Sustainable Futures Forum

Éanna Ní Lamhna

Éanna Ní Lamhna qualified as a scientist in the 1970’s and did her post graduate thesis on the ecology of sand dunes and saltmarshes which was published in the Journal of Life Sciences. She set up the Irish Biological Records Centre in 1974 and is responsible for the original distribution maps of mammal and insects. She lectured postgraduates on sustainability for 20 years in TU Dublin. Her publications include a series of five studies on Irish Air Quality, nine books including Wild Dublin and her most recent – The Great Irish Biodiversity Book. She was President of An Taisce from 2004 – 2009 and more recently President of the Tree Council of Ireland. She is a judge of Environmental initiatives undertaken by local groups on a county level such as Pride of Place and Love Where You Live. She is a highly respected radio and television broadcaster on environmental issues. She writes the weekly Eye on Nature column in the Irish Times. She is a Co. Louth woman and has a husband, three children and seven grandchildren. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in Science by the University of Galway in November 2024 – the first Irishwoman to be awarded a D Sc. by that university.

Seán Ronayne

Seán Ronayne inherited his life-long love of birds from his father and grandfather. One of his first memories involves being taken to a nature reserve in his home town of Cobh, where he would try to guess his father’s imitations of the sounds made by different birds and animals.

Later, Seán obtained a degree in zoology and a masters in marine biology. However, not wanting to be at sea for long periods, he instead made ecological impact assessments of birds and mammals, and habitat assessment surveys for proposed developments. Currently freelancing as an ecologist, ornithologist, activist, and founder of Irish Wildlife Sounds, he is pursuing sound recording full-time.

In spring 2024, Birdsong, a documentary about Seán’s recording project, was released to great acclaim. In autumn 2024 Seán's autobiography "Nature Boy" won Irish biography of the year, and was shortlisted for overall Irish book of the year.

Seán lives near Cobh, County Cork, with Alba, their daughter Laia, and their dog Toby.

Professor Marguerite Nyhan

Professor Marguerite Nyhan is Professor of Engineering for Sustainability at University College Cork (UCC) and Research Affiliate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Professor Nyhan leads Sustainable Futures at UCC which is a nationally coordinated sustainability education initiative which has been funded to the value of €5.3 million by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). As part of this, she Chairs the Sustainable Futures Forum, founded the Sustainable Futures Lab at UCC and directs multiple post-graduate programmes. 

Marguerite has world-leading international research experience from her work at MIT and Harvard University in Boston as well as at the United Nations (UN) in New York. Professor Nyhan’s research group harnesses new and emerging technologies for developing intelligent solutions for sustainable, net zero, healthy, liveable and equitable cities. Marguerite is a prolific scholar and has interdisciplinary expertise in sustainable cities, urban environmental engineering, emissions modelling, urban analytics, population exposure modelling and environmental epidemiological modelling methods. She has led several largescale research projects in the areas of climate and sustainability that have been funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and government agencies. Marguerite has a PhD from Trinity College Dublin and was a Fulbright Scholar at MIT.

Jo Linehan

Having gained first-class honours in the MSc in Management for Sustainable Development at Dublin City University (DCU) in 2023, Jo focuses on supporting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) education and conversation through her podcast, writing and events.

Tania Banotti

Tania Banotti is Director of the whole-of-government Creative Ireland Programme. The objective of the programme is to embed creativity in public policy. One strand is the role the cultural and creative sectors can play in climate action. This is a partnership with Department of Culture, Department of the Environment and the Taoiseach's Shared Island fund.

The Creative Climate Action fund provided an impetus for change within the creative, community and climate action sectors. It was an investment of €7.8 million in 57 diverse projects since 2021. Transformational action on climate change requires cultural change throughout society. The ambition is to utilise the potential of the arts and creative industries to inspire and empower the culture change needed to support the government’s climate action and circular economy agenda and the objective of transforming to a net zero Ireland no later than 2050.

