Cormac Savage is the founder and former President of SSUNI, using his experience within our organisation to support the NISE. He is currently studying at Harvard University. He is a trustee of the British Youth Council, represented South Down in the UK Youth Parliament, and won two Paul Boskett MBE Awards for speeches at the annual UK House of Commons sitting. He is a recipient of the Rotarian Youth Leadership Competition. In 2019, he travelled to Strasbourg to represent Ireland in the EU Parliament. Cormac has won a YAFTA in the ‘Inspirational Young Person’ category and a Michaela Foundation Wings Award.

Paul Smyth has a career spanning four decades during which he has been a key advocate for youth voice, which comes from his teenage years when he was a young activist with the Peace People. He has primarily worked in the voluntary sector but has also worked at Ulster University and the Youth Council for Northern Ireland. He was a freelance consultant for 6 years when, amongst other things, he helped set up the neighbourhood social network Nextdoor in Northern Ireland. He stepped into his current role as Executive Director of Politics in Action in June 2022 and has been busy growing the organisation and raising its profile.

Lesley Emerson is Deputy Director of the Centre for Children’s Rights at Queen’s University Belfast, a lecturer in education and Deputy Director of QUB’s PGCE programme. Her research is currently focused on two themes: political education (including citizenship and human rights education) and children‘s rights. In particular, she is interested in exploring how schools assist young people in understanding the nature of conflict.

She has been a longtime supporter of SSUNI, helping us launch our free revision sessions with QUB’s PGCE students and helping provide facilities for SSUNI events, such as the launch of our LLW ‘Let Us Learn’ Report in December 2023.

SAFEGUARDING OFFICER

Katie Ní Chléire is the Campaigns & Communications Manager for Stamp Out Poverty, and her role involves leading an international coalition of organisations campaigning for climate justice called Make Polluters Pay.

Katie was President of Queen's University Belfast Students' Union from 2021-22, and Vice President of Welfare from 2020-21, where she led campaigns relating to student mental health and well-being, period poverty, and financial support, and led the Union through the COVID-19 recovery. Katie undertakes work for Student Minds as a University Mental Health Charter Assessor, assessing U.K. universities on their provision of mental health and wellbeing support.

Ruairi has worked in policy and advocacy roles within the community and voluntary sector for over a decade. He began his career in the children's sector, and has worked in the field of sexual health, rights, and education since 2015. He is the Director of Advocacy and Policy at Informing Choices NI, and played a leading role in reforming the curriculum surrounding Relationships and Sexuality Education, achieving the decriminalisation of abortion, and ensuring the provision of local sexual and reproductive health services during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ruairi hosts the Big Sexy Talk podcast, and is passionate about creating opportunities for young people to speak up, and have their voices heard.

Matthew Taylor co-founded the UK’s first youth-led mental health charity Pure Mental. Pure Mental was founded in 2017, going on to receive charity status. Matthew brings a wealth of experience in youth activism to the Board. He continues to advocate for mental health following the dissolution of Pure Mental in 2023.

Matthew is a Diana Award recipient for his work and was a delegate speaker at the One Young World Conference in 2023, delivering a keynote address. He has given TED Talks and is currently studying at Queen’s Univesity Belfast.

Danielle Roberts works at Reclaim the Agenda, a collective which connects and mobilises women to promote feminist activism through education, campaigning and celebration.

She is involved in pro-choice and LGBTQ+ activism and is co-organiser of the annual Reclaim the Night Belfast march against street harassment and gender-based violence. Previously, she served on the Boards of Ulster University Student’s Union and NUS-USI, and was UUSU councillor for Post Graduate Research Students.

Before joining the SSUNI Board, James Kane worked as SSUNI’s first Education Officer and subsequently served on the Advisory Panel. He thus has lots of experience in education policy. He was involved with SSUNI campaigns, such as our foundational #TrustOurTeachers. He was also responsible for the creation of our ’Student Councils That Work!’ Working Group and the resulting report and resources. James has a particular interest in children’s rights and political participation.

Jamie Mac Giolla Bháin is a youth activist who focuses on sustainable development. From County Monaghan, he is the former Sustainability Officer of the Irish Second-Level Students' Union (ISSU). Jamie has worked in the student union sector for a number of years and currently studies Economics, Politics and Law at Dublin City University. He has a passion for student voice and its link to our growing yet challenging society goes here