Governance

The CWI Central Group for 2023/2024 is:

Mary O’Donoghue

Mary O’Donoghue is the current CWI Chairperson

Anastasia Crickley

Anastasia Crickley is the European Director of the International Association for Community Development, Chairperson of the All Ireland Endorsement Body for Community Work Education and Training (AIEB) and a member of the national Anti-Racism Committee. She was first Chairperson of the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency, Representative of the OSCE Chair on Racism, and a former President of UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Anastasia is a longstanding member and former chairperson of the Community Workers’ Co-operative / Community Work Ireland, a founder member of Pavee Point and the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland and the former Head of Department at the Department of Applied Social Studies at Maynooth University. Anastasia currently chairs the CWI Policy and Practice Working Group.

Marianne O’Shea

Marianne O’Shea is a lecturer on the professional Community Work and Youth Work programmes at the Department of Applied Social Studies, Maynooth University. In terms of research work there, she is interested in community work as a rights-based practice locally and globally, the role of local institutions addressing inequality and the participation of excluded voices in local governance processes. She has worked as a community worker in Ireland and in community-based and human rights focused projects in places such as Peru, Uganda and South Africa. This has contributed to a commitment to working in solidarity with other communities and community work practitioners experiencing similar challenges across the globe.

Reuben Hambakachere

Reuben Hambakachere is a motivated Integration support worker with Cultur Migrants Centre in Navan. He has a background in Sociology. Reuben has a lived experience and professional knowledge of working with migrants in Ireland and several EU countries. Reuben is also a Trainer and face of the TREND web responsive app used to train migrants to be job creators in their new host countries, an EU ERASMUS Project supported by the Institute of Art Design & Technology Ireland, the app is used in 7 EU countries. He is Currently completing a Level 9 MSocSc in Community and Youth Work at Maynooth University. He has a passion for creating conditions for change for ethnic minorities and marginalised groups in Ireland. Reuben is on the board of Irish Refugee Council, Community Work Ireland, and Our Table, a community-driven non-profit project aiming to highlight the issues faced by people living in direct provision.

Seanie Lambe

Seanie Lambe is a community activist in the North Inner City area of Dublin. He has been involved in Community Development in the area for over 40 years, and remains an active participant in many community based initiatives He is Chairperson of the Inner City Organisations Network (ICON), a director of Saol, a project for women in recovery, a director of the Employment Network, Dublin Inner City Co-Op, and chairs a number of charitable trust companies dealing with housing and education.

Siobhán McLoughlin

Siobhán McLoughlin is the director of the Donegal Traveller Project. An experienced community development worker, Siobhán is also involved in work to ensure equality for New Communities in Donegal. Siobhán is the current CWI Treasurer.

Anne Nolan

Anne Nolan is a Humanitarian supporting people seeking safety and asylum since 2006. As a Human Rights practitioner and founder of Waterford Integration Services, she ensures that Ireland lives up to its commitment to fully protect and serve those who are fleeing global persecution and war.

With a BA in Social Science and an MSc in Rural and Community Development from University College Dublin, she has extensive experience in project development and management providing technical expertise and leadership in this sector and promotes interagency working to maximise service outcomes within the community.

Anne is a skilled researcher, policy developer and implementer and can adapt and interact in a multi-cultural environment. She is now focussing her work through effective Diversity, Equity and Inclusion projects and community building strategies which is evidenced through recognised programmes Regionally, Nationally, and Internationally. In 2021 Anne was elected as a Board member of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), progressing to 2^nd Vice Chair in 2023, and promotes anti-racism strategies at local, national, EU and global level. In 2022 she was elected as a member of the Community Workers of Ireland Central Committee.

Anne promotes the principles of intersectionality, leadership and solidarity and supports community organisations to fully participate in and contribute to this. It is important that grassroots organisations send the invitations and assign seats to ensure minority communities have a unified voice at this discussion table we build together from local to national, EU and global level.

An experienced lecturer at third level and as a training provider, Anne has delivered presentations at the United Nations, New York in 2018, and other international and academic venues.

Gary Cogan

Gary Cogan is