The Board
Deirdre has worked in the not-for-profit sector since 2015 with multiple NGOs primarily in project implementation and management, youth advocacy, development education and philanthropy funding. She has held roles in project and funding management and on the operational side of NGOs reporting to the board on financial and governance matters. She is no stranger to collaborating with international partners on projects across Europe, Vietnam and Tanzania. Currently Deirdre works for a consulting company that works with government ministries and agencies overseas supporting them with their strategic plans. Deirdre has a degree in Business & Management and a Masters in Environmental Management. Originally from Mayo, she lives in Dublin but enjoys getting out of the city!.
Deirdre Gavin
Joe Murray
Joe Murray has been Director of Afri since 1994. In this capacity he is responsible for all elements of Afri´s work including Financial management, staff, corporate governance and project coordination. He has been a key organiser of the annual Doolough Famine Walk, Féile Bríde, Food Sovereignty Assemblies as well as various other innovative campaigns. Afri´s areas of concern include the impact of war and militarisation, climate change and forced migration. and promotes Food and Seed sovereignty as critical elements in responding to hunger and food insecurity.
He grew up on a small “self-sufficient” farm in Country Longford. He recently discovered his grandfather emigrated to New York Sheskin, Country Monaghan in 1905.
Sive lives in lovely Leitrim. She is a trainer in the field of global education with a background (way back) in theatre and (more recently) in human rights and development. During the 2000s she lived in Southern Africa (Rwanda, Mozambique and South Africa) and completed studies in adult education in Cape Town before returning to Ireland in 2012. Since her return home she has been active in a range of spaces, all of which have proved so formative – teaching and research work in gender studies, anti-racism movements and global education. Over the past couple of years Sive has been revisiting theatre as an education tool and is developing a practice in all things decolonial. Guided by the work of others, she is interested in the interface of historic and ongoing injustices and unsustainability and cultivating, with others, new ways of knowing and relating
Sive Breshnan
Dr Sarah Hofmayer
Sarah Hofmayer has a PhD in Human Rights and is working in grant making. She is currently working as Funder Liaison and Design Coordinator at Pobal. Previously, until December 2023, she was the Head of Social Enterprise at Rethink Ireland, where she supported social enterprises across the country and from start-up all the way to national scale with funding, strategy and capacity building offerings.Her PhD research looked at how social enterprises can realise inclusive employment in accordance with international human rights standards.
Originally from Austria and from a legal background, Sarah has lived experience of diversity and socio-economic disadvantage. Her passion lies in combating inequalities and contributing to a just and inclusive society by influencing policy and contributing to strategy.
Paula, who is originally from Enniskillen, has worked the environmental and community sectors across the island of Ireland. Having completed her MSc in Sustainable Development, she worked for several years on cross border projects and with a particular focus on supporting activists to undertake community environmental and social projects. This interest culminated in her PhD in 2023. She lives in Donegal with her husband Jim, 2 dogs and 2 equines, Ruby and Reggie, who have been enlisted as grazers for Craobh Dubh Regenerative project in Derryveagh
Paula Flannigan
Brigid Brew
Sam is Founder of ConsortiaCo with 14 years of experience in sustainable business development, organisational strategy, training and development initiatives for public and private sectors. He brings a blend of technical expertise with the latest innovative methods for modern day business through a thorough understanding of the EU Single Market dynamics for cross border collaboration, cooperative business models and clustering. As Director of ConsortiaCo & SDG Hub and Strategic Advisor to Social Enterprise International, Sam has managed Horizon and Erasmus+ consortia across partners in Ireland, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Croatia. This includes Green Deal Sustainable Solutions, Youth Participation, Smart Communities and Regenerative Modelling fo
Sam works with the European Commission’s Directorate General of Research and Innovation as part of policy development in Knowledge Valorisation and the Industry 5.0 Community of Practice, transnational programmes with participants from industry, academia and public sector coming together to solve social challenges and drive innovation through co-creative practice towards the development of the Social & Solidarity Economy (SSE).
Sam Marchetti
Helen Henderson
Having spent most of her working life in the third sector, Helen has a background in global education, community development and peace building. Recently Helen managed a community centre based in Derry, St Columb’s Park House, developing programmes promoting non-violent activism, participative democracy and compassionate leadership. Previously Helen coordinated the Development Education work of an international NGO, Children in Crossfire, training teachers and youth workers in global justice and active citizenship.
She completed a Master’s degree at University of Edinburgh in Business Studies and Psychology and seven years later completed a Masters in Education for Contemporary Society with the UU. It was through the support of the ‘Women into Public Life’ initiative that Helen secured a Board appointment with the Northern Ireland Fisheries and Harbours Authority where she finishes her term in December 2020. Helen’s voluntary work over the last decade has included chairing a local campaign group to raise awareness of modern-day slavery and as an active committee member of a local community association. In her spare time she loves cold water swimming around the North coast and dabbling in a bit of poetry.
Helen was appointed a Human Rights Commissioner in August 2020 and reappointed in for a further term in August 2023
Deirdre has been involved in global justice work for more than 10 years in education and awareness-raising roles. She completed a Masters in Economics for Transition, which explored alternatives to the current destructive economic system. She is interested in the role that community-based groups can play in creating local solutions for some of our biggest global problems.
Deirdre Kelly
Operations Team
Gareth Conlon- Director
Gareth has worked in development education for over 10 years; in different organisations including Comhlámh, Development Perspective and ECO-UNESCO. This led him to discover and learn about Permaculture which he has developed a strong passion for. He is very interested in how permaculture; development education and spirituality meet.
Conan is a South Monaghan native. His early years loose on the land progressed into saving grass, herding cattle and spreading 18:6:12 as a teenager. His love of the outdoors and wilderness brought him to start a military career and progress to leading outdoor adventure activities. Later whilst studying for his degrees in Civil Engineering, where he focused on natural & environmental processes, he became aware of the widespread mismanagement and exploitation of the natural environment.
He has since worked tirelessly to raise the awareness of others about environmental issues while also upskilling himself to undertake ecosystem restoration.
Conan Connolly
Karen is a self-employed yoga instructor who also works as a freelance facilitator and consultant in the charity sector. She has a strong passion for human rights and peacebuilding and worked for almost five years in Latin America in conflict and post- conflict settings. On return to Ireland in 2014, she established the Irish branch of the international human rights organisation Peace Brigades International. The experience of establishing a not for profit organization in Ireland has allowed her to develop a variety of skills related to company and charity governance. As a yoga instructor, she has experience in promoting courses and retreats, managing payments and keeping transparent accounts in her freelance work.
