Who's who
Our Board of Directors
Click here to view our Board of DirectorsOur Staff
Chief Executive Officer
David’s background was originally in business. After studying for a Commerce degree in NUIG he worked in a variety of roles including that of Marketing Executive at The Shelbourne Hotel.
A keen traveller, David took in a round the world trip which led to a Masters in Development Studies in UCD. He then worked in IT before commencing work for the humanitarian agency GOAL in Ethiopia where he met his wife, Rahel. On his return to Ireland he became HR Manager for GOAL’s worldwide operations. He took over as CEO of Plan Ireland in July 2007 and is also on Plan International’s Global Leadership Team.
David is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Personnel and Development and serves on the board of Dóchas, the Irish association of non-governmental development organisations.
Originally from Limerick, married with four children, David is an avid Munster rugby fan but can also be found in Naomh Olaf GAA club and Lakelands FC coaching the Under 8 teams.
Programme Manager
Patrick Austin
Paddy Austin joined Plan in February 2013. Paddy has a strong background in overseas programme management of relief and development programmes across the sectors of health, education and livelihoods.
Originally from London of Irish / Italian parents, Paddy moved to Ireland eighteen years ago following over ten years work in Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia and the Former Yugoslavia. Since coming to Ireland Paddy worked initially within the community development sector in Sligo and Roscommon before specialising as a community development consultant on disability issues. Over the last five years Paddy returned to work in the overseas development sector establishing, developing and managing large scale disability programmes across southern Africa.
Paddy is married to Eithne from Limerick who he met in Bangladesh and has four children in college and school. In his spare time Paddy loves running, playing soccer, mountaineering, reading and making things.
Financial Controller
Donal Maher
Nenagh native, Donal, is one of the more experienced Plan Ireland staff, joining the organisation in 2006.
Prior to Plan, Donal spent several years in an accountancy firm in Edinburgh before deciding to make the jump back across the pond. During his time in Plan Ireland, Donal has made several trips to West Africa, overseeing Irish contributions to our field offices.
Outside Plan, Donal enjoys movies, (watching!) football and travel.
Please contact Donal on 01-6599 601 with any finance queries you may have.
Head of Marketing & Sponsorship
Mike Mansfield
Originally from Ballinasloe in Co. Galway, Mike joined Plan Ireland four years ago. Graduating with a degree in History and French from Trinity College, Mike took the (natural!) step into Public Relations in 1999 and worked on accounts such as Meteor, Coca Cola, Lee Jeans and Becks. From there, Mike moved into telecoms, working for eircom for over 8 years where he latterly headed up the Training and Sales Support function in eircom's Business Market division.
A growing interest in matters humanitarian, saw Mike take the step into the NGO sector and joined Plan Ireland in December 2008. Soon after, Mike visited Plan Ireland's projects in Togo in West Africa where he witnessed, first hand, the resilience of a people struggling to get by, but so determined to do so. In the intervening years he has been "amazed" by the impact Plan is making in the lives of the millions of children and is committed to supporting Plan's promise to these children and to the sponsors and donors who give so generously.
Outside of Plan Ireland, Mike enjoys tennis, surfing and 'watching' rugby!
To get in touch with Mike in relation to Marketing or Child Sponsorship, please do so on 01-6599 601 or drop him a mail at: mike.mansfield@plan-international.org
Head of Fundraising
Sabrina Kevany-McGlynn
Sabrina joined Plan in January 2013, her background a blend of advertising and not for profit. Graduating with a First Class Hons in Communications form DCU, she joined the creative department of McConnells Advertising where she worked as a Concept and Art Director for clients such as The Irish Times, BMW, Diageo, Innocent Smoothies and Concern.
Inspired by her work with not for profit clients, she took on the role of Fundraising and Communications Manager at Our Lady’s Hospice for whom she scooped 1st prize for Most Innovative Campaign in Fundraising Ireland Awards, June 2012 and was nominated for Most Innovative Campaign at The Global Fundraising Awards, The Netherlands in October 2012.
