Meet the Board

David has worked in international and global health since 1988, including 12 years working with Tearfund and other development agencies in Nepal, Liberia, Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo. Following his return to Ireland he worked as health adviser with Irish Aid, the government overseas aid programme, from 2003 to 2007. David is now a Consultant in Public Health Medicine in the Health Service Executive (HSE) and works as Programme Lead for the HSE Global Health Programme.

Richard is manager of Tivoli Training Centre in Dun Laoghaire. He has been a supporter of Tearfund since he was seven years old. Richard has spent fourteen years working in development projects in Africa and in Ireland, as well as 7 years with Dell gaining experience of the corporate world. He is married to Wendy and has a son, Zeph. They live in Stillorgan. Richard loves to hike and rock-climb, although it never seems to happen often enough.

Richard retired in 2007 from a challenging career in banking, culminating as Director and General Manager of an Irish subsidiary bank of a major Italian banking group, responsible for assets of €8.5 billion. He has also served as non-executive director on numerous boards of financial companies. Since retiring, Richard has been the volunteer administrator of Grosvenor Road Baptist Church in Dublin and has indulged his love of classical music. His desire is to see help and healing and the good news of Jesus Christ brought to those in need throughout the world, by local churches and Christian organisations.

Paraic O’Toole, Director Tearfund Ireland and Board Director of the Marketing Institute of Ireland Paraic is the Chief Executive of Automsoft, the leading process data management software company in the world, whose major customers include Cadbury, Exxon and Pfizer. He was a founding director of the US-Ireland Alliance and is currently serving on the executive council of the Irish Software Association. He brings a wealth of business and management experience to the Board. Paraic is married to Susan and has four children. When he is not working or spending time with his family he is in training for a marathon.

Susan has a background in project management and has worked alongside her husband pastoring Redcross Church, Co. Wicklow, for the past 22 years. She involved in the New Wine network. A long time supporter of Tearfund Ireland, she is passionate about the local church and has a heart to see the Irish Church actively involved in transforming the lives of the poor through both action and prayer. She is married to Roland and has 3 children.

‘Ovo has lived and worked in Ireland since the mid-1990s; prior to that he worked in Trinidad and Tobago. Following training in General Medicine, he went on to train and qualify as a specialist in Occupational Medicine. ‘Ovo has a healthy interest and passion for issues of civic responsibility, governance and, accountability. He is involved in community service both as a volunteer and in governance roles, and has a strong commitment to the role of the local church as an effective agent for development and transformation in communities.

Lucy has a background in Development Education – after working for ACET Ireland for several years she completed an MA in International Development at Kimmage Development Studies Centre. Following this Lucy worked in Development Education at the National Youth Council of Ireland. These days, however, she spends most of her time caring for her 3 girls – Maddie, Ruby and Iris and is passionate about finding ways to help her kids engage with the world around them and exploring how they can creatively respond to issues of social justice, local and global, as a family living in Dublin.

Lucy is also part of the 24/7 Prayer movement and together with her husband, Ross, lead a 24/7 community in Dublin – with the values of prayer, mission and justice at the heart.

Sharon, currently the Director of the All-Island Congenital Heart Disease Network, has worked in the Healthcare sector for over 25 years. Previous positions include CEO of LauraLynn, Children’s Hospice and COO of Tallaght Hospital. Sharon is Registered General Nurse and having completed the BSc (Hons) in Nursing continued her education with a MBA, MSc in Healthcare Ethics and Law, and, more recently, a Professional Diploma in Corporate Governance. Sharon is also a qualified Black Belt in Lean / 6 Sigma and is a trained instructor in Crew Resource Management. Sharon is a member of the gHealth Research group which is primarily focused on global health issues in low and middle income countries, and is presently involved in a large project concentrating on child health in Malawi. Sharon attends Wicklow Methodist Church and her family have been long term supporters of Tearfund. In recent times, Sharon has volunteered in Iraq and Calais, providing support and clinical care to the displaced children and adults.