Geraldine McGahey OBE (Chief Commissioner)
Geraldine McGahey was appointed the Chief Commissioner for the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland in March 2020, having served as a Commissioner from 2015.
Prior to this Geraldine was a former Chief Executive of Larne Borough Council and SOLACE gender champion. She represented local government on various regional fora including the Good Relations Panel, Flags Forum,
Social Investment Fund and the Review of Public Administration. Geraldine has served as a Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission from 2016 through to 2020 and as a Non-Executive Director of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust from 2016 to 2020.
Geraldine is a graduate of the University of Ulster and the University College of Estate Management.
Geraldine was awarded the OBE in 2015 for services to local Government and the Community.
Appointed 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2025
Neil Anderson (Deputy Chief Commissioner)
Neil Anderson is currently head of NSPCC in Northern Ireland, with a career based in HR across a variety of organisations and sectors.
Appointed 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2023
June Best MBE
June Best is a retired head teacher with extensive experience in disability rights. Advocate for Guide Dogs for the Blind and ambassador for Disability NI. She was awarded an MBE in 2018 for services to people with a disability.
Appointed 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2022
Dr Theresa Donaldson
Dr Theresa Donaldson is the former Chief Executive of Craigavon Borough Council and Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council. She is currently Vice Chair of Eirgrid and a member of the Probation Board.
Appointed 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2022
Duane Farrell
Duane Farrell has been working in the Community and Voluntary sector in Northern Ireland for over 20 years. During that time, he has worked within the LGB&T community, as well as with older people and children and young people. In these roles, he has developed services, led campaigns and worked to influence legislation and policy. Currently he is the Chief Executive of Relate NI. He also sits as a trustee with Grow NI and Community Evaluation NI.
Appointed 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2023
Helen Ferguson
Helen Ferguson has 40 years’ experience in the community and voluntary sector as a volunteer, trustee and paid worker. She was born in Belfast and studied social policy at QUB. She has worked in Liverpool, Buckinghamshire and Greater Manchester, supporting volunteers and community organisations and promoting user and carer engagement. She was Director of Carers Northern Ireland for nearly 20 years and is a former Commissioner with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. Since 2017, Helen has worked as Policy and Campaigns Officer with the National Deaf Children’s Society. A strong believer in collaboration, Helen is an active member of voluntary sector networks including the Coalition on Deafness and the Children with Disabilities Strategic Alliance.
Appointed 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2023
Hazel Francey
Hazel Francey spent most of her working life with Belfast City Council and led its Good Relations Unit where she had responsibility for equality, community relations, race relations and diversity. Her previous roles within the City Council included community development, policy development, corporate planning and public consultation.
Hazel is a member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums NI and Chairman of its General Purposes & Finance Committee. She is the Chairman of the Board of the Artsekta arts charity and social enterprise organisation. She is a former member of the Inter-Cultural Committee of the Bryson Charitable Group and a former Board member of the Community Relations Council. She brings equality and social inclusion experience and management skills to the body. She has not undertaken any political activity in the last five years.
Appointed 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2022
Jarlath Kearney
Jarlath Kearney is a strategy advisor in the public sector. In 2018, Jarlath was appointed as a National Expert for the European Commission’s TAIEX Programme in relation to public institutional transformation and legislative reform in the Balkans. Currently a regular columnist with The Irish News, he has previously served as a Board Member of the Arts Council NI (2015-17), as Special Advisor to the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure (2012-14), and as a Ministerial Policy Advisor in the NI Assembly (2007-11). Jarlath is also a former Board Member of the Community Relations Council and a former Chief Political Correspondent at the Belfast Media Group. He holds Master's degrees in Journalism Studies and in Human Rights Law, respectively. Jarlath is a former Sinn Fein party member.
Appointed 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2023
Deepa Mann-Kler
Deepa Mann-Kler is an exceptionally experienced public, private and charity sector Chair and Non-Executive Director, having served on 10 Boards across the UK over the past thirteen years. As Chief Executive of Neon and Visiting Professor for Immersive Futures with Ulster University, she specialises in use of immersive technologies for health. As a TEDx speaker and thought leader she regularly keynotes on the intersection of digital transformation, technical innovation, inclusion, ethics, bias, data and AI. Deepa is author of the first report on race discrimination with policy recommendations for the public sector in Northern Ireland "Out Of The Shadows." As an artist Deepa has a strong focus on public art light installations, notably Light Up Leicester 2020, Lumiere Durham 2019, London 2016 & 2013 in Derry/Londonderry UK City of Culture.
Appointed 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2023
Stephen Mathews OBE
Stephen is the Chief Executive of The Cedar Foundation. Cedar supports over 3000 individuals and families across NI living with disability, autism and brain injury to live the lives they choose. He has led Cedar to wide recognition as an EFQM European Excellence Award winner, for the public and not for profit sector and most recently as an Investor in People Platinum organisation. Stephen was appointed OBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours for services to people with a disability. He holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. respectively, from the Universities of Ulster and Birmingham and is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Stephen is a past Chair of CO3, The Association of 3rd Sector Chief Executives in Northern Ireland. He is NI volunteer advisor to UK grant giving charitable foundation The Henry Smith’s Charity.
Appointed 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2022
Carmel McKinney OBE
Carmel has held a number of senior roles in education, including Chair of the Belfast Education and Library Board. She is currently Chair of the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service Board and an independent member of the Policing Board.
Appointed 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2023
Joseph McVey OBE
Joe McVey has recently taken up the post as the Chief Executive of Brain Injury Matters (NI). Prior to this he was the managing partner of Blueprint Development Consultancy Ltd established in 1999. He is also currently a Trustee of the VSB Foundation, a Board member of the Golden Thread Gallery and a member of the Historic Monuments Council. Joe was awarded an OBE for services to the Voluntary Sector in 2010.
Appointed 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2022
Dawn Purvis
Dawn Purvis is the Chief Executive of a Victoria Housing Estates (VHE). She is a former Northern Ireland Programme Director for Marie Stopes and previously served as an MLA and leader of the PUP.
Appointed 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2022
Dr Katy Radford MBE
Dr Katy Radford is a social anthropologist currently employed at the Institute for Conflict Research. She is Vice Chair of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, member of the Commission for Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition and member of the Executive Council of the Northern Ireland Jewish Community.
Appointed 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2022