In the opening weeks of her role with Plan, she visited Liberia where she saw first-hand the Universal Birth Registration, psyhchosocial, and women’s skills training projects developed in conjunction with Plan Liberia. She even saw the president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (passing by in a motorcade).
Sabrina has travelled and surfed extensively through Africa, Asia and South America, though in her spare time she can mainly be found on or near Ireland’s west coast waves.
To get in touch with Sabrina in relation to Fundraising, please do so on 01-6599601 or drop her a mail on sabrina.kevany@plan-international.org
Marketing Manager
Jessica Majekodunmi
Jessica joined Plan in September 2010 with a strong background in marketing and communications. She holds an honours BA in English Studies from Trinity College Dublin as well as Diplomas in Event Management, Marketing and PR. Most recently she was awarded a Gold Medal from DIT for achieving first place on the Postgraduate Diploma for Advertising and Digital Communications.
Having being involved with not-for-profit organisations since 2002, previous positions include Communications Manager with MEAS/drinkaware.ie and Media Relations Manager with Special Olympics Ireland. Jessica also presented and produced ‘SO Unlimited’ on a voluntary basis, a weekly half hour talk show dedicated to Special Olympics Ireland on Dublin City FM.
Jessica has travelled extensively, spending two years exploring Central and South America by bus, boat, train and foot. Jessica is a qualified FAI referee and an avid Stoke City supporter (bless her). Of her prowess as a player in a ladies team she says: “Just like the club I support – what I lack in skill I make up for in enthusiasm”.
To get in touch with Jessica in relation to anything regarding marketing, corporate partnerships or the Because I am a Girl campaign, please do so on 01-6599 601 or drop her a mail at: jessica@plan.ie.
Media & Communications Officer
Daniel English
Daniel joined Plan in January 2012 having returned from a year in The Gambia in West Africa with Voluntary Service Overseas.
He has previously worked in the State sector as a Media and Communications Officer with the Health Service Executive and the Houses of the Oireachtas completing a MSc in Development Studies in his spare time.
He has run two marathons(slowly) and counting, he serves as secretary and sometime player with Éire Óg Greystons, GAA club.
For any media queries you can contact him at daniel.english@plan-international.org or Tel: 086 3544954
Sponsorship Officer
A Dublin native, Christina spent the first 11 years of her life growin
Prior to joining plan in 2012, Christina worked in varying sectors from recruitment, retail, to hospitality and took her first steps into the NGO sector by working in the area of public engagement for Progressio Ireland.
Outside of Plan Christina enjoys bikram yoga, reading, travelling, music and television dramas. She’s also addicted to health and wellbeing blog sites and spends an inordinate amount of time reading them!
To contact Christina you can email:christina.meehan@plan-international.org or call her directly at 01 659 9601 with any sponsorship or volunteering queries you may have.
Sponsorship Officer
Niamh Sheehan
Corkonian Niamh (Fermoy to be exact) joined the Plan Ireland team in July 2009. Graduating with a degree in European Studies from UCC, Niamh has completed a Masters in Development Studies and brings to Plan a wealth of finance and administration experience.
Outside of Plan, Niamh is quite the active type and enjoys yoga, hill walking and cookery.
Please contact Niamh at niamh.sheehan@plan-international.org or on 01-6599 601 with any sponsorship or finance queries you may have.
Head of Development Programming & Grants
Prior to joining Plan Ireland in June 2009, Severine spent time working in the Middle East and Southern Africa.
Her experience spans over a wide range of themes in both emergencies and development contexts, including food security, cash-for-work programmes, vocational education and development of employment services.
Grant Accountant
Sharon Wall
After graduating from Trinity College Dublin with a BA in Business and Economics in 2008, Sharon went to work for Deloitte in the financial services audit department. While in Deloitte she completed a training contract under the auspices of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Sharon is an avid traveller, most recently returning from a trip around India where she spent several months volunteering with a local development organisation.
Sharon is from Templeogue in Dublin and enjoys socialising, reading and watching films in her spare time.
Accounts Assistant
Siobhan joined Plan Ireland as Accounts Assistant in August 2011. Originally from Tyrone, Siobhan moved to Dublin in November 2011 after taking 3 years out travelling to Australia and New Zealand.
