Dorinnia Carville is a Chartered Accountant who trained and worked in “Big 4” private sector accountancy firms in London and Belfast before moving into public sector audit at the NI Audit Office, holding positions including Financial Audit Director and Director of Corporate Services. Following the review of public administration, Dorinnia moved into local government as Director of Corporate Services, and later Deputy Chief Executive, at Newry Mourne and Down District Council. She was also Acting Chief Executive of the Council before becoming Northern Ireland’s Comptroller & Auditor General in August 2022.

Since becoming BBCNI’s Agriculture and Environment correspondent in 2022, Louise Cullen has immersed herself in a world of climate and farming challenges and solutions. She started her career with Reuters following her graduation from Queen’s University Belfast in Law & Accounting. After joining BBCNI, she relocated to Fermanagh in 2002, where she launched BBC Radio Ulster’s News in the West, imported a husband from England and adopted several cats. Since returning to Belfast in 2013, she has worked in tv, radio and digital, taking up her current role just before COP26 in Glasgow. Outside work, Louise is a keen reader and puzzler, a qualified Zumba instructor, and a creative writer.

Lauri McCusker is Director of the Fermanagh Trust. He has overseen the development of the Fermanagh Trust's work for 28 years. Prior to this he was a community development worker with the Devenish Partnership Forum. Lauri’s early career seen him employed in the Department of Economic Development Economics Branch and as Economic Development Officer in Fermanagh District Council. Lauri is actively involved in a range of national, regional and local organisations including the NI Community Academy and the NI Funders Forum, currently chairing the Policy Group. Lauri led on the Trust's pioneering work on Shared Education. Lauri has also written papers and advocated on a range of policy issues focusing on putting the community at the centre of policy implementation. Lauri is a champion for empowering communities to become proactive around environmental issues and climate change including the development of community energy and is actively involved in the development of Community Energy NI. Lauri's leadership of the Fermanagh Trust has been centred around the principle of independence with a focus on self-reliance, freedom, and autonomy in the community sector. He is passionate about community development and the power of local convening and working collectively to improve people's lives with a particular focus.

Lisa was appointed Managing Director of Business in the Community Northern Ireland in April 2025. Before this role, Lisa was Deputy Managing Director and led the Membership, Communications and Workplace parts of the organisation. She believes business is, and should be, a force for good. Lisa led the creation of BITC’s ground-breaking tool to help companies measure and benchmark their corporate social responsibility – CORE: The Standard for Responsible Business. Lisa holds a PhD in Responsible Business from Queen’s University Belfast, lectures on responsible business and sustainability, and has delivered her academic research on local, national and global platforms. She specialises in helping organisations integrate responsible business and sustainability with their broader business strategy. Lisa is a member of B Lab’s European Regional Advisory Group and the Derry and Strabane Sustainability and Climate Commission. Previously, she sat on The Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) taskforce advising on the role of ‘Universities Creating Public Good’. She recently took on the role of Chair for Women’s Aid, ABCLN. Lisa is busy with a young family and a hyper dog outside of work. She also mentors several upcoming ESG managers and teaches Irish traditional music. She also loves to cook and travel.

Robbie McDonald FRSB is an ecologist with 30 years’ experience of work at the interface between environmental science, policy and practice. As Chief Insights Officer and Chief Scientist at the Office for Environmental Protection, Robbie directs the evidence and analysis programme of work that supports OEP’s scrutiny of government’s progress in improving the natural environment. He leads a team of analysts with diverse expertise in natural and social scientific research, environmental management, protection, consultancy and regulation. In his research Robbie has used interdisciplinary approaches to identify and test solutions to complex problems of environmental management, particularly wildlife conservation and management, invasive species management, wildlife disease ecology and management, environmental monitoring and data, conflicts about animals, and companion animal ecology. He has published 200 scientific papers and book chapters and has held a Fulbright Scholarship, Jones Fellowship, Royal Society postdoctoral fellowship, and has worked in universities, NGOs and in government agencies. Robbie led Quercus, the Northern Ireland Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, a partnership between Queens University Belfast and NI Department of Environment. He was then head of wildlife science and Deputy Chief Scientist at the Food and Environment Research Agency. He is a Trustee of the Vincent Wildlife Trust and Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and currently holds the Chair in Natural Environment at the University of Exeter’s Environment and Sustainability Institute, to which he was appointed in 2011.

Joanne Sherwood is the Director of RSPB Northern Ireland, leading a dedicated team of staff and volunteers and inspiring them and others to save nature in Northern Ireland and on the Isle of Man, the latter in partnership with Manx Birdlife. She is a strong advocate of partnership working, including on an all-Ireland basis with BirdWatch Ireland.

A water engineer by background, she is also the former Vice Chair of Northern Ireland Environment Link and prior to joining RSPB in 2014, had a 20-year career in environmental regulation and management in England and Wales.

