BIOS: MEET THE WOMEN - INSPIRE INCLUSION 2024
Hello again. We told you the women participating in our IWD 2024 event on March 6 are amazing. Here is a bit more about them, and you can click on their full name to link you to their socials…
Amanda (44) from north Belfast has been a freelance journalist since 2010. She works as a Northern Ireland Editor and Ireland Stringer for a wide range of clients including Reuters news agency and The Washington Post. An event host and panellist, she is also a broadcaster with various radio, TV and digital media outlets. A proud NUJ member, she is a co-founder and director of Women in Media Belfast. You can find her online via Amanda.ie
Patricia is a WIMB cofounder and director. An Irish News columnist, contributor to RTÉ, BBC, UTV and many other media outlets, she has also worked in public relations and public affairs. She is a fervent advocate for the protection and promotion of rights and for supporting and empowering women professionally.
Niamh is currently a full-time journalist for The Belfast Telegraph, covering everything from breaking news to sports and politics, as well as writing features and hosting podcasts. From Co Tyrone, she has an undergraduate degree in Linguistics & Literature from Queen’s University Belfast, but found her true calling when she studied journalism at Ulster University. She is particularly interested in covering mental health issues, social injustices in Northern Ireland, and stories regarding women in sport (or anything to do with Liverpool FC or Tyrone GAA to be honest). Niamh has been a proud member of Women In Media Belfast since its inception and has found the group to be a great way of networking with other fantastic women that share similar interests. It also provides plenty of opportunities to learn, adapt and share experiences about working within the media industry in Northern Ireland.
Bernie from Larne, Co Antrim, is a freelance photographer of over 15 years experience, specialising in event/music photography. She is extremely social, and enjoys people. Work isn’t work if it’s a passion.
Sophie Clarke (22) is a freelance journalist from Templepatrick, Co, Antrim. Specialising in features, she currently produces regular content for both The Irish News and Local Women Magazine. She has an undergraduate degree in Law from Queen’s University Belfast and in December 2023 she graduated from Ulster University with an MA in Journalism. Her interests include, cinema, theatre, social media, reading and creative writing. She recently had her first book published, a poetry anthology entitled Growing Pains.
Lili (21) from Ballynahinch, Co Down, is studying for a Journalism BA Hons Degree at Ulster University. The final year student is training to be a multiplatform journalist. Lili is passionate about meeting new people and sharing their stories. Lili has had bylines in local papers and runs her own podcast.
Kirsty (23) from Downpatrick, Co Down, is an MA Student Journalist at Ulster University and former head of The Scoop news service at Queen’s Radio, QUB. She presented the award-nominated Women’s Scoop podcast in 2022 and won Best Irish Political Piece at the Student Publication Association Regional Awards in 2022 and 2023. Last year she hosted a panel discussion as part of the Belfast Imagine Festival of Ideas & Politics titled ‘25 Years On: Women and the Good Friday Agreement’. Following this, she was invited by the Department of the Taoiseach to be a panellist at the 15th Shared Island Dialogue Series event on media representation of the island of Ireland in Dublin. She is currently a panel member of Royal Television Society Futures Northern Ireland and has written for Belfast Live.
Caoimhe (25) is a freelance journalist, photographer,and podcaster, from Kilkeel, Co. Down. Armed with a BA Hons in Photography with Video earned in 2021, Caoimhe is set to graduate this year with an MA in Journalism, both from Ulster University. In 2022, she founded the podcast Optimistic Waves, dedicated to fostering conversations around mental health in Northern Ireland. Caoimhe's journalistic prowess has been in publications such as the Belfast Telegraph, The Sunday Life, and Belfast Live, and others. Her photographic endeavors extend beyond publication, with her work showcased in both group and solo exhibitions across Scotland, England, and Ireland. Through her artistic work, Caoimhe's work looks at cultural and historical issues, shedding light on topics such as mental health and climate change with depth and sensitivity.