It's her first time working in the charity sector but Siobhan has a lot of prior experience in the industry environment. Currently studying for the professional ACCA exams, outside of Plan Siobhan enjoys watching GAA (although she admits to having two left feet when it comes to playing it!). She also takes pleasure in running, having completed two mini marathons since moving to Dublin, and she hopes one day to complete a full marathon.
Fundraising Officer
Ciara is from Rathfarnham, Dublin. She joined Plan Ireland in July 2012 with a background of fundraising for 4 years.
After graduating from DIT with a degree in Marketing in 2008, Ciara set to work in a small NGO and never looked back!
She is very much looking forward to getting out into the field to visit Plan's projects first hand. In her free time she enjoys reading, yoga and pretending to learn new languages!
She loves to hear about new fundraising ideas and is always there to lend a hand and an ear to fundraisers. If you are interested in fundraising for Plan Ireland, Ciara would be delighted to hear from you so you can email her on Ciara.mealy@plan-international.org
Regional Fundraising Officer
Anne Farrell
Anne graduated from NUIG with a Bachelor of Law degree and worked as Regional Fundraiser with the Irish Wheelchair Association for two years during this time. Anne has also previously worked in the NUIG Sociology Department and was seconded from there to FAS as Supervisor of CYTP – Community Youth Training Project – to complete a research project as a precursor to the Knock airport development project which was then to follow.
Anne spent the next 20 years working for the HSE as a Community Welfare Officer, where she completed a 'Train the Trainer' course in 'Children First' child protection guidelines. Anne has also participated in suicide prevention and anti-bullying programmes and is a trained licensed Acupuncturist.
Anne has been working with Plan Ireland since September 2012 and hopes to raise much needed funds to support children, especially girls, and to raise awareness of the children's charity in the process. Her interests including reading and travelling, having hit most continents, with South America her final destination!
Disaster Risk Management Co-ordinator & WaSH Advisor
Dualta Roughneen
Dualta joined Plan in 2009 after completing a Masters in Human Rights in UCD. He is a Chartered Civil Engineer, having graduated from UCG in 2001, he worked with Coffey Construction in Foynes and Mayo County Council in his native Mayo.
Since 2003 he has worked as an engineer in humanitarian and development programmes in Ethiopia, North Korea, Afghanistan, Sudan and Liberia. Recently, Dualta has worked with Plan’s teams in Ethiopia, Cameroon and the Sahel in responding to food and cholera crises. His work with Plan involves managing Plan Ireland’s emergency programmes and providing technical support for water and sanitation programmes. Dualta travels frequently to provide emergency support to Plan’s field offices in the event of emergencies around the world.
In his limited spare time outside work, Dualta runs marathons, plays football, watches football, reads the news and thinks about writing the great Irish novel.
Dualta is published by CSP (2010) ‘The Right to Roam: Travellers and Human Rights in the Modern Nation State’, building on research carried out during his MSc in UCD.
Disaster Risk Management Officer
Emilia Sorrentino
Emilia has a background in Education in Emergencies and Psycho-social support.Shehasspent the last four years in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (Gaza and West Bank) where she worked as Programme Manager and later as Country Director for an Italian NGO.
Emilia has also worked as Country Director and as a consultant on Education projects/programmes in Egypt with Sudanese Refugees, she has worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka (during the Tsunami Emergency Response) and FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia).
Her hobbies include reading, political activism and Oki-do yoga.
Programme Support Officer
Suzanne Walker
Suzanne joined the Plan Ireland team as a Programme Support Officer in January 2011. She is a passionate advocate for child rights and has volunteered with child-centred projects in Ireland and overseas.
Since completing her master’s degree in Development Studies in 2006, she has worked on overseas development programmes that have taken her to the Horn and East of Africa and India with organisations such as Trocaire. Prior to joining Plan, she worked in Ireland with Comhlamh promoting good practice in overseas volunteering.
Suzanne is particularly interested in working on improving the quality and effectiveness of long-term development programmes.
