Meet the members of the Commission’s new stakeholder engagement forum

A new forum aimed at supporting and improving communications on issues around charity law, regulation and trends has been launched by Northern Ireland’s charity regulator.

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s new stakeholder engagement forum held its first meeting last month, with a 14 strong membership drawn from across the charity sector.

Under its terms of reference, the forum membership aims to represent a balanced cross section of the sector in terms of size, income, location and beneficiaries. It will meet four times a year with members serving a three year term.

The members are:

• Charlene Brooks, Chief Executive, Parenting NI and Deputy Chair, NICVA’s executive committee (independent chair of the forum)
• Jayne Thompson, Head of Northern Ireland, Parentkind
• Derek Powell, Finance Officer, Causeway Rural and Urban Network
• Andrea Brown, Chief executive, Disability action NI
• Louse Little, Manager, North Down Community Network
• Ashleigh Roberts, Community Development Director, East Belfast Community Development Agency
• Mary T Conway, Network Manager, Omagh Forum for Rural Associations
• Cara McCann, Director, HERe NI
• Denise Copeland, Governance and Charity Advice Manager, NICVA
• Catherine Cooke, Co-ordinator, Foyle Women’s Information Network
• George Gillespie, Manager, Volunteer Now
• Diarmuid Moore, Senior Community Development Specialist, Early Years
• Conor Flanagan, Head of Community Development, Supporting Communities

• Bill Megraw , Director, County Down Rural Community Network

Deputy Chief Charity Commissioner, Gerard McCurdy, will act as the main link between the forum and the Board of Charity Commissioners.