Anne was appointed and took up her role as Chair of the Commission in January 2014. Anne qualified as a chartered accountant in 1988. She worked for the accountancy firms KPMG and BDO Stoy Hayward in Belfast. During her three years in the international audit division of Time Warner Inc., she was based in New York and London and travelled extensively within the USA and across Europe.
Anne has held a number of public appointments including as vice-chair, and briefly chair, of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. She is a former board member of the International Fund for Ireland and the Enterprise Equity companies. She is a former director of the Nomadic Trading Company and a member of the audit committee of Queen’s University.
Sarah was appointed to the Commission in January 2014. Sarah is a qualified and experienced solicitor and legal adviser. After a career in private practice she now specialises in judicial decision making and regulation. She is currently Certification Officer of Northern Ireland, a quasi-judicial and regulatory role in the field of industrial relations.
Sarah has a particular expertise in government and public policy in Northern Ireland and was awarded a professional certificate in Policy Development from the Irish Institute of Boston College and also holds a professional certificate in Regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Sarah has held a number of other positions in public office, judicial decision-making, formal arbitration proceedings and regulatory affairs. She played a significant role in the review of administrative electoral boundaries in Northern Ireland, having previously served as an Assistant Local Government Boundaries Commissioner, Assistant District Electoral Areas Commissioner and currently as Parliamentary Boundary Commissioner for Northern Ireland.
Colin was appointed to the Commission in January 2014. Colin is Chief Executive of 'Jordan's Gift' (a NI Charity assisting young people living with disability). Prior to taking up his current position he has been Chief Executive of the Mary Peters Trust and Chief Executive of Lenken Healthcare (Ireland) Ltd. He also spent 14 years in the finance industry.
Colin is currently a member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Northern Ireland; a member of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (Fitness to Practice); a member of the Scrutiny Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland and a Director of the Northern Ireland Football League. He served as Chairman of the General Dental Council Complaints Panel from 2006 to 2009 and as Northern Ireland representative on the NHS Pay Review Board from 2013 to 2015.
Paul was appointed to the Commission in January 2018. Paul is the founder / director of Imagined Spaces, a company exploring creative community relations. A former Centre Director of Corrymeela (2009-14), Paul has a background in mental health, advocacy, mediation and the Arts. He worked for 12 years with NI Association for Mental Health, as a manager, advocate, practitioner / therapist, researcher. He was Associate Lecturer at the University of Ulster from 1999-2002, teaching Advocacy and Empowerment skills. He was a Neighbourhood Renewal Advisor in North West England for 5 years, and worked for 7 years in community cohesion projects in Oldham, Burnley and Blackburn.
Paul also has a background in various artistic fields as a documentary film-maker, writer and photographer. Paul is currently Visiting Professor at Dalhousie School of Law, Nova Scotia. His latest film is the choices we made- Bystanding and Conflict in Northern Ireland (2016).
Anne was appointed to the Commission in April 2015. Anne is a qualified solicitor with over 17 years’ experience and a Deputy District Judge (Criminal, Youth and Family Courts). She was a prosecutor with the Public Prosecution Service from 2012 – 2013 and senior Solicitor at the Children’s Law Centre during 2010.
Anne currently sits as a legally qualified Chair on the Exceptional Circumstances Body, a presiding member of the Civil Legal Services Appeals Panel and a Chair of the Police Appeals Tribunal. She is also on the Board of Governors of a local primary school.
Geraldine was appointed to the Commission in February 2016. Geraldine stood down as Chief Executive of Larne Borough Council on 1 April 2015 when the new Northern Ireland district councils were formed. During her time as Chief Executive she was SOLACE’s gender champion promoting women in local government, a representative on the Good Relations Panel reporting to the Office of the First and Deputy First Ministers and an appointee of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to the Northern Zone Steering Committee for the Social Investment Fund .
Previously, Geraldine was a Building Control Surveyor in Belfast City Council (1993-2001) and Grants Officer with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (1983-1989). She received an OBE for services to local government in the New Year Honours list for 2015.
Geraldine currently holds an appointment as an Equality Commissioner for Northern Ireland and is a mentor to the Woman’s Leadership Initiative.
Joelle was appointed to the Commission in May 2018. Joelle is a Barrister-at-law and has been a Public Prosecutor with the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland since 2008. During this period, Joelle was seconded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to EULEX Kosovo as a Special Prosecutor.