OUR BOARD

Joanne McDowell

Joanne McDowell is the owner of a small business and Director of Throatlake Consulting.  She is an experienced executive leader in the public sector, with extensive knowledge of the charitable, voluntary and the social business sector in Northern Ireland and the UK. Her expertise focuses on innovation in grant making, change management, strategy, and policy development, and until 2019 she was Director for NI at the Big Lottery Fund.  Joanne is a Non-Executive Board Member of the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland.

Previously she lectured at the University of Ulster and the Scottish Agricultural College and worked as Consultant at KPMG. She has a D/Phil in Planning Policy in Spain.

Robert Irvine

Robert worked in the financial services sector for more than 30 years including positions with the Law Society of Northern Ireland, Coopers & Lybrand and latterly over 20 years with Ulster Bank where he was Head of Group Compliance and held senior management positions in Risk and Strategic Finance.

A graduate of Queens University Belfast, Robert is currently a lay representative for the Northern Ireland Medical & Dental Training Agency.

Esther Barnes

Esther Barnes has worked for the Strategic Investment Board for over 8 years delivering the Northern Ireland Executive’s Investment Strategy Delivery Tracking System and procurement pipeline for infrastructure contracts.  For the past 6 years Esther has lead on the implementation and delivery of a Social Value model for Construction Contracts working with all Government Departments and their Arm’s Length Bodies as well as Councils in Northern Ireland to maximise the societal impact of investment in infrastructure.

Working with stakeholders across multiple sectors including Senior Civil Servants, MLAs, Industry Representative Bodies, Universities, Councils and Construction Industry Organisations, Esther has designed and delivered training to Suppliers to Government contracts who are required to include social value in their tender responses as well as Third Sector and Education organisations who can benefit from the delivery of Social Value initiatives.

Prior to joining SIB, Esther worked for the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and Tourism Northern Ireland.

Alison Grundle

Having grown up in Coleraine and lived away for many years I now live just outside Portrush. My working life has been spent largely in large corporate organisations focusing on strategic transformation and business improvement. I have worked on a wide range of projects across a diverse range of sectors including finance, government and telecommunications. My passion is for driving the cultural and behavioural change that can revolutionise an organisation and consequently, its performance.

I have been involved with CAN for over ten years now and during this time have seen it develop and grow from a small local charity into a leader in its field. The most compelling aspects of CAN are its complete commitment to members and the vision, imagination and commitment of its staff. This is what first attracted me to CAN and continues to inspire me.

After a decade of working with CAN every interaction still leaves me feeling proud, happy, humbled and genuinely more optimistic about the world. Change is difficult for all humans but CAN embraces it in a way that brings everyone on board – and has fun along the way.

Alan McVicker

Alan works for the Strategic Investment Board (SIB) as a Strategic Adviser and Head of the Council Support Unit.

Between 2015 and 2019 he chaired a Circular Economy Steering Group seeking to establish Circular Economy principles on the NI Programme for Government.

Prior to joining SIB, Alan lived and worked in Scotland for 20 years, where he was Scottish Director with Shanks Group plc, the largest independent waste business in the UK at that time. He also spent a short time working as a consultant and has worked for Scottish Futures Trust as an Associate Adviser on several large waste PPP projects.

Alan is a Chartered Waste/Resource Manager and was Chair of the NI Centre of CIWM from 2013 – 2015. In late 2019, he undertook the Prince of Wales Business and Sustainability Programme at University of Cambridge (Institute for Sustainability Leadership) and joined the Board of Sustainable NI in late 2020.

Alan is a Gateway Reviewer with the NI Centre of Excellence and is also a Practitioner in Agile Project Management.

Alan is married to Louise and they have two daughters, Hannah (21) and Lily (19).

Scott Brown

From 2016 to 2019, he served as a Health & Educational advisor at Fields of Life (FOL), an Irish/Ugandan international development NGO. He took on the role of Project Director at Gulu Vocational Training Institute from January 2016 to 2018, overseeing the construction of a significant Vocational Training Institute in Gulu, Uganda. Scott also contributed as a Family Physician at The Surgery, Naggula Drive Kampala, Uganda, during the years 2016 to 2018. His accomplishments also include serving as the Vice-Chancellor of International Health Sciences University in Kampala, Uganda, from 2013 to 2016, responsible for academic and administrative aspects.

Moreover, Scott held pivotal roles in healthcare and education, including being a Principal and senior partner in an NHS practice in Coleraine, Co Londonderry, from 1985 to 2015. He chaired the RCGP N Ireland Council and RCGP Pension Governance Committee and was a trustee of White Oaks Addiction Training Centre. His extensive experience and commitment are evident in his positions as Chairman of the RCGP N Ireland Council, Vice Chairman of the RCGP UK Council, and other roles, showcasing his influential contributions to healthcare and education.

Jayne Taggart

Jayne Taggart is Chief Executive of Enterprise Causeway responsible for supporting the sustainable economic development of the Causeway Coast and Glens area.

Jayne has 29 years of experience working within the business support sector for micro and SMEs, specialising in strategic planning and development, marketing, financial planning, business training, coaching and mentoring.  Prior to this she was in employed in sales and marketing roles across a number of sectors including financial services, food and residential property.

Jayne volunteers and sits on the Board of a number of third sector organisations and charities as well as serving on the council of Ulster University, Causeway Chamber of Commerce and is an ambassador for Women in Business for the Causeway Coast & Glens region.

Jayne received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2014 in recognition of her work in promoting enterprise and entrepreneurship and in 2022 was recognised as Leader of the Year by Social Enterprise NI (SENI) , alongside securing Best Small Social Enterprise of the Year for Enterprise Causeway.

Caroline Rowlands

Caroline is General Counsel for Howden CAP, a division of the insurance broker, Howden. After training and qualifying as a solicitor at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Caroline joined the Howden team as a broker in the Warranty & Indemnity team. Prior to taking on the role of General Counsel, Caroline led Howden’s U.K. private equity practice. Caroline has a MA in Law from the University of Cambridge. Outside of work she enjoys running, travel and visiting art galleries.