Our People

Our Director provides strategic leadership, to ensure organisational sustainability by working alongside our members to promote inclusion and improve health and wellbeing. She believes in the power of community development and the value of having people and community voices in the decisions that affect their health and lives. With a background in social research and policy evaluation, Joanne is passionate about ending health inequalities and improving access to services. She holds an MSc in Economic Policy Studies and has extensive experience in building effective partnerships between communities, voluntary organisations and statutory services to support evidence-informed, co-created regional health promotion and prevention initiatives and locally driven change.

Helen is Research and Policy Manager in Community Development and Health Network (CDHN). She is the lead author of CDHN’s newly launched research ‘Our Lives, Our Meds, Our Health’ Exploring Medication Safety Through a Social Lens (2023). Helen has worked in the community and voluntary sector for over 20 years and has a keen interest in community-led approaches to health, participatory research, measuring impact, and health literacy. She has developed and delivered health literacy training and sits on the Regional Health Literacy Forum for Northern Ireland.

Laura has worked as Evaluation Support (BCPP) for CDHN since 2009. She enjoys meeting with all the groups she comes into contact with and supporting them through their project. Her role also involves the development of measurement tools and analysing data against strategic outcomes. She has a BA Liberal Arts Degree and a Masters in Communication, Advertising and Public Relations. Laura has five children, enjoys reading and walking the Mournes! She has recently completed a Couch to 5k and loves the craic but not the running!

Kathy has worked for CDHN since 2003 in a variety of roles and is currently Strategic Operations Manager. She manages the Building the Community-Pharmacy Partnership (BCPP) Programme at an operation level and ensures that the impact of the programme is shared strategically. Kathy held the post of Training Manager with CDHN for six years and enjoyed developing community development and health inequalities training programmes which she delivered to members across Northern Ireland. Kathy began her career in CDHN as Network Development Officer and still loves to engage with members, hear their stories and support them in their work. A busy mum of four, Kathy practices Taekwondo to keep in shape and was delighted to be promoted to Black Belt in October 2018. The fact that their mum holds a Black Belt seems to keep her children in order!

Eleanor McKenna joined the team in September 2023 as Training and Development Officer working on the Elevate programme across Northern Ireland. She has a great deal of experience in planning and delivering training having previously worked for PIPS Hope and Support delivering mental health awareness and suicide prevention programmes. Before that, she worked in the Private Sector delivering online safety and wellbeing programmes to a variety of audiences. Having worked in the Voluntary and Community Sector for the past few years and building up a strong network across the Southern Trust area, she is a firm believer that local people working at community level can achieve great things. Eleanor spends a lot of time on the sidelines of various fields supporting three very sporty daughters, and has recently joined her local Social Camogie team.

Tammy-Lee joined the CDHN team in October 2025. Having previously worked in local media as a newspaper journalist and deputy editor, she has written stories on a wide range of topics, including politics, education, charities and health. In the role of Communications Officer, Tammy-Lee is harnessing her journalistic skills to produce engaging content and showcase the vital work of CDHN. She graduated from Liverpool John Moores University in 2020 with a BA Hons Degree in Journalism, and she is especially passionate about utilising social media to dispel health myths and promote CDHN’s role in helping communities to thrive.

Mary O’Hagan has worked for CDHN for 20 years in various enjoyable roles. Mary’s current and long lived role is support worker to the Building the Community Pharmacy Partnership Programme (BCPP). She has gained great experience in her time with CDHN and enjoys her role in supporting community organisations. Mary enjoys hill walking in the Mournes near her home and the company of her grandchildren in her free time.

Mary joined CDHN in 2018 and having previously worked in the legal sector as Legal Secretary with responsibility for the overall administrative function of the practice. Mary has five children and 11 grandchildren and, along with her job, the family keep her very busy! In her free time, Mary enjoys walking and travelling to far flung destinations – she is a bit of a dare devil and did a sky dive for her 60th birthday, raising vital funds for PIPs.

Stephanie joined CDHN in 2019 and works with communities across the Northern and Western HSC Trust areas as part of the Elevate programme. She has worked in a variety of community development roles for a number of years, building relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. Stephanie is passionate about making a difference at local level and is particularly interested in community health and wellbeing. In her spare time, Stephanie loves to travel and she is a keen reader, particularly crime fiction. Stephanie also enjoys walking for her own health and wellbeing.