Christopher Hammond is the Chief Executive for UK100. UK100 is a cross-party membership organisation that supports the most ambitious councils to go further and faster on their Net Zero and Clean Air targets. Since joining in 2021, the network has doubled and launched two new ambitious programmes. The Climate Leadership Academy and Local Power in Action. In 2023, the Membership Team which he created, was shortlisted for ‘Team of the Year’ in the Edie Sustainable Leadership Awards. Previously, Christopher served as the elected Leader of Southampton City Council from 2018-2021. During his tenure as a councillor (2013-2022), he brokered an agreement that led to the country’s first commercial Shore Power facility and devised a Green City Charter subsequently signed by 75 major city organisations. In 2020, he was shortlisted for ‘Leader of the Year’ at the LGIU Councillor Awards.

Amy Bell has over five years' experience working in climate adaptation and mitigation in Northern Ireland. Amy leads delivery of the Climate NI Programme, which is a cross-sectoral partnership devoted to understanding and enabling adaptation and mitigation actions in Northern Ireland that can address the climate emergency. Amy also works on a number of other climate projects across the UK and Ireland aiming to enhance transboundary climate adaptation work. Amy has experience developing climate change policy in Northern Ireland through engagement with civil society, researchers and public bodies.

Sara Lynch is the Head of Sustainability at Queen's University Belfast. She has over 20 years’ experience as a sustainability practitioner in the Corporate, NGO and Further Higher Education sectors. Sara currently leads the Queen's Sustainability team, overseeing the delivery of a wide range of programs to embed sustainability across the University and deliver on the University's Net Zero commitments.Sara graduated from Queen's University Belfast with a BSc Hons in Geography and an MSc in Applied Environmental Science. She is Board member and Ireland convenor for the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges (EAUC) and member of the Leaderhsip Council for SDSN Ireland.

Dr Gary Curran is Director of Engineering & Sustainability at Northern Ireland Water, where he leads a multidisciplinary directorate responsible for the stewardship of water and wastewater assets and the delivery of safe, compliant and environmentally sustainable services across Northern Ireland. With over 30 years’ experience in the water sector, Gary has held senior leadership roles across asset development, customer operations and infrastructure delivery

Gary joined Northern Ireland Water in 1992. He has since played a key role in shaping NI Water’s response to increasing regulatory demands, climate pressures and funding constraints, with a strong focus on protecting water quality and improving environmental outcomes. He is a Director at UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR), a Trustee of the NI Water Pension Scheme, and a former Secretary of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

Keelin McCone leads Business in the Community’s environmental work, focusing on helping businesses turn sustainability ambition into practical action. Her role centres on bringing companies together to shape a strong, collective response to key environmental challenges. Keelin oversees BITC’s climate campaign, Business Action on Climate, and leads the delivery of the Climate Action Programme. Since its launch in 2022, the programme has engaged more than 200 businesses, supporting them to take meaningful, measurable steps on climate action and wider environmental improvement.

Alongside this, Keelin oversees the NI Environmental Benchmarking Survey and champions the Business and Biodiversity Charter, reflecting her commitment to promoting responsible, nature positive business practices. Keelin joined Business in the Community in 2006 and has worked across a wide range of environmental projects during that time. She is motivated by working directly with organisations to support real change and help them build a more sustainable future.

Heidi Redmond is a Circular Economy Adviser, seconded to the Department for the Economy from the Strategic Investment Board. She brings over a decade of experience working on development proposals across English councils, Sport England, and Northern Ireland, giving her a strong foundation in sustainable development and a particular passion for embedding circular design thinking into the delivery of capital projects. Heidi also worked as a project manager on a major international event, collaborating with multiple partners to deliver the first Open golf championship. Since 2020, she has championed the opportunities of the circular economy transition within the Department for the Economy, helping to build a robust evidence base with close engagement with industry to shape Northern Ireland’s first Circular Economy Strategy.

Lauri McCusker is Director of the Fermanagh Trust. He has overseen the development of the Fermanagh Trust's work for 28 years. Prior to this he was a community development worker with the Devenish Partnership Forum. Lauri’s early career seen him employed in the Department of Economic Development Economics Branch and as Economic Development Officer in Fermanagh District Council. Lauri is actively involved in a range of national, regional and local organisations including the NI Community Academy and the NI Funders Forum, currently chairing the Policy Group. Lauri led on the Trust's pioneering work on Shared Education. Lauri has also written papers and advocated on a range of policy issues focusing on putting the community at the centre of policy implementation.

Paul Roberts is Chief Executive of Community Places, a charity which helps people have a say in how their communities are planned and developed. Paul is an award-winning third sector leader with a distinguished career in community development and social enterprise. He is a Director of the Scottish Community Development Centre and has a Master’s Degree in Voluntary Sector Management. He is an honorary professor in Practice of Planning and Urban Regeneration with Queen’s University Belfast.