Board

JOHN CURRAN

Chairperson

On graduating with a Commerce degree from UCD John set up and ran 20 years of a successful audio-visual business in Dublin.

For most of the last 20 years or so, John has been an elected Public Representative. He was first elected to South Dublin County Council in 1999 and to Dáil Eireann in 2002.

John served on a number of Oireachtas committees including Public Accounts, Education and Chaired the Social Protection Committee and the Committee on Housing and Homelessness.

John also served as Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy and Community Affairs and he also served as Government Chief Whip.

CATHAL O’CONNOR

Company Secretary

Cathal is retired after a lifetime career in Cadbury.

Cathal has held multiple positions in marketing including head of marketing, head of innovation and head of exports. Brand building, communication, innovation, change management and new business models are his main areas of expertise.

JANE FORMAN

Prior to her retirement, Jane worked as the Programme Executive for the Children and Youth Programme with The Atlantic Philanthropies. Jane has a background in vocational training and education and has fulfilled several senior management roles including operations management, programme development and business development with the Rehab Group and FAS.

Jane spent ten years as Chairperson of the Tallaght Partnership and has significant board experience in the community and voluntary sector. She holds an MA from St Andrew’s University, an MBA from The Open University and an Institute of Directors’ Diploma in Company Direction.

ANNE CONROY

Anne Conroy has worked in children and youth services and family support for over 35 years. A graduate of UCD and TCD, Anne is CEO of Le Cheile Mentoring and has been a Director with various NGOs over the years.

Anne joined Archways as a Director in 2019 because she was really impressed with how innovative the organisation was in combining research, service design and training and dissemination of best practice.

Maura O’Shea

Maura O’Shea has twenty three years teaching experience, twenty in St. Mary’s Junior National School in Rowlagh, Clondalkin where she is now Principal and previously held the post of Deputy Principal. She has in-depth knowledge of the curricular content, classroom management strategies and planning practices required for a primary school.

Maura was instrumental in opening their Autism classes and Nurture Room which provide a holistic approach to accessing the curriculum for children with additional needs such as ADHD, Anxiety and Social Emotional Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD). In addition to extensive experience as a teacher, she holds a Diploma in School Leadership and a Diploma in Special Education Needs.

She is an advocate of excellence in education, inclusion, and lifelong learning. She strives to ensure that this is reflected within her interactions within school and in her wider work practices.

EMMA O’DONNELL

Emma brings 15+ years of corporate experience focused on strategy and operations. She joined the Archways Board in 2021 and also sits on the Audit, Finance & Risk Committee.  

Emma is passionate about people and was attracted by the opportunity to shape and develop Archways utilising her skillset to help further their mission to effect real and lasting change for children and families experiencing behavioural, social and emotional issues.  

She began her career in finance and risk where she held senior global roles for GE before moving to the technology sector. In her current role, Emma manages market operations for a large technology company focused on protecting the most vulnerable communities from harm. 

Emma is located in Dublin with her husband and two young children. 

HEINO SCHONFELD

Heino trained and qualified as a Social Worker and Social Pedagogue in Berlin, Germany obtaining a master’s degree and a Diploma in Health Services Management in Dublin. He practised as a front-line worker, manager and policy maker in Germany, the USA and, since 1987, in Ireland.

Heino was the founding Director of the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education and a member of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment for over 10 years. He was the Deputy and interim CEO of the Centre for Effective Services, Head of the Early Years Development Service in Barnardos and Director of the Holocaust Education Trust Ireland. Heino is a very experienced practitioner, manager, writer and policy maker across the NGO and statutory sector.

HOLLY BRENNAN

Holly has extensive experience in busy commercial environments specialising in optimising customer needs with financial targets and currently heads up the commercial team in Sky Ireland.

Holly brings a wealth of knowledge to her role in Archways through her Masters in Strategic Management as well as more recent training in corporate governance, financial literacy & digital marketing. 

Holly is lucky Mam to two little girls and is very proud to support an organisation that helps many families, having attended an online baby massage class with the Blue Skies Initiative team in summer of 2020. 

Derek Allen

Derek has extensive experience in the project management, procurement and delivery of large scale capital projects in both the public and private sectors. A Senior Project Manager with the National Development Finance Agency, he has previously worked in the high tech manufacturing sector in Ireland, the US, Canada, China and Switzerland, and the delivery of light rail in Dublin. A chartered engineer, he holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin and post graduate qualifications in Sustainable Energy (Trinity College) and Project Finance (University of Middlesex).