Patricia joined CDHN in March 2019 as Training Officer and is currently involved in supporting a number of projects including CDHN’s health literacy work and the Elevate Programme. In 2013, Patricia completed an MSc in Health Promotion and Population Health. Prior to taking up her role in CDHN, Patricia worked for six years as Project Worker with Action Mental Health and was responsible for the design and delivery of a suite of health promotion workshops and training programmes. Patricia has extensive experience facilitating training which aims to increase awareness in relation to health and wellbeing, promote self-care, help-seeking behaviours and early intervention. Patricia enjoys walking and spending time with her ten nieces and nephews.

Marion joined CDHN in January 2021 and this is her first experience of working in the community sector. She has a BA Hons Degree in International Business Studies and also spent a year studying in America on a Business Scholarship. Marion previously worked in the financial sector for 10 years and was responsible for providing financial statements to Irish and American clients. Marion is a busy mum of three who enjoys playing G4MO football and exploring the great outdoors, with a particular love for hiking in the Mournes. A keen reader of crime and thriller books, she never turns down a gripping plot twist.

Sheelin is a community pharmacist based in Lurgan and has been a member of CDHN’s Board since 2015. He is currently Chairman of the Pharmacy Forum (NI), the professional leadership body for pharmacists in Northern Ireland. Sheelin is past chair of the Ulster Chemists’ Association and currently represents community pharmacy on the national Legislative Rebalancing Committee. He was previously Chair of the board of CPNI, the Southern Area Pharmaceutical Advisory Committee and was a member of the Central Pharmaceutical Advisory Committee to the DHSSPSNI. He also held the position of Chair of the Southern Local Commissioning Group from 2007 to 2015. Outside of work, he’s a keen (but slow) marathon runner and cyclist, a member of the Board of Governors of a Primary School in Craigavon and represents local businesses on the Craigavon Heart town steering group. He is a member of the SPCA (Shankill Parish Caring Association) board, the charity which manages the Jethro centre in Lurgan and other outreach projects in Lurgan and the local area.

Lyn Donnelly has over 30 years’ experience of working in the health sector, beginning in the field of dietetics and nutrition, before moving to work in the broader arena of health promotion and population health. She worked for two years as a volunteer nutritionist in Papua New Guinea, followed by three years with an international Christian mission in Nepal. Returning to work in the southern area of Northern Ireland, she was the area manager for the implementation of the regional public health Investing for Health Strategy for a number of years. Most recently, she held a post of Assistant Director of Commissioning with the regional Health and Social Care Board, working for and with the Southern Local Commissioning Group, a position from which she retired in 2015. Having been a full-time carer for five years, she has a particular interest in the area of dementia and the impact this progressive degenerative disease has on those who are diagnosed with it and their carers.

A GP by training, Sloan is a GP Medical Adviser at the Department of Health having returned from retirement. Previously, he was Director of Integrated Care at the Health and Social Care Board where his regional responsibilities included Pharmacy Services and commissioning the Building the Community-Pharmacy Partnership Programme. He has led a range of initiatives to enhance integration across health and social care and has a longstanding interest in addressing health inequalities and the social determinants of health through systems working.

Claire Ferris is the Chief Executive of Work West, a West Belfast based enterprise centre which promotes entrepreneurship and innovation both locally and across the North. Over the past 22 years at Work West, Claire has led on the development of a number of flagship projects including the construction of the Social Economy Village which opened its doors in 2008 and was the first of its kind in Northern Ireland. The bespoke space where social entrepreneurs co-locate to start up and grow has played a crucial role in Work West’s recognition regionally as a market leader for the provision of social enterprise support. In 2016, Work West opened the thincLAB in the Social Economy Village, a bespoke design thinking and creative problem solving space where innovation training is delivered. Claire holds a BA hons in Spanish, German and Business Studies and a Masters Degree in European Business. Claire is a certified Foursight facilitator and she uses the creative preference profiling tool to help individuals and teams foster innovation across their work. Claire has also undertaken training in USA in creative problem solving tools and techniques which she applies to her work. Claire’s work was recognised in 2012 when she was the first woman from Northern Ireland to be awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion and in 2017 she was awarded the Social Innovation Leader of the Year in the CO3 leadership awards. Claire is a board member and former treasurer of West Belfast Partnership board and a former board member of Footprints Women’s Centre.

