Áine Kerr is co-founder and COO of technology start-up Kinzen. She is a former primary school teacher, former Global Head of Journalism Partners at Facebook in New York, former Managing Editor at social media news agency Storyful, and former political correspondent with Irish newspapers. Áine is also an accredited Executive Coach and is the host of the business show Reignite on RTÉ Radio One and guest presenter of The Business on RTÉ Radio One.

She is a board member with Gaisce; the President of Ireland’s Award earned by young people. A Fellow of the Sulzberger Leadership Program in Columbia University, NYC, Áine has a Masters in Journalism (MAJ) and Bachelor of Education (B’Ed) with Dublin City University [DCU].

But her most important job in life is ultimately being Mammy to her little Boss Lady and Chief Negotiator Anna (age 4 going on 14).

Vivienne is currently Head of Public Affairs, RTÉ, having previously held a number of different Communication roles there also. Prior to joining RTÉ she worked within the voluntary sector for Early Childhood Ireland and Barretstown.

She has recently qualified with an MSc in Management Practice from the Irish Management Institute and has just completed a short course in business and climate change at the Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership.

She is a member of the Purpose Disruptors Irish chapter, exploring ways in which the marketing and communications industry can positively influence action on the climate crisis.  She is also a Steering Group member of the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal which has raised over €13 milllion to date for children’s charities, and an occasional assessor for Social Entrepreneurs Ireland.

Antoinette currently works as the Regulatory Lead at the Central Bank of Ireland, and has years experience in regulation, governance, banking and diversity and inclusion.

Despite the fact that Antoinette is obsessed with policies and procedures, she is also the best craic of all time.

Gillian is an entrepreneur who brought the Flying Tiger Copenhagen brand to Ireland and then to the USA.  Before this, she worked for the Special Olympics World Summer Games – the best job she ever had! Mum to Kate and John, she loves to drink tea and chat, and is mad for all things chocolate!

Valarie is the lead Partner of Human Capital Advisory at Deloitte. Prior to Deloitte, Valarie was the owner of a small consultancy firm and also the HC Director within an international Bank. Valarie is also an accredited Executive Coach and spends a lot of time working with leadership teams on their people and talent strategies.

Valarie is a member of the Partner Council at Deloitte and also a sponsor for the Neurodiversity network within the firm. Valarie has a Masters in Business Studies (Mgmt & Organisation Studies) from UCD and a Bachelor of Commerce from NUI Galway.

Valarie has 3 amazing kids, Oscar 15, Evie 14 and Roly 12 so in the midst of all things teen. She also has a cheeky cocker spaniel, Loki and a very cute rabbit called Boo. Valarie is passionate about travelling, cooking and socialising with her friends.  Valarie loves an adventure, so jumping off buildings, sleeping in the Arctic, and swimming the Atlantic is right up her street.

Fiona Curtin is the Marketing Director at HEINEKEN Ireland. She has over 20 years of experience in brand management, innovation, and marketing in Ireland and abroad.

She’s a big hurling and rugby fan – and an avid documentary watcher.

Kathryn has years of experience as a Chartered Management Accountant and the co-founder and director of Dairy Direct.

Susan is an event specialist who has consulted across various domestic and international summits including the Dublin Tech Summit, The Business Show, Sustainability Summit and AIB Future Sparks Festival. Producing, curating and seeing an event come together from concept through to fruition is her speciality! With a commercial focus, Susan drives sponsorship campaigns and manages large scale event budgets and teams.

In her spare time is also a director of TeamTalk Technology services and mum to two teenage girls, and of course Daisy Duke, the Cavachon who is the real head of the family!

Katherine is the beloved 4th Year Head at the Presentation Secondary School in Waterford. She is passionate about making sure every girl reached their potential and is an amazing role model to the students she works with.

Katherine is an avid runner and a pretty good soccer player too!

Ellen graduated from WIT with a Bachelor of Business degree with a specialisation in Marketing and has most recently graduated from SETU with a Master in Science in Digital Marketing Practice. Her role sees her playing a part in many aspects of The Shona Project from workshop bookings, to communications, to strategy and stakeholder relationship management. Ellen has a passion for all things digital marketing and the power of using it to share the organisation’s story.

