Our People

Kirsten joined Simon Community Northern Ireland in January 2020 as the Director of Homelessness Services. With a BSc Hons in Psychology and an MPhil in Health Sciences Kirsten’s previous roles have afforded opportunities for her to work in the voluntary and public sector, within Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and London. Kirsten has focussed on project management, particularly in relation to large scale change projects, improved service delivery and the development of new services across previous roles she has held.

Kirsten’s commitment to working with people who are experiencing homelessness continues to be a drive and focus for her and the opportunity to work towards ending homelessness in Northern Ireland with Simon Community Northern Ireland is a privilege for her.

Harriett brings a wealth of experience to her role at Simon Community, having previously served as the Director of Fundraising and Communications at Shelter Box, the Head of Fundraising and Communications at Tiny Tickers, and as a Regional Fundraising Manager at Oxfam. Her impressive career path has equipped her with the skills and knowledge needed to drive growth and engagement for our organization. With her background in fundraising and communications, combined with her passion for making a difference, Harriett was the ideal candidate to lead Simon Community NI's growth and engagement efforts.

Áine was appointed as Director of Finance and Business Support in January 2020. Joining the Simon Community NI from Tourism NI, Áine held various Finance roles over the past seven years. Prior to this, Áine trained to be a Chartered Accountant with Goldblatt McGuigan in Belfast where she gained a variety of experience working with organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Áine is a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Andrea joined the Simon Community NI as the Director of HR & OD in June 2021. For almost 25 years prior to this Andrea held several senior roles within the Local Government Sector leading HR, OD, Communications, Equality & Diversity and Customer Service Teams across several Councils in Northern Ireland.

Andrea holds a BA in Business Studies and a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management. She is also a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and is an accredited CEDR Mediator.

Joe is currently the Chief Executive at Belfast Harbour. Joe joined Belfast Harbour in 1997, holding a number of roles including Commercial Manager and Port Manager as well as Commercial Director until his appointment as CEO in 2018. Prior to joining the Port, Joe held positions with Undus Ltd and Cantrell and Cochrane Ltd. Joe has been a Board member of Simon Community since 2015 and was appointed Chairman of the Board in 2022.

Colm is an experienced Chief Executive of 15 years with a successful career in health and social care services. Colm’s most recent role was Chief Executive of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. He has previously been Chief Executive of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, the Northern Health and Social Care Trust and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust. In 2005, Colm lead the development of a suicide prevention strategy for Northern Ireland. Colm joined the Board of Directors in November 2017 and is a member of the Quality Assurance and Improvement Committee.

Mark is a Chartered Valuation Surveyor with 16 years’ experience in the local property sector. In 2014, Mark established a niche Property Consultancy providing advisory services to the healthcare sector, with a focus on the Care Home Market. Mark has a wealth of experience in sales, acquisitions, valuations, development consultancy and providing strategic advice for a range of corporate, national, local and Not-for-Profit clients. Mark joined the Board of Directors in November 2017 and is a member of the Strategy and Sustainability Committee.

Amanda is a Business writer and Lecturer for the Open University and University of Essex modules on Employee Engagement and Leadership in the MBA, and Human Resources Management Masters degrees. She has written various business and HR articles, including a book, Leadership after Covid, an Amazon Best Seller. Amanda has 20 years’ prior senior level experience as a Global HR Director, most recently with Invest NI and previously with Terex and United Drug working in UK, Europe, US, and Asia.

Ann McGregor is CEO of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

She is a BA Honours Graduate of Queen’s University, holds a MA Marketing from Ulster University and a Certificate in Corporate Governance from INSEAD. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a member of the Institute of Directors.

Ann was formerly Chief Executive of Enterprise NI and a director with Business in the Community. She commenced her career in the private sector working in production/materials management with Roche Manufacturing, Schering Plough and Bird’s General Foods before moving into local economic development.

Ann is a council member of Dublin Chamber of Commerce and a member of British Chambers of Commerce National Accreditation Committee. She is currently the Deputy Chair of the Grand Opera House, a member of the Senate at Queen’s University, Belfast and a Director of the NOW Group.

Ann has considerable experience on government task forces in areas such as the economy, export and trade, access to finance, health and town centre recovery. Current involvements include - a member of the Belfast Innovation and Growth Commission; a member of the High Street Ministerial Taskforce and the Transformation Advisory Board, which has been re-established to advise the Minister of Health on his work to transform health and social care services.

Darwin Templeton is Head of Communications in the Northern Ireland Office, having spent more than 30 years as a journalist in various media outlets in Northern Ireland, including UTV, BBC, the Belfast Telegraph and the News Letter.

Ciarán is a qualified solicitor with over 20 years’ experience in the legal profession in Northern Ireland and beyond. He is General Counsel for a large group of companies headquartered in Northern Ireland and operating throughout the UK and Ireland, whose primary areas of business are construction; asset management; and property and project investment, and he advises on issues of legal, contractual, compliance and operational risk. Ciarán joined the Board of Directors in November 2023.

Duncan McAllister is a highly motivated and dynamic Head of Programme Lead, Board Member, SRO, Civil Engineer, and Chartered Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Ireland. he has led and delivered successful complex and large-scale programmes and projects in public and private sector roles over the last 25 years in Asia, Ireland, and United Kingdom.