Newsletter
Extern NI Board Trustees
Meet our Extern NI Board members
Extern Northern Ireland Board
Extern NI Board of Trustees is responsible for our governance and strategic direction. The Board is accountable for everything we do, including setting our strategic direction, scrutinising our performance and supporting & empowering our Executive Team of Directors.
Ian McAvoy
Extern Northern Ireland Chair, Extern Group Director and Extern Ireland Director
Ian lives in Belfast and was educated at MCB and London University. After graduating in economics Ian studied accountancy. After a spell in practice, he became the Finance Director of a leading Irish brand and was promoted to Chief Executive, holding that position for 16 years. He has much expertise in strategic planning, transformation, finance and marketing. Ian was Chair of PlayBoard, Vice Chair of Sport NI, Director of Sport NI, and is presently Vice Chair of Ark Housing. He has a keen interest in rugby and football, initially as a player and now as an administrator, and holds the position of Chairman of Rugby at Queen's University, Belfast. He is married to Lynne with three grown-up children.
Stephen Leach
Extern Group Director and Extern NI Director
Stephen, from North Down, is an accomplished professional with a background in the Civil Service, specializing in negotiations such as those leading to the Good Friday Agreement. As Chair of the Northern Ireland Criminal Justice Board, he spearheaded significant reforms, including the establishment of the Youth Justice Agency and modernized legislation. His extensive experience also includes roles as a Non-Executive Director for the Health and Social Care Board and service as a Parole Commissioner and Northern Ireland Commissioner on the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Shane McLaughlin
Extern NI Director
Shane is an Education Adviser for the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. He graduated from Queen's University Belfast and achieved his Masters in Education from the University of Nottingham. Shane previously worked in Kabul, where he had oversight of a girls education programme, working with the Afghanistan government to increase girls access and improve learning outcomes for 70,000 girls. Shane has also worked for the UK’s Stabilisation Unit and the British Council working on multilateral policy and managing international education programs with UK and EU funding. Shane is currently supporting education reform and promoting girls' education to increase access to quality education in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Paul Doran
Extern Group Director and Extern NI Director
Paul brings extensive experience to his role, having served in various capacities within the NI Prison Service/DoJ, including Director of Rehabilitation and Reducing Reoffending from 2018-2022. Prior to this, he held positions such as Director of Rehabilitation, Deputy Chief Probation Officer, and Assistant Chief Probation Officer with PBNI. With a background spanning from 1982-1999, Paul has held diverse roles within the Probation Service in NI and London. Academically, he holds qualifications including an Advance Diploma in Management Practice, Masters in Social Work, Diploma in Social Studies, and Bachelor of Social Science.
Dr Lynne McMordie
Extern Northern Ireland Director
Lynne is a Research Associate at the Institute for Social Policy, Housing and Equalities Research at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. Her research focuses on housing, homelessness and poverty with a special interest in temporary accommodation. Prior to taking up an academic position, Lynne held senior managerial roles in the homelessness sector in NI, managing a range of services including hostel accommodation, drop-in-centre and street outreach services. Lynne completed her BA(Hons) and MA in English at QUB before obtaining a PhD at Heriot-Watt University in 2021.
Noreen Wright
Extern Northern Ireland Director
Ms. Wright, a barrister, joined Northern Ireland Electricity’s (NIE) in-house legal team in September 1976 and remained with NIE/Viridian until 2001. She held a number of senior management posts in the company, including that of Company Secretary and Head of Legal Services. Ms. Wright holds a number of public appointments in Northern Ireland including Member of the Industrial and Fair Employment Tribunals, Lay Magistrate and Member of the Northern Ireland Valuation Tribunal. She is also a Director of Springvale Training Ltd and Co-operation Ireland Ltd and is a Trustee of Garfield Weston Trust, University of Ulster.