Siobhan from west Belfast is a poet. Her debut collection is entitled “Awakening M.E”. She is a retired primary school teacher who taught in Christ the Redeemer Primary School after graduating in 2003 until 2016. She had to retire prematurely at the age of 36 having survived a sepsis ordeal and was subsequently diagnosed with ME/CFS. Having overcome two decades of major surgeries and voice loss Siobhan began to write her thoughts and feelings down to combat depression whilst bed bound. She gained great catharsis from this and her healing journey through poetry stemmed from there. She has been involved in Participation, Practice and Rights (PPR) New Script for Mental health campaign advocating a better way for dealing with the mental health crisis. New Script campaign were winners of the 2023 “Health and Well being” Aisling Award.
Based in Northern Ireland, Angela is a singer and songwriter with a reputation for being able to connect with people of all ages and backgrounds when she performs. Her style is eclectic, layering, inspiring, uplifting and moving lyrics over soulful, R&B and gospel influenced sounds. Her passion for sharing music that moves the spirit, soul and body has taken her to countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the U.S. She was a member of the world renowned London Community Gospel Choir for several years, touring with them around the UK and Europe. She has gone on to direct choirs herself and has recently founded the NXGN Collective - a new and vibrant community youth choir in Belfast. She is a recording artist whose music can be found on major digital platforms such as iTunes, Spotify and Youtube.
Darshita Jalan (19) is a Belfast Asian Women’s Academy young persons representative. She is studying BSc Architecture Hons at Queen's University Belfast. Growing up in India, I often saw individuals struggling to navigate public spaces. This instilled in me a deep commitment to designing spaces that embrace everyone, regardless of their abilities. In my current semester end project, I'm reimagining traditional Indian courtyards with a blend of Irish cottage style to seamlessly integrate accessibility features, honoring cultural heritage while catering to modern needs. I believe every individual deserves to feel seen and celebrated in the spaces we design. You know, from the rhythmic clinking of Belfast's cobblestones to the vibrant melodies of India's bustling bazaars, a world where every building feels warm and welcoming.
Mary-Ellen trained as an actor and spent the first 10 years of her professional career navigating the stage and screen working as an actor. Her passion for casting came about in the active and diverse Northern Irish Short film scene. From Cathy Brady’s, ‘Wasted’, Stacey Gregg’s ‘Mercy’, Andrea Harkin’s ‘The Party’ (BAFTA Nominated) to Mike Lennox’s ‘Boogaloo & Graham’ (BAFTA Winner & Oscar Nominated), Mary-Ellen has been championed for her contribution towards finding, working with and continuing to develop new and emerging talent. Mary-Ellen worked with Carla Stronge Casting from 2015 - 2022, working across film and television. Some standout productions from her time there are ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Derry Girls’, ‘The Dig’ ‘Doing Money’ ‘My Mother & Other Strangers’ ‘Ups & Downs’ ‘Stuck’, ‘Krypton’ ‘Pack of Lies’ and a very exciting new animated series for Apple tv that comes out later this year. Since going out on her own she has been working across some really exciting films & TV ‘Joy to the World’, ‘The Golden West’, ‘Far Away’, ‘The Wise Guy’ 'Puffin Rock Series 3' and ‘The Dead from the Sea’ as Casting Director, 'Smashing & Entering' 'Hope St series 3' 'Faithless' and 'Blue Lights series 2' as Intimacy Coordinator and a beautifully courageous tv project for FX ‘Say Nothing’ & ‘Heist Before Christmas’ as a performance coach & Cast Support. She has always created a safe space for actors to work, not only believing that any good production stands upon its treatment of all creatives, but that this is also the most creatively rewarding way to work with this in mind she has trained and has been working as an Intimacy Professional, a vital part of her Casting & Coaching processes and with this new string to her bow she focuses on arming our actors with the tools to move forward in their career. She encourages safe practice, a process of wellbeing, performance through prep and play and open clear communication.
