A barrister with extensive experience of homelessness litigation, Alyson has published extensively, including Housing Law in NI. She was Commissioner on Best Commission on Future of Housing, Chair of Simon Community, and Vice-Chair of Co-Ownership. Alyson has occupied many public roles, such as Human Rights Advisor NI Policing Board, independent assessor An Garda Siochana, and independent reviewer of NI ‘legacy’ investigations. She is a founding member of Foyle Family Justice Centre. Alyson is on the Board of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions and Vice Chair of the Global Alliance of NHRIs.

Lynn Macdonald is the Service Manager for In Patient, Liaison and Harm Reduction Services in Glasgow City HSCP and NHSGG&C.  This includes responsibility for Board Wide In patient services, Glasgow Acute Liaison, Crisis Outreach, Enhanced Drug Treatment Services and the Thistle.  She is responsible for the management of a group of services and staff across a number of locations and specialities.

She is a Graduate of Stirling University with a Diploma in Nursing (Mental Health) and a graduate of Caledonian University with a BSc Specialist Practitioner (Substance Use), as well as having a Post Graduate Diploma in the Management of Drug and Alcohol Services from Glasgow University. Through working in Mental Health Hospitals, she developed an interest in the management of alcohol and drug problems.

She is a member of the Glasgow City Alcohol Drug Partnership and chairs the City Centre ADP subgroup as well as participating in a number of other groups focusing on quality and developing services. She is also the ADRS lead for Commissioning / Residential services.

Lynn has experience of working in a number of alcohol and drug settings across Glasgow and Renfrewshire, including, community, in patient, residential, day and specialist services.

She has a keen interest in Harm Reduction and developing new services and refining service delivery reflecting what the people using service need.  She is a strong advocate of developing services with a focus on reducing Stigma and is proactive around challenging stigmatising views and language.

Jennifer Hawthorne was appointed the Director of Housing Services in April 2022. She is responsible for a division with 1,500 staff and manages 83,000 Housing Executive homes across Northern Ireland. She is also responsible for the management of all homelessness services in NI.   Since joining the Housing Executive in 1978, Jennifer has worked in a number of roles throughout her career in the Housing Executive, including Regional Manager for Belfast, Public Relations Manager for Belfast and operational manager for the Shankill area. Jennifer also headed up the Community Cohesion division in the Housing Executive for 10 years, with major accomplishments including the development of shared housing, re-imaging and peace wall barrier removal programmes. In 2015, Jennifer was awarded an OBE for her work on the successful transformation of post conflict communities.

Prof Sir Michael McBride was appointed to the post of Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health, in September 2006.

Prior to joining the department he had been Medical Director at the Royal Group of Hospitals from August 2002.

Prof Sir Michael McBride graduated with Distinction from Queen’s University Belfast in 1986 and completed his undergraduate and postgraduate training in Northern Ireland.  In 1991 he attained a Research Fellowship at St Mary’s Medical School and Imperial College London, where he carried out research into new drug treatments for HIV.

Prof Sir Michael McBride has been a Consultant in the Health Service since 1994 when he was appointed Consultant Physician in HIV medicine at the Royal Group of Hospitals and has more than 10 years health service management experience.

He has a longstanding interest in continuing medical education and was Postgraduate Clinical Tutor in the Royal Group of Hospitals between 1996 and 2000 and Director of Education in the Royal Hospitals from 2000.

As Medical Director at the Royal Hospitals, he contributed to strategic change at trust, regional and national level.  As the Trust lead for clinical and social care governance, he had responsibilities for all aspects of clinical quality and patient safety.

Prof Sir Michael McBride took up the post of Chief Medical Officer during a time of significant change for Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland with responsibilities for Policy and Strategy in relation to Public Health, Quality and Safety and Research and Development.  He also provides strategic advice to Minister and other Government departments on health related matters.  He has been closely involved in the development of the new Health and Social Care structures, post Review of Public Administration, including the establishment of the Public Health Agency.  Prof Sir Michael McBride currently leads in the work to transform health and social services in Northern Ireland in line with Health and Wellbeing 2026 – Delivering Together.

At the request of the Health Minister Prof Sir Michael McBride took up the post of Chief Executive of Belfast Health and Social Care Trust from December 2014 to February 2017.  He combined this role with Chief Medical Officer.  As Chief Executive Prof Sir Michael McBride was head of an integrated health and social care Trust which provided hospital-based and social care services to the population of Belfast, as well as most of Northern Ireland’s regional specialist services.  He had responsibility for key Ministerial priorities, corporate responsibility for the Trust’s 20,000 employees, and overseen the Trust’s annual budget of almost £1.3bn.

Prof Sir Michael McBride was knighted in Her Majesty’s 2021 Birthday Honours for services to public health in Northern Ireland.  He was awarded a Professorship in Public Health Practice from Queens University Belfast in 2021 for services to Public Health.