Conor is the Head of Community Development for Supporting Communities, a NI wide Community Development focused organisation which has been in operation for over 40 years. Conor leads a team of 13 staff, who provide support to over 500 community groups & organisations across the country. Conor is part of Supporting Communities Senior Management Team and helps ensure the overall sustainability of the organisation. Conor continues to lead a staff team which successfully secured the Customer Service Excellence (CSE) accreditation for Supporting Communities. Conor continues to sit on the Charity Commission’s Stakeholder Engagement Forum, which aims to support and improve communications on issues around charity law, regulation and trends. The Forum comprises of a cross section of a range of Charites across NI. Conor has worked for Supporting Communities since leaving University in 2003 and holds a 2.1 BSc in Geography and a Masters Degree with Distinction in Rural Development & Project Management, both from QUB.

Janet Schofield is the CEO of Compass Advocacy Network Ltd – a charity working with young people and adults with learning disabilities, autism and mental health issues. She has over 25 years’ experience in the voluntary sector, both here and in the North-East of England and has developed and established seven social enterprises. Working with over 450 people mainly in the Causeway Area, CAN is known for innovative practice, offering holistic support opportunities to service users and members though friendship, social/leisure/work/training/advocacy and signposting. As a ‘hands-on’ CEO, Janet has developed and established a number of health and well-being initiatives which are proactive and responsive to the needs of individuals, their families and carers. Most recently Janet secured the licence for delivery of the Josephine & Jack Project in Ireland, promoting positive sexual health and relationships. Janet is an active member of a number of strategic bodies promoting change and sits on a number of groups in relation to Health & Wellbeing policy and strategy. She is a mum of three children at various ages and stages and, up until recently, cared for her father-in-law with Alzheimer’s and Dementia so is acutely aware of the importance of education and support. When not at work, she can be found in her garden or on the beach at the North Coast.

Dr. Ethna McFerran is a Cancer Health Economist at Queen’s University Belfast, specialising in oncology health economics, health systems, and policy. With a background in cancer nursing and a PhD in cancer health economics, she has over twenty years’ experience in cancer care, clinical trials and research applying economic modelling. Her work focuses on improving cancer outcomes through evidence-based decision-making and health policy analysis. Recently, she secured funding to model lung cancer screening health economics, emphasing the intersection of health equity and early detection. Dr. McFerran is a leader in cross-sector collaboration and a passionate advocate for equitable healthcare, with significant contributions to cancer care policy, cost-effectiveness analysis, and digital health infrastructure.

Rhoda has a background in community development and partnership working, developed throughout her career in local government. A long-standing CDHN member and the former Chair of the Rare Disease Partnership, she contributed to the development of the NI Action Plan for Rare Diseases. She is also an ambassador for Medics for Rare Disease, a charity raising awareness of rare conditions amongst the medical community and supports Ehlers Danlos Support UK to raise awareness of, and highlight the needs of those with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a condition that affects many members of her family. She was awarded an MBE in 2023 for Services to People with Rare Diseases. Rhoda is a member of the Patient Client Council and continues to volunteer for the rare disease community and her local regeneration group in Antrim. She is currently a freelance consultant for the third sector.

Brian Pelan is the co-founder and editor of VIEWdigital, an independent media platform based in Northern Ireland. With a career spanning decades in journalism, Brian is deeply committed to highlighting social justice issues and amplifying under-represented voices. His work often focuses on themes like poverty, inequality, and human rights, using storytelling to bring critical social issues to the forefront.

Lekan has been a Community development worker for over 20 years in the greater Belfast area. He is a Bilingual Professional Counsellor, founding member and Clinical Co-ordinator of Counselling All Nations Services (CANS), working with individuals and cultural leaders from BAME and Migrant communities, including Refugees and Asylum Seekers, who experience the stresses of cultural assimilation, discrimination, and trauma. Lekan is also actively engaged in the Belfast City Council citywide Mental Health Community of Interest Group, proactively lobbying and engaging on issues impacting on BAME communities.