Board of Trustees
The Rainbow Project’s Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall control and strategic direction of the The Rainbow Project. They meet regularly during the year to consider, determine and review The Rainbow Project’s strategies, operations, finances, and to receive reports from senior managers. They work for The Rainbow Project in a voluntary capacity. Our Trustees come from a range of backgrounds and with a range of skill-sets which compliment the work of The Rainbow Project. Meet them below.
Trevor Wright: Chairperson
Trevor has worked in the voluntary and community sector for over 25 years in a number of roles and at various levels. Core skills include learning and development; adult learning; HR/people management and development; project initiation, implementation and management; quality and improvement including external accreditation; facilities management including health and safety; organisational risk and internal audit; grant funding and distribution; financial management; outcomes/impact measurement and evaluation; organisational and charitable governance; strategic planning and implementation; and marketing and communications. Trevor has volunteered in a number of roles including as a Trustee most recently with Social Economy Network NI where he provided input to the Marketing and Communications sub-group and chaired the Social Economy Enterprise Procurement Group; and currently with TRP were he provides input to the Governance and Assurance Sub-group, and the Sustainability Sub-group.
Nadine Campbell - Treasurer
Nadine is an award-winning fundraiser, after leaving the private sector, she moved into the third sector 10 years ago and she loves it. Nadine’s background is in Marketing and Communications mix this with fundraising and it all comes down to building relationships. Specialising in marketing and fundraising for not-for-profit organisations, including direct marketing, managing media appeals, press advertising, online and, direct mail. In her day job, Nadine is Head of Income Generation and Marketing at Age NI, the older people’s charity. She is also the Chair of the Institute of Fundraising (IOF) and chaired the consultation process for the introduction of the Fundraising Regulator in Northern Ireland.
Lauren O'Sullivan-Harris: Trustee
Lauren is a former secondary school teacher where she taught, amongst other things, Relationship & Sexuality Education (RSE). She developed a keen passion for holistic education models which seek to ensure that all children – regardless of their race, creed, ability, sexuality or gender identity – are comprehensively educated and receive fair treatment. Originally from London, she has spent time studying and working throughout the UK, Ireland and America, the latter via a competitively-awarded fully-funded postgraduate studentship to Boston College. Her interests in social justice and equality issues (as well as the fallout of successive years of austerity hitting the education sector) spurred her to leave teaching to pursue a career in law; she arrived in Belfast a decade ago to study a two-year Masters in Law at Queen’s University, and never left! Lauren is now a Civil Servant by profession, where she works in staff training and development. She is working towards a PhD and her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals. She has previous Board experience, sitting as a teacher representative on various school and departmental boards, and also sits on the Executive Committee of the newly-established NI Civil Service Disability Staff Network, providing a Secretariat function. She is a member of the NICS LGBT Network. She is a Well Champion for her office building, representing 700 staff members. Her interests include buying books she will ‘get around to reading’; musical theatre (watching, not participating – the world isn’t ready for that!); binge-watching cheesy TV shows; and daydream designing her house/garden.
Karen McShane: Trustee
Karen is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Managing Director of a consultancy practice in Belfast. Karen has over 25 years’ experience volunteering with various Engineering charities and Chaired several of the NI Committees. As a former chair of the Professionals Council she has gained valuable skills and represented her sector on the All Party Working Group. As a befriender in the Rainbow Project she has a particular interest in Transgender issues. Karen is currently engaged in work to encourage the professional organisations to be more inclusive and welcoming of LGBT and diverse people.
Kim Walsh: Trustee
Kim currently works as a Community Planning officer in local government. Prior to moving to Belfast in 2011, she worked in Wales within local government, the community and voluntary and academic sectors, and has significant senior management experience in community development and regeneration, as well as having been Director of a specialist advice charity. Kim is a Christian and is keen to support and encourage churches to become more understanding, welcoming & inclusive of LGBT people.
Ciaran Moynagh: Trustee
Ciaran is a Solicitor Advocate conducting human rights litigation in Northern Ireland and is a leading voice on equality issues. He is also regularly instructed in criminal and family law matters. He has represented clients in a broad range of judicial reviews and civil actions which have challenged and successfully changed the law in Northern Ireland as it relates to underrepresented and overlooked communities. He is currently representing one of the couples challenging the ban on same-sex marriage in the Court of Appeal. He led the successful judicial review protecting transgender privacy rights and is instructed in the ongoing proceedings to overturn the ban on paying sex-workers which has put women at risk. He recently helped secure the right of humanist couples to marry in Northern Ireland and as a member of the UK LGBT Family Law Institute has worked to make fertility treatments more accessible. Ciaran lectures in administrative/ public law at Ulster University Ciaran is a director in Phoenix Law Solicitors, Belfast.
Shane Lynch: Trustee
Shane has worked in the energy sector in Northern Ireland for over 35 years. He is a former CEO of the Utility Regulator and Managing Director of Kilroot Power Station. He presently runs a small consultancy practice on a part-time basis. Shane joined the Rainbow Project Board in 2021 and is also a member of the Advisory Committee for the Northern Ireland Central Investment Fund for Charities. Shane holds a BSc. (with honours) in Mechanical Engineering from Queens University and a MSc. (with distinction) in Finance and Investment from the University of Ulster.
Monica Fitzpatrick: Trustee
Monica is a former
civil servant with extensive experience working in Equality and Social
Inclusion Policy, HR, and Learning and Development. She has held Equality and
Rights Advisor roles in Department of Justice and OFMDFM (now TEO) and more
recently was Social Inclusion LGBTQI+ Strategy and Policy Lead in Department
for Communities. Monica has been Ally Rep on the NICS LGBT Network Committee,
co-authoring the Network’s LGBT Language Guide ‘Let’s Get Better Together’.
Monica also co authored A Guide to Human Rights for Public Authorities ‘Get in
on The Act’. Monica is currently a Commissioner with the Equality Commission NI
and a member of PeacePlus Monitoring Committee. Monica’s passions are
Family, Fairness and Fun.
Norah Christie: Trustee
Norah currently works as a Supported Living Manager for Praxis Care, where she has been for the last 4 years. She has worked in the mental health field for over 20 years and is passionate about ensuring access of mental health support and accommodation services for those who need them. Norah is a recently qualified dual party mediator, having trained with Mediation NI last year. Norah currently sits as a member of the Fitness to Practice Committee for the registered body Northern Ireland Social Care Council where she acts as a member of the panel reviewing practice concerns in the work of social workers and social care workers across Northern Ireland.
For more information on the responsibilities of Trustees check out the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s website here.