In her spare time, Ellen can be found drinking coffee out of one of the many many mugs in her collection. She could also give Dr.Dolittle a run for his money so, if you see her chatting away to animals, it’s totally normal!

Natasha is from Co. Down but has been living in Dublin/ Wicklow for several years. She loves learning new things and holds a MA in History, is a Professional Master of Education and has recently completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
She has worked in banking, project management, and teaching and has now landed her dream job with us! Natasha has been volunteering with non-profit organisations since she was 16 and has always had a passion for women’s rights. She commenced a voluntary role with us in 2022 and is now a fully-fledged member of the core Shona team.
On Saturday’s, you’ll find Natasha trawling charity shops for new outfits or barefoot, under a tree, engrossed in a good book.
Natasha is a firm believer in marching to the beat of your own drum. You will be told what you ‘should do’ with your life but only you will know the path that is right for you. Work hard and never let anyone kick dust on your sparkle!

Judith reigns from Waterford, in the Southeast of Ireland. She’s a lover of fashion, spoken word, music, people, and the ocean! She is currently studying psychology and counselling. Prior to
commencing her studies last year, she was a professional singer/dancer turned entertainment director for CCL, touring the world and sailing the open seas performing on cruise ships. She’s a believer that the strongest card in the deck of cards of your life is your authenticity -so shine on my friends, and always be unapologetically yourself x

As Community Manager, Alice works closely with partners across all areas of The Shona Project’s work. Having studied physics at university and started her career as an engineer, she made a transition to the social sector after realising that she wanted to help people and communities in a more tangible way.

Alice has watched The Shona Project from afar through her previous role at Rethink Ireland, a funding organisation that has supported The Shona Project since its startup. She knows firsthand the difficulty in building confidence as a girl navigating school, life and a STEM career, so is excited to dive into The Shona Project’s work to help the girls of Ireland to reach their full potential!

When not in Shona-Project-mode, Alice can usually be found in the sea off the coast of West Cork where she lives, in a field with her miniature ponies Jude and Remus, or up a hill with her dogs Roo and Mouse. (She promises she has human friends too!)

Freya may be young, but she is fiercely passionate about girls following their dreams and being whoever, they want to be. She can often be found smiling sweetly at boys on the soccer pitch before flattening them. Having struggled with her mental health over the past 2 years, she is more driven than ever to help girls in any way she can. The future CEO of The Shona Project? We think so! Tammy better watch out!

Steph is a long-time friend of The Shona Project (TSP), she first met Tammy in 2018. She came across TSP scrolling on Instagram and fell in love with our mission.

Since then, Steph has become a mom of 2 little boys, Dylan & Conor. She started her career in the financial services industry in 2007 at the age of 21 and has worked her way up to a senior leadership position. She has a BSc. in Counselling & Psychotherapy, and is also certified to teach Kundalini yoga.

Beyoncé is her absolute icon and she will argue with anyone who tries to criticise her! She would love to set up a GAA Rounders club for the kids of the South-East. She would also love to be involved in creating positive changes to the treatment of eating disorders in Ireland. And she has too many books and not enough time to read them!

Steph has lots of advice about lots of topics, but most of all, she loves to hear people’s stories and hopes for the future.

&Smyth are the PR Queens that support The Shona project in sharing our story. Gemma, Kiah, Ann, Katie and Ciara have been on board with our chaos for nearly 2 years now, and we consider them as family!

The Fitzgerald Power team are a force of nature who we met in late 2023. Since day 1, they have backed us with endless support when it comes to all things finance and governance.

Our Junior Ambassadors (Jambos) are leading the way, spreading the Shona message of kindness and positivity in schools across Ireland. In additon to their important work in schools,  our Jambos have attended monthly meetings, created social media posts, spoken in front of Members of the European Parliament, been on national radio, and sent petitions for curriculum reform in relation to gynaecological health.

Our Senior Ambassadors (Sambos) are an incredibly important part of our organisation. Some of them have been with us since day one and all of them believe in the Shona mission for girls in Ireland. Many of our Sambos also do advocacy work on everything from LGBTQ+ rights to mental health, anti-stalking legislation, road safety and climate action. They are total bosses!