and the author of a book which identified a new concept in Equality, based on qualitative and quantitative global research.

She currently works with universities, Governments and organisations around the world keen to better understand mental load and gender equality in addition to recruiting/retaining key talent.

She is also active at local and national level in initiatives focused on environmental sustainability and meeting climate change targets.

Dr Rory O’Sullivan is an Adjunct Professor in the FET Research Centre and School of Policy and Practice in Dublin City University.  Having spent his entire career in FET in Ireland, he retired as Principal of Cathal Brugha College of Further Education (formerly Killester and Marino College of Further Education) after 22 years in January 2023.  He was the Chair of the FET Colleges Ireland, and member of the National Executive of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals.  He has been involved in several international projects in the field of inclusive FET.  In 2013, he was invited to speak at the European Parliament on the work being done in Killester College on inclusive further education.  He was a member of the FETAC Council (2007-12), the National Council for Special Education (2007-10), and the Board of AHEAD (2016-2021).  He is currently a member of the QQI Appeals Panel, and the Creating Pathways Advisory Group in SOLAS.  He represented City of Dublin ETB on the Dublin Regional Skills Forum (2016-2022) and Dublin Chamber.  In 2018, Rory was conferred with a PhD in FET Policy from Trinity College, Dublin.  He was a member of the Adjunct Faculty of the School of Education in the University of Limerick (2018-2022).

Dr Rosemary Day is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Media and Communication Studies in Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick.

She was appointed to the HEA in November 2023 and comes to the board with nearly 30 years of experience as a senior lecturer and manager in third level education.

Rosemary was a member of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) for two terms where she served on both statutory committees – the Compliance Committee and the Contracts Awards Committee. She is a member of the Advocacy Group for Craol, the Community Radio Forum of Ireland and a former Council member of AMARC-Europe (The World Association of Community Broadcasters). She was a founder of Raidió na Life, in Dublin  and of Wired Fm., in Limerick.  She was the founder of the Radio and Sound Section of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) and was its first chair. She is the Co-ordinating Director of the national  Audio Research Centre (ARC).

Rosemary is the Irish partner in a €3,000,000 HORIZON funded project that is researching the role of media in democracy. The project will set out future-proof pathways to strengthen democracy through improving accountability, transparency, and the effectiveness of media production in expanding active and inclusive citizenship.

Her other research interests include radio; community media, minority media and minority language media.  Much of her research deals with EDII issues and she is a lifelong activist in the fields of Irish language promotion; gender equality and community development.

Anne Scott is Professor Emerita University of Galway and former Chair of the HEAnet Board of Directors and the CervicalCheck Steering Committee.  Anne is an RGN and holds a BA in Philosophy and Psychology from Trinity College, Dublin, MSc from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Glasgow. She has worked as a clinician and academic in Ireland, Scotland, Kenya and England. Over her career she has held a variety of leadership roles in universities including Head of School, Executive Dean,  Vice President for Equality and Diversity (NUI Galway 2016 – 2021), Deputy President and Registrar (Dublin City University (DCU) 2006-2012) in both Irish and English university sectors.

Anne was appointed to NUI Galway (now University of Galway) in June 2016 as the University’s first Vice President for Equality and Diversity, and retired from the University in 2021. During her term as Vice President for Equality and Diversity Anne established the Office of the Vice President for Equality and Diversity (OVPED) and steered the development of the EDI governance infrastructure in University of Galway. She led the development and mainstreaming a number of EDI initiatives across the University focused on gender equality. This included the complete reform of the composition of Academic Council, the acquisition of the first and second Athena SWAN institutional award for University of Galway and the development and implementation of two gender equality action plans and the first EDI strategy (2020-2025) for the University.

Anne’s research interests include the philosophy and ethics of health care, judgement and decision-making in clinical practice, and health services research – focusing on the health work force. She was the Irish lead on the EU funded RN4Cast Nursing Workforce Research Programme and has served as a member of the DoH Task Force on Safe Nurse Staffing and Skills Mix. She has contributed to the development of the Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill-mix in the HSE – Medical, Surgical and A&E.

Currently the Director of Regulation and Registrar of Solicitors at the Law Society of Ireland, Niall leads a multi-disciplinary team responsible for ensuring the Law Society meets its statutory functions. He previously served in senior leadership roles in the Irish Aviation Authority & the Defence Forces, including periods overseas as a United Nations Peacekeeper, and has significant experience leading, managing and problem solving at all levels in a complex, dynamic & operationally focused environment. He also holds an Airline Transport Pilot License and has held type-rating instructor (TRI) and type-rating examiner (TRE) ratings on a number of aircraft types.

From a broader education perspective, Niall is a Doctoral graduate of the University of Nottingham, holds BSc and MA degrees in leadership disciplines and a post-graduate diploma in Aviation Leasing and Finance from the Law Society of Ireland. He has also completed the ‘Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme’ at the University of Oxford Saïd Business School, the ‘Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies’ programme at the Harvard Kennedy School, the ‘Managing Organisational Risk’ programme at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) and the NTSB’s Air Accident Investigators programme at George Washington University in Washington DC.

Niall has also served as a member of validation panels for undergraduate and post-graduate programmes in a number of third level institutions and on the Defence Forces Academic Council. Since 2015, Niall has lectured on an MSc degree programme in the Dublin City University (DCU) Business School and also lectures both at home and abroad on Risk Management, Human Factors & Safety Management Systems.

Nessa McEniff is the Centre Director at Learnovate, an Enterprise Ireland & IDA funded Technology Research Centre, hosted in Trinity College Dublin, with a research remit covering the future of work & learning. She leads the team to undertake industry-led research across the areas of primary education, post-primary education, 3^rd level and corporate learning. Nessa has 25 years’ experience in EdTech, innovation, technology and strategy, and recently completed her Chartered Director course with the Institute of Directors.

Nessa has a long career in learning technology, most recently working as COO for Story Toys where she was responsible global operations including product development, marketing, legal and HR. She worked hand-in-hand with the CEO, CFO and CPO in the execution of strategy, business planning and operations before the company was acquired by Team17.

She also serves on the Board of IRDG (Industry Research and Development Group) and is a member of NALA’s (National Adult Literacy Association) Audit, Risk & Finance committee.