Board & Governance
As a charitable organisation, authority to conduct the functions of the business is delegated by the Board to our Chief Executive who ensures the corporate objectives of the organisation are successfully achieved.
Our Board are drawn from a range of professional backgrounds across the private, statutory and voluntary sectors and provide their expertise on a purely voluntary basis. The Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team have clearly defined areas of responsibility and accountability, reporting through a range of Board Committees as part of the system of governance.
At this time, our organisation has complied with all sections of the Charities Governance Code.
Praxis Care Board Code of Conduct
Our Board
Ken was employed in various roles within Short Brothers plc since joining in 1973 both in Operational Research and project management roles in military aircraft. Following the Bombardier acquisition of Shorts in 1989, Ken was appointed to lead the fabrications activity at Belfast and his responsibilities were later widened to cover Aero structure Assembly. With the formation in 1996 of Bombardier Aerospace, he was appointed to Vice President and General Manager and was responsible for aerospace operational activity at Belfast, including Belfast City Airport. In May 2000, Ken was appointed Executive Vice President Operations at Bombardier Aerospace and was responsible for all aerospace operational activity in Montreal, Toronto, Wichita and Belfast until his return to Belfast in 2004 to take up the role of Vice Chairman. He was appointed Chairman in 2012.
Ken is a former Chairman of both Maydown Precision Engineering and Belfast City Airport and is currently a Director of The Cancer Fund for Children, Honorary Chairman of Bombardier Aerospace Belfast and Chairman of Ulster Wildlife. Additionally he Chairs all of Bombardier defined benefits pension schemes in the UK with combined assets of over £3 billion. Ken is also the Canadian Honorary Consul for Northern Ireland.
Ken was appointed Chair of the Praxis Care Board in October 2011.
John spent most of his career in the Construction Industry, Business to Business Support and Third Sector Engagement. Prior to his retirement, he worked for HBE as a Buildings Asbestos Surveyor, providing advice on Health and Safety.
John has been a volunteer on many organisations which include: Volunteer Reader Cliftonville PS, Chairman Lisburn Institute, PSNI College Advisory Board Chairman of Strategy Group, Chairman Prison Fellowship, Chairman Laganview Enterprises, West Belfast Employment Services Board and Belfast Health Action Zone Council.
John is the current Vice Chairman for Praxis Care and Chairman of the Care & Development Committee.
Oswyn was the first Head of the Government Legal Service of Northern Ireland retiring recently after a career of 39 years as a solicitor in the Civil Service. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of Wellington College Belfast. Oswyn joined the Board of Praxis Care in 2016 and is Chair of the Governance Committee.
A qualified engineer with an MBA, John has many years of consulting and management experience in a range of industries, public and private. Currently John is a consultant working independently or in conjunction with other firms focusing on (ISO) management standards, process, change and lean management.
John qualified as a Chartered Director with the Institute of Directors (IoD), London in 2016 and has considerable experience in governance, leadership and strategy gained through this qualification as well as 3 years’ experience as a Non Executive Director at VHI, the largest private health insurance company in Ireland. During his time at VHI, John chaired the Board's Sub Committee on Cost Management as well as being a member of the Strategy, Risk Management and Compliance and Internal Audit Sub Committees.
John was appointed to the Praxis Care Board in September 2021 and is a member of the Finance Committee.
Tim is a Chartered Valuation Surveyor with extensive experience in Dispute Resolution. He is a Director at Hopkins Chartered Surveyors Limited and his specialist field is the valuation of land and property throughout Northern Ireland. Tim was appointed as a Board Member in 2017 and is Chair of the Property Committee.
Noreen Roche is the founder of Noreen Roche Consultants. She is a registered general nurse both in Ireland and the UK. In addition she is qualified in areas of nursing management, legal and ethical aspects of nursing, psychology, safety health and welfare at work, and also holds a Master’s of Science in Health Ergonomics. Together with her qualifications and experience in the nursing, medical and legal consultancy fields, Noreen offers a nationwide professional and informed service in the provision of comprehensive nursing care reports and costings in catastrophic personal injury cases, in preparation for High Court, mediation and tribunal hearings in accordance with the Irish health sector. She also investigates occupational injuries within the health sector.
