Board
Our Board members are expected to commit approximately 8 days of their time per annum and the Chair commits approximately 20 days per annum. The length of each term of appointment for all Board members is from 3-5 years. Our Board currently consists of the following members:
Sir David Sterling KCB – Chairperson (February 2022 to 2027)
David spent his career in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) working in a variety of roles. He was Permanent Secretary in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) from 2009 to 2014 and was responsible for the full range of DETI’s functions including policy on economic and business development, tourism, telecommunications, energy, business regulation, geological survey, trading standards and the Insolvency Service.
He was Permanent Secretary in the Department of Finance from 2014 to 2017 when he was promoted to be Head of the NICS, a role from which he retired in August 2020. The devolved institutions were in suspension from the time of his appointment until the resumption of devolved government in early January 2020. His main challenges during his time as Head of the NICS were maintaining public services in the absence of ministers, preparing for Brexit, facilitating the resumption of the Executive in January 2020 and dealing with the first wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
He is currently the Chair of the Chief Executives’ Forum in Northern Ireland, an EY Associate and a board member of a number of charities including Ulster Wildlife, the Cancer Fund for Children, the Centre for Cross Border Studies and Women in Business NI.
Dr Ciara Chambers (March 2025 to February 2030)
Dr Ciara Chambers is Senior Lecturer in Film & Screen Media at University College Cork and author of Ireland in the Newsreels (Irish Academic Press) and Outsider Cinema: Amateur and Independent Filmmaking in Northern Ireland, 1929-1989 (Edinburgh University Press).
She is an elected member of the Council of the International Association for Media and History and an advisor to Atticus Education, the digital education company established by Oscar-winning film producer Lord David Puttnam. She was scriptwriter and associate producer of Ireland in the Newsreels, a six-part BAI-funded television series broadcast on TG4 and producer of the historical play Souls, Shadows and Secrets. She has previously been a board member of Irish Screen Studies and is currently working on several archive-driven initiatives, including Make Film History and Reuters’ Newsfilm for Education.
She holds a BA (Hons) in English Literature (QUB), M.Phil in Psychoanalytic Studies (Trinity College) and PhD in Film (Ulster University) as well as a Licentiate Teaching Diploma in Speech and Drama (New Era Academy). She has extensive outreach experience in educational settings from primary level through to lifelong learning as well as leadership experience in the community and voluntary sector both sides of the border over the past two decades.
Ciara holds no other public appointments.
Aaron ‘Noxy’ Donaghey (March 2025 to February 2030)
With 17 years of experience in the games industry, Aaron ‘Noxy’ Donaghey has made a lasting impact through various roles. He began his career at Dark Water Studios, releasing two indie games, before organizing major games festivals across England and Europe, including Minecon and the Insomnia Games Festival.
Aaron joined Hypixel, the world’s largest Minecraft third-party server network, as Chief Operating Officer. Hypixel transitioned from a modding team to a game development studio, culminating in the sale of Hypixel Studios to Riot Games, the developer behind League of Legends, Valorant and Arcane in 2020.
Today, Aaron serves as CEO of Hypixel Studios, overseeing the development of their upcoming game Hytale, and is on secondment as Special Advisor on product and strategy to Riot Games in Los Angeles.
A keynote speaker for the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, Aaron also serves on the board of The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA). He is a distinguished speaker at the University of Southern California and a graduate of Northwest Regional College.
Previously, Aaron was a non-remunerated director of Foyle Friends of Ukraine CIC and coordinated the drone team for Foyle Search and Rescue.
Aaron holds no other public appointments.
Meg Earls (March 2025 to February 2030)
Meg Earls is an award-winning animation director and graduate of the National Film and Television School. She holds a BA in Animation from the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), Farnham. In 2020 her graduation film Border/Line won a British Animation Award, Best Student Film at the Manchester Animation Festival and was nominated for the CILECT Prize.
She has worked with Dame Mary Beard on her short film Women & Power and has been an animator on BAFTA nominated In Her Boots (2019) and BAFTA winning Crab Day (2024). During her time at the NFTS (2022-24) she received mentorship from Joanna Quinn.
In 2021 Meg returned to UCA to teach animation. Providing insight into the industry and supporting new talent is something that she strongly values. Meg is currently writing her next film whilst doing the 24/25 festival circuit with her most recent film It All Comes Down.
Meg holds no other public appointments.