Linda was born into a working-class Protestant family in east Belfast. She is the first Irish Language Officer to be based in a loyalist area. When she began learning Irish in 2011, no one would have conceived of the idea of an Irish language centre in the heart of east Belfast but despite the many difficulties, the centre is now one of the largest providers of Irish language classes in Belfast. In 2013 Linda received the Roll of Honour in the Aisling Awards. In 2015 she received the Community Relations Council (CRC) Civic Leadership Award and in 2020 she received the Eastside Community Champion Award. In 2021 she was honoured to receive the MBE for her work promoting the Irish language and last year she received an Honovary degree from Queens University.Prior to her present role as manager of the Turas project, she trained as a teacher and taught English in a secondary school in east Belfast. Linda is presently undertaking a part-time degree in Irish
Siobhan is a Chartered Architect, and specialises in Conservation. She has over 30 years experience in the building industry and worked within social housing for over 15 of those years restoring historic building and turning them into social housing and maintaining them. As a Conservation Architect she specialised in the restoration and development of sustainable historic buildings. She was Assistant Director at Hearth (a building preservation trust set up by the National Trust and the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society) for 12 years and director of her own company ARC Design Consultants Ltd for 18 years. As a Project Manager & design team leader she has worked on some of the most prominent listed historic buildings in Northern Ireland such as Parliament Buildings, Stormont, St George's Market and Sion Mills stables, as well as key smaller scale buildings such as the Ormeau Park House, Rosetta gate lodge, Rosetta cottages , Molly's yard restaurant and many Georgian and Victorian dwellings around the province. Siobhan is now Director of Operations with Flamma Ltd, her family run business that deals with the installation of passive fire protection products for all building types including historic buildings. Siobhan was born in London of Jamaican heritage and moved to NI in 1992 and so has spent most of her life in NI. Her soul band Manukahunney begun in 2012 performing some of the best live high energy, spirited authentic soul and funk cover nights in Northern Ireland and she has become renowned as Northern Ireland’s authentic soul Music ambassador. As a soul ambassador Siobhan is also a Radio presenter at BBC Radio Ulster with her own soul show series “ The Siobhan Brown Soul Show” now currently on air in its 5th Series and which has a steadily growing fan base each year. Siobhan is also an Independent artist, singer and songwriter and one of the founders of the newest festival in NI SOULTRANE NI 1st dedicated soul and jazz festival . And she is leader of the cairde community choir who sang with acclaimed artist Brian Kennedy on RTE the late late show earlier this year as part of 25 years celebration since the Good Friday agreement
Dr Margaret Ward is Honorary Senior Lecturer in History at Queen’s University, Belfast. She was Director of the Women’s Resource and Development Agency from 2005-2013. She is a feminist historian whose pioneering book Unmanageable Revolutionaries, women and Irish Nationalism, first published in 1983, was republished in 2021. Margaret is currently researching the afterlives of Belfast women who were active in the republican movement in the 1920s.
I am a Lecturer in Broadcast Production at Queen's University and co-founder of VIEWdigital, a digital platform with stories on important social issues. My media career has included working as a producer/director and journalist in TV, making factual, current affairs and news programmes for BBC, TG4, RTE and UTV and producing and directing documentary films and corporate films as an independent film-maker. I have also worked as a newspaper reporter and radio producer.
Nouha embarked on a transformative journey 12 years ago, leaving her homeland to explore new horizons and unleash her potential. Settling in Northern Ireland for the past 4 years, she found her calling with Yallaa, a social enterprise dedicated to promoting Arab culture and heritage through arts and cultural events. At the moment, Yallaa is actively working to integrate the Arab community into society through ESOL classes, Yallaa Women Cooperative, cookery demonstrations, and other cultural workshops. Yallaa is a good place to make people from all backgrounds and ethnicities empowered. As the project coordinator, Nouha plays a vital role in breaking barriers and dispelling misconceptions between diverse communities. Her dedication and passion have made her an invaluable asset to the Yallaa team. In addition to her role as a project coordinator, Nouha is actively involved in language classes, further contributing to the integration and empowerment of individuals within the community."