Dr. Kevin Marshall

Dr. Kevin Marshall is the Head Future Skilling at Microsoft in Ireland and has worked in the technology industry for over 25 years. He is responsible for representing Microsoft to broad audiences for technology leadership, strategic alignment, and national skills policy. He is a frequent speaker at worldwide conferences and has been a regular contributor to various industry publications. He is the author of two books on technology and learning. He has a variety of degrees and post-graduate qualifications in measurement, statistics, digital policy. He is an alumnus of University College Dublin (UCD) and University College Cork (UCC). He sits on several industry boards and Government forums focused on technology skills development and strategic planning.

Oonagh Buckley

Oonagh is the Secretary General of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. Prior to taking up that role Oonagh served as Interim Chair of An Bord Pleanála, on secondment from her role as Deputy Secretary General in the Department of Justice with responsibility for civil justice matters, including immigration, courts and civil and family law. Oonagh had previously held the position of Director General in the Workplace Relations Commission. Before that she worked at a senior level in a number of Government Departments, including the Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform, Environment and Foreign Affairs. In her previous time in the Department of the Environment she worked for a number of years on planning policy and legislation and on wildlife conservation.

Oonagh is a graduate of University College Cork (UCC), the College of Europe, Belgium and Poland, and the University of London. She was called to the Bar in 1996. She has an MSc in Business from the Smurfit School in University College Dublin (UCD) and has been an adjunct professor in the School of Law of UCC since 2017.

Mohammad Naeem

Mohammad Naeem is a youth activist from County Mayo, Ireland. He is studying Law in University College Cork (UCC) and is a Quercus Scholar for Active Citizenship. He served as the United Nations (UN) Youth Delegate for Ireland 23/24, the youngest to ever be selected globally. He also served as the Deputy President of the Irish Second Level Students' Union 23/24.

Mohammad was appointed to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) Advisory Group on Racism and Racial Equality. One of the main roles of the group is to monitor and help to progress the implementation of the National Action Plan on Racism 2023-2027

Mohammad began his activism journey at a young age when he joined the Green Schools Committee in primary school and was a part of his local scout group. He has been involved in most of the major youth organisations in Ireland at the highest of levels.

Due to his extensive work, Mohammad has spoken at prestigious events and won many awards including Mayo Young Person of the Year 2022 and Young Environmentalist of the Year 2021.

Dr. Vivienne Patterson

Vivienne has a degree in Zoology from University College Cork (UCC) and a master’s in biotechnology and Doctorate of Science from Dublin City University (DCU).

In 2006 she joined the team at the Higher Education Authority (HEA) as Head of Statistics where she led the Statistics Unit for 10 years. During that time Vivienne was responsible for transforming the communication of education data publishing a number of key reports.

Since becoming Head of Skills, Engagement and Statistics in 2016, her responsibilities include the management of both Springboard+, a national upskilling and reskilling programme and the oversight of national apprenticeships in higher education. In 2019, she implemented the Human Capital Initiative, a €300m investment in Agility and Innovation across the Irish Higher Education System. Vivienne led the establishment of the National Apprenticeship Office for the HEA in 2020. Her role in the HEA involves active strategic engagement with enterprise to strengthen the relationship between higher education promotion and future employment and innovation. She is a member of the CAO Board of Directors, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, the National Skills Council and the National Training Fund Advisory Group.

Niall McCaffrey

Niall is one of Ireland’s leading qualitative researchers with interests in consumer journey mapping, creative advertising development and brand strategy. As part of Ipsos B&A he has developed extensive experience in Ireland, Europe and the United States with local, national and international clients. He is a former Chair of the Marketing Society of Ireland and has won awards for his work in advertising and public policy research.

Niall is responsible for the ongoing Climate Conversations Programme, commissioned by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communication. This research annually consults with over 4,000 citizens through a series of online surveys, workshops, in-depth interviews and stakeholder forums. The findings of this research, combined with the extensive research conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are helping to guide the country's strategy to drive climate action across individuals, businesses and communities.