Dr Frank Ferguson (March 2025 to February 2030)
Dr Ferguson is the Research Director for English Language and Literature at Ulster University as well as a researcher and lecturer in Ulster and Scottish writing, literary diaspora studies and Irish and British book history.
He has published extensively on the Ulster Scots tradition and has worked with local authorities, councils and community groups to develop a range of exhibitions and literary projects.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr Ferguson has been involved in broadcasting for many years, working as a consultant for a number of companies to develop television, radio and digital productions. He is a Governor of the Linen Hall Library and is the Chair of the John Hewitt Society.
Dr Ferguson holds a PhD, MA and BA from Queen’s University, Belfast.
Dr Ferguson holds no other public appointments.
Michael Fanning (July 2022 to June 2025)
Michael is an award winning producer and director who has produced a range of current affairs and factual programmes for broadcasters across the UK and Ireland. He is Managing Director of Below The Radar, a Belfast based TV production company. He joined Below The Radar in 2006 having spent five years working in news and current affairs at UTV.
Michael is also a member of Northern Ireland Screen’s Strategic Resources Committee.
Tommy Martin (March 2025 to February 2030)
Tommy has over 30 years’ experience in a variety of financial and leadership roles across several industries including education and training (South Eastern Regional College), broadcasting (BBC Northern Ireland) and communications (Nortel).
Tommy was interim Principal & Chief Executive of South Eastern Regional College from August 2024 before being appointed permanently to the position on 13 December 2024, having been a member of the College’s Management Team since 2009. Over the last 15 years he has played a key role in the strategic and financial management of the College, first as Head of Finance, then as Chief Finance Officer and more recently as Deputy Chief Executive.
Tommy graduated from Ulster University with First Class Honours in Business Studies. He holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Collaborative Transformation and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.
Carmel Mullan (June 2020 to May 2025)
Carmel has a diverse range of financial experience gained over 30 years starting with ‘Big 4’ training. She is a qualified accountant and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. She spent 13 years in practice with Ernst & Young where, as an Audit Senior Manager she managed UK, ROI and internationally based assignments.
For 15 years, Carmel was Group Financial Controller at UTV Media plc which was a media group responsible for the provision of the regional Channel 3 television licence in Northern Ireland, radio services in Ireland and GB; and digital services in Ireland. Carmel was a strategic member of an executive team that built the national business through acquisitions, diversification into new business areas and tendering for new radio licences.
In recent years Carmel has performed consultancy roles in strategic projects, risk management, corporate governance and compliance. She currently acts as Financial Advisor and Company Secretary to the Board of Diaceutics PLC, having successfully project managed the Company’s IPO and consequential listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Carmel is a Commissioner on the Board of The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and is a member of their Audit & Risk Committee.
Róise Ní Bhaoill (July 2022 to June 2025)
Róise worked for the Irish-language charity, the ULTACH Trust until 2019. She served on a range of committees and boards including Iontaobhas na Gaelscolaíochta (The Trust for Irish-medium Education, of which she was Chair), Colmcille (promoting Irish and Scottish Gaelic links), The European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages, the Raidió na Gaeltachta Commission and various panels and subcommittees of the Community Relations Council, the Human Rights Commission and the Arts Council.
She is the author of Ulster Gaelic Voices: Bailiúchán Doegen 1931, a collection of recordings of some of the last native speakers of Irish in Ulster. She also authored Taisce Focal, Scéalta beaga do dhaoine móra for adult learners of Irish and Ceol Leat! for the Irish-medium preschool sector. She has edited the MERCATOR Dossier on the Irish language in education in Northern Ireland and was joint-editor of Gaelic-medium education provision: Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man and the bilingual short story collection Bás in Éirinn | May You Die in Ireland. She edited Our Tangled Speech, a collection of essays on language and politics, by her late colleague Aodán Mac Póilin. Her first short story collection was published recently.
Eimhear O’Neill (March 2025 to February 2030)
Eimhear O’Neill is a Critics Choice Award-winning producer, director and founder of Chapterhouse Films, an independent film and television production company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
She produced “The Go-Go’s” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was directed by Alison Ellwood, co-produced Emmy-nominated “No Stone Unturned” directed by Academy Award winner Alex Gibney as well as Emmy, Peabody and IFTA-winning feature documentary “Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God” for HBO.
Eimhear also served as a producer on Paramount+ feature documentary “Let the Canary Sing” about activist and artist Cyndi Lauper, as well as co-producing Netflix’s “Mercury 13”.