In her PhD and novel, entitled “Dear William,” Angeline challenges Northern Ireland’s identity and language prejudices. Her research covers Ó Gnímh/Agnew family history, dialect in diary novels and Scots/Ulster Scots writing by female novelists.
A veteran TV reporter, Barbara is a former war correspondent and international news reporter now working as a self-shooting on-screen journalist at UTV. She began her career in Downtown Radio forty-six years ago before moving on to work for media organisations including UTV, the BBC, SKY News, TV-AM, Radio Ulster, The Times and the Belfast Telegraph weekly newspapers. In addition to covering the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Barbara has reported from hotspots around the world including Iraq, Kuwait, Russia, Syria and Washington, Alaska, Brazil, Uganda Bangladesh and India. Barbara was seriously injured and suffered a broken back in an helicopter crash while filming in Northern Ireland, 28 years ago, has had two hip replacements and more recently battled breast cancer returning to on screen reporting recently at UTV.
Tori is an onscreen journalist at UTV. Tori previously worked at BBC News NI as a reporter on Stormont Live having completed an attachment as a video journalist. She previously spent six years in a radio/digital role at the corporation. Over the years Tori has also worked for Sky and RTÉ.
Claire from Holywood, Co Down, is a senior BBC journalist, reporter and radio presenter. She started her career at the Belfast Telegraph and Citybeat Radio in 2013, before moving to the BBC where she’s worked on numerous programmes for both BBC NI and 5Live in Manchester. Claire also presents The Explanation podcast on the BBC World Service and was the dedicated reporter for the Northern Ireland Women’s Football Euro coverage in France. She has two young daughters and raises awareness of maternal mental health.
Aradhna is Managing Director of The Radio Academy, the UK charity to support and celebrate excellence in audio. A strategic consultant and leader in media, events and engagement, she brings together extensive experience in the media, arts and technology sectors, with a passion for industry development to better reflect, represent and influence society. Formerly at the BBC and through her consultancy Clockhouse Media, Aradhna has led events, initiatives and strategies across the creative industries. Her portfolio includes BBC Shorts, OKRE Summit, Creative Cities Convention, the Film and TV Charity, the Worldwide Association for Women Journalists and Writers, AudioUK, Sadler’s Wells and the National Theatre. A former trustee of The Radio Academy, Aradhna was awarded their Fellowship in 2020 for her services to audio. She is Director of Radio TechCon, the UK’s audio and radio technology conference, trustee of WAC Arts, committee member of the Royal Television Society, London and former Chair of the Jury for their student awards. Read more about ATY here: https://www.radioacademy.org/aradhna-tayal-leach-appointed-as-radio-academy-md/
YASMIN ‘YAZZ’ ZEMMOURA
Yazz is from Belfast via Scotland. My love of radio started at a very young age where I would spend evenings listening to the radio and hound the DJ to give me a mention and play a song for me and my friends. Once I finished school I went straight to college to study radio. I did my very first radio show when I was 20 years old and I'm lucky to still be working in this amazing industry. I have three radio jobs. They are the weekly Mid Morning show on Q Radio, two weekends shows for Edge Radio in Scotland and in store radio for the Co-op!
Denise from Larne, Co Antrim, is the Vice Chair of the Royal College of Nursing Northern Ireland Board, and Chair of the National RCN Trade Union Committee. She became a member of the RCN Northern Ireland Board in January 2020, following her election to represent Northern Ireland as a member of the RCN UK Trade Union Committee. In 2022, she was elected as Chair of the Trade Union Committee. Denise had been serving as Vice Chair since January 2021. Denise also chairs the RCN Northern Branch. Denise has 30 years’ experience in the Health and Social Care service, initially as an auxiliary nurse in 1992. Denise is currently a full time senior clinical nurse co-ordinator on the Hospital At Night team. Due to her extensive experience, Denise understands the challenges facing RCN members and is proud to be a dedicated RCN member, Steward, Health and Safety Rep, and activist. Her primary focus is on the RCN’s pay campaign and safe staffing, especially following the successful industrial action undertaken by RCN members in Northern Ireland. She is passionate about the trade union work of the RCN, whilst also recognising the importance of the professional nursing work. Denise received the RCN Award of Merit in 2020 for exceptional service to members.
