COURSE FINDER

Mr Brian Acheson is the Chair of the Governing Body for South Eastern Regional College. Brian is currently Group Information Systems Director with SHS Group and his background lies in management consultancy, working with clients throughout the UK and overseas. Brian has been involved in public service since the early 1990s, and has chaired the Governing Body of Castlereagh College of Further & Higher Education since 1998.

Mr Bennett lives in Bangor.  He has been the Director of Finance at Queen’s University, Belfast, since 2000. Mr Bennett has been a member of the governing body of North Down & Ards Institute since 2002 and is also a lay member of the audit committee at the Eastern Health and Social Services Board, for which he receives £1,200 per annum.  He has not carried out any political activity in the last five years.

Mr Ferris retired from his position as headmaster of Down High School in Downpatrick in 2008.  He is a magistrate (youth and family courts), for which he receives £160 per day and a Justice of the Peace.  Mr Ferris lives in Downpatrick.  He has not carried out any political activity in the last five years.

Mr Gallaher has been the Regional Director of CHKS Ltd, a management consultancy specialising in the health sector, since 1995; he previously managed projects and estates in the health sector.  Mr Gallaher lives in Helen’s Bay, County Down.  He has not carried out any political activity in the last five years.

Mr David Lamb

Mr Lamb is a qualified accountant.  He has been the Assistant Director of Finance at the NI Housing Executive since 1997, having previously held accountancy or finance posts at Bombardier Shorts and Harland and Wolff.  Mr Lamb lives in Crossgar, County Down.  He has not carried out any political activity in the last five years.

Alastair McDowell OBE

Mr McDowell Is a Chartered Secretary, a graduate of the Open University and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in IT Applications in Accounting from Dublin City University.  He was a former Head of Business Affairs with the Northern Ireland Policing Board and prior to that had worked with the Police Authority for Northern Ireland in a variety of posts.   He is Chair of the College Audit and Risk Committee and a member of the College Education Committee.  Mr McDowell is married and lives in Bangor.  He has not carried out any political activity in the last five years.

Laurence O’Neill

Mr O’Neill, who lives in Dunmurry, is the Director of Finance at the Mater Hospital.  He has been a member of the governing body of Lisburn Institute since 2002 and a member of the finance and HR committee of Action Cancer since 2005.  Mr O’Neill has not carried out any political activity in the last five years.

Deirdre Vincent

Professor Vincent taught and conducted research in the German department at the University of Toronto until her retirement in 2003.  She has been a member of all the major committees of the university, including the executive board, the senate, appointments and appeals committees.  Professor Vincent lives in Lisburn.  She has not carried out any political activity in the last five years.

Russell Andrews

Russell Andrews is a lecturer in Computing and IT at the Lisburn Campus, where he has worked for the past 9 years, having previously worked in a training capacity for the T&EA. He is an active trade union member and has held the posts of Chairperson and Branch Secretary of UCU.

Beth Porter

Beth Porter is Chief Librarian for the South Eastern Education & Library Board, a post she has held since 1997.  As one of the 4 Strategic Managers of the SEELB she also has responsibility for overall board policy, planning and budgeting.  Beth is a member of the Staff Commission for the Education & Library Boards and sits on the NILA (Northern Ireland Library Authority) HR Forum. She was a member of the Project Board for the major PFI development of electronic service for libraries in Northern Ireland and sits on the Contract Executive Board for the service.

James Hunt

Mr. James Hunt is a Chartered Accountant. He is recently retired as a partner in Hill Vellacott – Chartered Accountants. He is currently a member of the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board and of the SME committee of the Auditing Practices Board. James is currently a director of several companies including Progressive Building Society and Golf Holdings Ltd. He has been involved extensively in voluntary work including 13 years as Chairman and Trustee of Grand Opera House Trust. He is currently a member of Audit Committee of South Eastern Education and Library Board.

Adrianne Peltz, Student Govenor

Adrianne Peltz is currently in the second year of her BA Hons Degree in Business Management with the College.  Originally from Durban in South Africa, Adrianne now lives in Bangor.  She is a Specialist Health Care Recruiter and started her career in Marketing with Virgin Active in South Africa before emigrating to Northern Ireland in 2005. She has been a member of the  Student Union since 2008 and was initially the Welfare Officer for Bangor and Ards before becoming Student Governor.