Membership of CCEA Council

Chairman

CCEA has been operating without an appointed Chair since the death of Mr David McKee in January 2011.

As an interim measure, Council meetings are currently chaired by the Vice-Chair, Mrs Helen McClenaghan.

An update will be posted here when arrangements are made to appoint a new Chairperson.

Council Members

Mr Jim Clarke
Mr Clarke is the Acting Chief Executive of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and previously Principal of St Gabriel’s College, Belfast. Mr Clarke has wide experience of the Northern Ireland education system and has also worked as Chief Executive of an Event Management Company. Mr Clarke is a member of CCEA’s Finance and Education Committees.

Mr James Collins
Mr Collins is former General Manager with Ford Motor Company. He is a member of the Belfast Education and Library Board and a member of the Labour Relations Agency. Mr Collins is Chairman of CCEA’s Finance Committee.

Ms Michele Crilly
Ms Crilly is currently the Director of Education at Queen’s University Belfast’s School of Education. She was previously e-Learning and High Education Manager at Edexcel and Distance Learning Manager at the British Council. Ms Crilly is a member of CCEA’s Audit and Risk Committee.

Mrs Helen McClenaghan OBE
Mrs McClenaghan is a previous Chief Executive of the Southern Education and Library Board having also served as a teacher and then Board Officer. She has a wide range of educational experience. Mrs McClenaghan is the Vice Chair of Council, Interim Chair of the CCEA Education Committee and a member of the Finance Committee.

Mrs Patricia O'Farrell
Mrs O'Farrell is a former teacher. She is a former chairperson of the Northern Committee, Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) and a former member of the Northern Ireland Teachers' Council (NITC). She is currently a member of INTO Equality Committee and a member of the board of the Labour Relations Agency (LRA). Mrs O’Farrell is Chair of the CCEA Audit and Risk Committee and a member of the Finance Committee.

Mr David Thompson
Mr David Thompson is a retired Headmaster. He was a former Principal of the Belfast Boys’ Model and Regent House Grammar School in Newtownards. He has served on numerous education bodies and continues to undertake some consultancy work. Mr Thompson is a member of CCEA’s Finance Committee.

Mr John Wilkinson
Mr Wilkinson is the Principal of Dromore High School. He is a Member of the C2K Project Board, the Education Technology Strategy Management Group and CCEA’s Education and Audit and Risk Committees.

Mrs Dorothy Black
Mrs Black is a lecturer in Initial Teacher Education and Course Director for Continuing Professional Development Masters programmes at the University of Ulster, Coleraine. She has previous experience as a teacher and field officer for Education for Mutual Understanding. Mrs Black is a member of CCEA’s Education Committee.

Government Assessors

Mr Adrian Arbuthnott
Department of Education (DE)

CCEA Officers

Mr Gavin Boyd
Interim Chief Executive

Miss Noleen Kennedy
Manager, Chief Executive's Office Council Support Officer