Education Programme Officer
Barbara Scettri
Prior to joining Plan, Barbara spent two years in Senegal with UNHCR as Regional Programme Officer for West Africa, supporting refugees and internally displaced persons.
She has a broad range of experience in education, vocational training, emergency relief and child protection in local and international development programmes in Italy, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Syria, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Russia.
Barbara’s interests include travel, reading, cinema and watching football (but only when Italy is playing!).
Business Development Coordinator
Aidan Leavy
A native of Westmeath, Aidan joined Plan Ireland in May 2011. A graduate in social sciences, Aidan was previously Director of International Service Ireland (ISI), supporting people with disabilities in West Africa and South America.
He has extensive experience in local and international development at grassroots and management level. Before returning to Ireland in 2007, he spent nine years working with grassroots organisations and local authorities in Central America. He worked with the Agency for Personnel Services Overseas (APSO) as Local Development Planning and Management Advisor with the indigenous Mayan Chorti tribe in Honduras in the aftermath of hurricane Mitch. He later worked as Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteer programme (UNV) in Guatemala focusing on volunteer management, democratisation and organisational development.
Although from Westmeath, he is passionate about hurling and also has a keen interest in cooking, film, mountain biking, travelling and salsa dancing (with two left feet!)
He is married to Marcela, his wife he met in Guatemala.
Child Rights & Advocacy Officer
Vanina Trojan
Vanina joined Plan in January 2011 in the capacity of Child Rights Advisor. Her responsibilities include ensuring a child rights-based approach to Plan’s international programming, undertaking advocacy in Ireland and at the international level, and carrying out research on relevant child rights issues.
Vanina holds an LLB in Law, and an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the Irish Centre for Human Rights. Her area of expertise is the provision of legal protection against child trafficking, labor exploitation, sexual abuse, domestic violence and other violations of children’s basic rights. Since 2006 she has worked as a legal researcher and a programme manager in South East Asia, Palestine and Uganda.
She has conducted numerous trainings/workshops, and published a number of reports on issues related to child protection.
Development Education Officer
Mary Hanlon
With over ten years' experience within the not-for-profit sector, Mary comes to Plan Ireland from the organisation Vincentian Lay Missionaries (VLM) where she worked as Project Coordinator for four years in Ireland and Ethiopia.
Mary also worked for Volunteer Missionary Movement in Western Kenya for two and a half years, where she was the coordinator of Bungoma Diocese ‘Young Widows Project’ and Luyha’s ‘Girls School Youth Engagement programme’.
Mary has been working with Plan Ireland since August 2012 as Development Education Officer and is responsible for working with schools and civil society organisations to help create a greater understanding of the role of development both locally and globally in tackling poverty and injustice.
If you are interested in having Mary visit your school, please do get in touch directly on mary.hanlon@plan-international.org.
Database Administrator
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Our Interns
Disaster Risk Management Intern
Enda Shiel
From Ballinasloe Co. Galway, Enda joined Plan in June 2012. Enda holds a BSc in Spatial Planning from DIT and an MA in Development from DCU.
The main focus of Enda's work is to research and prepare informational material on specific country opportunities between Plan Ireland and other specialised development organisations. The organisations Plan Ireland is currently engaging with help to complement and diversify Plan Ireland’s work on finance, food and nutrition programmes with a specific emphasis on women and youth.
Outside of work Enda's interests includes GAA, he currently plays for Castleknock Hurling and Football Club, surfing, tennis and a bit of golf!
Business Development Intern
Programme Support Assistant (Child Rights)
Ciara Passmore
Ciara joined Plan Ireland in November 2012. She is originally from Dublin but moved to Scotland for 6 years where she completed a degree in Food, Nutrition and Health at the University of Abertay, Dundee, Scotland.
Since finishing her Masters in International Health and Development; Sexual and Reproductive Health, Ciara moved to Pakistan where she worked as a Health Related Researcher in sexual and reproductive health within Plan Pakistan.
Ciara is particularly interested in women empowerment and women’s rights. She has worked for a number of years in the area of health and human rights for the LGBTQ community and disadvantaged youths.
In her spare time she like “watching” GAA football, travelling and experiencing new food and cultures.