Ellen is a seasoned Advocacy Expert and the creator of Policy360: Unplugged, a podcast where she engages with policymakers, delving into their insights on how the community and voluntary sector can effectively influence policy. With over 25 years of experience in the community and voluntary sector, Ellen remains steadfast in her commitment to fostering partnerships for social change. She tirelessly advocates for amplifying the voices of women, children, young people, and families to shape the policy agenda. Ellen’s recent appointment as a Commissioner at the Equality Commission further highlights her dedication to equality, inclusive decision-making, and impactful policy development, ensuring marginalised voices are represented at decision-making tables. She pursues this mission through her collaborative and partnership-oriented approach, actively driving meaningful societal change.
BME Women’s Network NI board member Daniela (45) is from Belfast via the Czech Republic. She has been in Belfast since 2005. She is by choice a divorced, single parent and a woman proud of her own achievements. Her journey of integrity started at the age of 18. Her mum showed her that she could move on from abusive experiences, and she explored the world, travelled, met a lot of interesting people, learned a lot about life. She recently volunteered for almost two years with NOW Group as a Support Worker in Family Services; as an Assistant in an Art Class with young people. She was awarded Volunteer of the year 2023 by Now Group. Currently she is on placement with Queens University in an Office Administration/Receptionist role. She is a member of the International Women’s Group and Refuge for Women and Children against Domestic Violence. She is an Influencer of Well-being, Spirituality and Animal Welfare.
Anaka Collective spokeswoman Oluwaseyi was born in Nigeria. She has Bsc(Hons) in Economics and worked as a Marketer in an Insurance Company for 12 years. Now living in Belfast, Oluwaseyi spends her time volunteering with a number of community organisations. She is an organiser with Anaka Women's Collective, sits on the Parent board of governors at Methodist College and works with young people as a youth worker at Diverse Youth NI. Oluwaseyi is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion and is paving the way for women, new to our communities, to be respected and recognised as the skilled, experienced and capable people that they are!
Amy is a diplomat working in the Irish Secretariat in Belfast. Her educational background is in law, with a masters from UCD in international human rights law. She has previously worked in educational, disability and legal NGOs before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs. Amy is Dyslexic and shares her experience with Dyslexia with as many people who will listen! She lives in Belfast with her partner Kevin and her dog Friday - who is named after the Good Friday Agreement.
Anna (22) from Loughgiel is a final year UU Journalism student. Her dissertation is on the Representation of Disability in the Journalism Industry.
Danielle joined NOW Group as a participant in 2019. Prior to then, she was long-term unemployed and struggled with her confidence. Due to NOW Group support, she has since built her skills and self-belief through specialist training programmes which enabled her to obtain recognised qualifications and led to employment with NOW Group. Danielle is now a proud ambassador for NOW Group and shares her stories to help inspire others.
Niamh is Employment Development Manager at NOW Group, a leading social enterprise which supports people with learning difficulties and autism into jobs with a future. Having joined NOW Group in 2018, Niamh’s role has evolved from employment advice and support in finding jobs for those with neurodiversity conditions, to sustainable employment and the importance of reasonable adjustments in the workplace.
AND A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO BELFAST CITY COUNCIL LORD MAYOR’S OFFICE, AND LORD MAYOR COUNCILLOR RYAN MURPHY FOR WELCOMING TEAM WIMB TO BELFAST CITY HALL: https://minutes.belfastcity.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=362
Here’s a link back to more event info: https://www.wimbelfast.com/voices/wimbs-iwd-2024-inspire-inclusion-event-at-belfast-city-hall