Noreen was appointed to the Praxis Care Board in October 2015.
Mike Dawson joined Belfast Harbour Commission as People and Corporate Services Director in August 2021 and is responsible for their People, IT and Digital Transformation strategies. Mike holds an LLB Honours degree in Law from the University of Liverpool, a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management from Queen’s University Belfast an MA and an MBA. Mike is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and holds SHRM-SCP status from the Society for Human Resource Management. Mike previously held senior roles with Dale Farm, Glen Dimplex Group and Schrader Electronics; he was also a non-executive director with Food and Drink Sector Skills.
Mike was appointed to the Praxis Care Board in October 2020 and is Chair of the HR Committee and a member of the Governance Committee and IT Sub Committee.
Alyson made a huge contribution as Director of Care in Praxis for 13 years, before leaving to take up a senior managerial position in disability services in the Northern Trust. She returned to Praxis Care as a member of the Board in October 2020 and is a member of the Care and Development Committee.
Jason Rance has spent the majority of his corporate career delivering growth and innovation strategies for world class consumer brands and in disruptive VC/PE funded e-commerce and service businesses. He was successively Global Head of Product Innovation and Global VP Marketing & E-Commerce for the Speedo swimwear brand and led its Global Innovation Team Aqualab. Prior to joining Speedo, he co-founded Europe’s first e-commerce platform linking apparel brands and retailers with their global supply base. His most recent role was as Global Innovation Director of Incora, a $2.4bn private equity owned aerospace supply chain solutions business where his team focussed on leveraging digital technologies, including machine learning and AI, to build best in class customer solutions. He holds a BSc. Econs from the London School of Economics & Political Science and is a co-founder of a purpose-led e-commerce apparel business, www.crazyarms.com, focussed on reducing the risk of skin cancer in children and adults.
Jason was appointed to the Praxis Care Board in October 2022.
Mary has been a qualified Social Worker since 1973 and has worked across a range of clinical and community settings in Northern Ireland. Following over a decade in practice, she joined Ulster University as a Lecturer in Social Work in 1985. Having held the post of Head of School in Ulster University for 16 years, Mary retired in 2016 but continues to work on a part time basis in the university as Emerita Professor of Social Work. She has maintained a role in assessment of UG and Post Graduate Social Work. She also has extensive experience in curriculum design and assessment development at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition, she has undertaken External Examining roles across UK and Ireland.
Mary has sustained an academic profile in research and publications, as well as continuous professional development through post qualifying activity. She has a longstanding experience of working with voluntary and public sector organisations.
She is registered as a Social Worker with NISCC 2037198 and is a member of BASW (N.I).
Mary was appointed to the Praxis Care Board in October 2023 and is a member of the HR Committee.
Jacinta is chairperson of Autism Ireland, patron body for seven schools for children with autism and complex needs. She co-founded Autism Support Louth & Meath in 2002 and co-founded the Drogheda ABACAS Special School for Children with Autism & Complex Needs in 2003. A native of Drogheda, Jacinta is a chartered management accountant with extensive experience in both Ireland and the UK. Her eldest son, Sam, was diagnosed with autism in 2001.
As a director of Irish Autism Action, Jacinta had a lead role in negotiating permanent recognition by the Department of Education for the 13 original ABA pilot schools. She regularly contributes to focus groups, policy discussions and submissions with the HSE, NCSE and Department of Education.
In 2014 Autism Support Louth and Meath partnered with Praxis Care and the HSE to establish The Hub” adult service in Drogheda, sourcing funding through the Atlantic Philanthropies Genio Funding to set up the first new Day Service setting under New Directions.
Jacinta sits on the Praxis Care Republic of Ireland Advisory Group and is a Director / Trustee of Praxis Housing Association (ROI).
Jacinta was appointed to the Praxis Care Board in October 2023.
Our History
38 years of experience in providing high quality services in community settings.
Our History