She executive produced “Murder of a GAA Chairman”, “Nicola: Taking Back Control” and “Michael Lynn: The Fugitive” for RTÉ, as well as a forthcoming feature about Boy George and Culture Club which will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2025.
As a director, Eimhear wrote the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition story back into history via Celtic Media Award-nominee “Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs” for PBS and BBC Northern Ireland as well as co-directing the Galway Film Fleadh award-winning short “Inez: A Challenging Woman” about trade unionist Inez McCormick.
Alongside production, Eimhear was formerly Head of Development at BAFTA-winning studio, Fine Point Films. She was also a recipient of the BFI Flare Filmmakers’ Mentorship Programme and a former Fast Track/Ones To Watch.
Susan Picken (July 2022 to June 2025)
Most recently, Susan was Director of the Cathedral Quarter Trust, a cultural regeneration agency working in and around Belfast’s historic city centre Cathedral Quarter. Amongst the projects the trust delivers is Belfast’s yearly Culture Night event, the city’s largest free arts event with annual audiences of over 90,000.
Between 2008 and 2017 Susan was head of the Queen’s Film Theatre (QFT). Part of Queen’s University, the two-screen QFT is Northern Ireland’s only dedicated cultural cinema delivering a world-class, year-round programme of feature films, documentary, archive and specialised films and event. During Susan’s time at the QFT, she managed all aspects of programming and operations, building audiences of around 100,000 each year and overseeing the cinema’s full conversion to digital technology.
In 2012, Susan oversaw the introduction and set-up of Film Hub NI, part of the British Film Institute’s (BFI) Film Audience Network, a major UK wide audience development project based around a series of regional and national film hubs. Film Hub NI delivers a range of audience development and screening based support across NI and has had a significant positive impact upon film culture in the region.
Prior to this, Susan had many years’ experience working in cultural cinema in London. Roles included running events at London’s National Film Theatre (now BFI Southbank) and running the film programme at the Hospital Club, the members’ club for the creative industries.
Susan canvassed on behalf of the Alliance Party in the 2017 General Election.
Susan is also a member of Northern Ireland Screen’s Audit and Risk Committee and Investment Committees.
Peter Weil (June 2020 to May 2025)
Starting in the early sixties as a child actor on BBC Northern Ireland Home Service’s Children’s Hour, Peter went on to become Head of BBC Radio Ulster; Head of Network Television, BBC North; Senior Vice-President, Discovery Networks International; General Manager, Animal Planet International and Chief Executive, CTVC (part of the Rank Foundation).
Peter has produced programmes with Sir Robin Day, Sir David Frost, Jeremy Paxman, Dame Esther Rantzen, Paul Clark, Miriam O’Callaghan, Gerry Ryan, Emma Barnett and Gloria Hunniford. Peter was the first Head of Youth Programmes at BBC Northern Ireland and was subsequently appointed the editor of BBC One’s Wogan. He launched First Edition with Jon Snow, a schools current affairs programme on Channel Four for 9-13 year olds, which ran for eight years. As General Manager of Animal Planet he commissioned Meerkat Manor which subsequently aired on Animal Planet USA, BBC Two and Channel 5. He also pioneered TrueTube, an online channel which specialises in religious education and citizenship.
The channel won the BAFTA award for Children’s Channel of the Year in 2017. During his period as CEO of CTVC, the company won an RTS award for best edited documentary (Welcome to Mayfair) as well as three nominations for a Grierson documentary award.
In 2000 Peter was invited to become a fellow of the Royal Television Society and in 2002, while working in the USA, he was appointed an Alternate Director for the Emmys committee.
Peter is currently a Governor of Stranmillis University College where he chairs the Finance and General Purposes Committee. In addition, he chairs Northern Ireland Screen’s Investment Committee.
Together with a board which included Baroness May Blood, Monica McWilliams, Carol McCann, former Principal, St. Dominic’s Grammar School and Dr. David Gallagher, former senior Vice-Principal and Head of Politics at Methodist College Belfast.
Peter’s proudest achievement was to launch Politics in Action in 2017. At a time when neither the Assembly nor the Executive were sitting, thirty post secondary schools from across the Province came together to participate in a pan Northern Ireland shared education initiative which involved visits to Stormont, Westminster and Leinster House and the opportunity to quiz MLAs, MPs and TDs.