Professor John O’Halloran

Professor John O’Halloran is President at University College Cork (UCC) since August 2021. Prior to this he was the Deputy President & Registrar and led UCC’s first Academic Strategy to reimagine the curriculum, transform assessment and nurture graduate attributes to position UCC students for their future world of work. Having formerly served as Vice President for Teaching & Learning, and as Vice-Head of the College of Science, Engineering & Food Science, he is an academic leader with an ambitious vision for the future of Higher Education. Professor O’Halloran has delivered transformation through collaboration on a range of Higher Education priorities including the advancement of research; enhancement of learning; digital education; lifelong learning; and professional development. He is committed to developing an inclusive culture at UCC - one where equality is upheld, and diversity is respected. He is also dedicated to putting sustainability at centre stage in UCC, in the community and beyond. Under his leadership UCC’s Green Campus Programme became the first third level institution worldwide to receive the Green Campus award in 2010. Now ranked as one of the most ‘sustainable universities’ in the world, UCC has achieved significant impacts including the development of a Sustainability Strategy, influencing national policy and winning many international accolades. An ornithologist, he holds the Chair in Zoology at UCC and previously held academic posts at Colby College in the USA and at the University of Wales. He has published 250 research papers and several book chapters aimed at developing a deeper understanding of the ecological impacts of land-use change, climate change on a range of systems and processes.

Laura Burke

Laura Burke is the Director General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), appointed in 2011 and served as a Director within the EPA since 2004. As Director General she has the responsibility to lead and strategically manage the EPA. Laura was the Chair of the European Environment Agency (EEA) Management Board from 2017 to 2023. Laura is a member of the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) and a member of the High Level Implementation Committee of ‘Food Vision 2030’, the Irish Agri-Food Sector Strategy. Prior to joining the EPA, she worked in the private sector. Laura is a graduate chemical engineer of University College Dublin (UCD), holds an MSc from Trinity College, Dublin, is a Fellow and is President of Engineers Ireland and is a Chartered Director. She is a member of the Board of Genio a non-profit European organisation. In 2016 Laura was awarded the UCD Engineering Graduates Association (EGA) Distinguished Graduate Award.

H.E. Ms. Betty Escorcia-Baquero

On November 12, 2024, the Ambassador of Colombia to Ireland, H.E. Ms. Betty Escorcia-Baquero, presented her letter of credence to the President of Ireland, H.E. Michael D. Higgins, officially assuming her role as the third Ambassador of Colombia to Ireland since the establishment of the Diplomatic Mission.

Ambassador Escorcia-Baquero's career at Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spans over 33 years, during which she has held diverse and key positions in both internal and international roles. Her experience includes serving as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Colombia to Finland, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. to the Holy See, and Director of Europe. Among her notable achievements, Ambassador Escorcia-Baquero coordinated the State Visit of President Gustavo Petro to Spain in May 2023. She also advised Colombia's Minister of Health and Social Protection on international negotiations during his tenure with the COVAX Facility, representing upper-middle-income countries to secure COVID-19 vaccines. She also worked as an advisor to the Directorate of Economic, Social, and Environmental Affairs, where she contributed to successfully preparing the P4G Colombia 2023 Summit.

During Colombia's term as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council (2011–2012), she served as an expert on Middle East issues. She also acted as Colombia's Chief Negotiator in the Arms Trade Treaty discussions. She participated in the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons held at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Oisín Coghlan

Oisín Coghlan has been chief executive of Friends of the Earth since 2005.
He was co-founder of the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition and the Environmental Pillar and led the 14-year campaign for a strong climate law which culminated in the 2021 Climate Act.

In 2019 he co-founded the Just Transition Alliance with Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) and Fórsa. And in 2024 he was appointed as to the Government’s first Just Transition Commission.

Cian Walsh

Cian Walsh is a youth advocate for climate justice from West Cork and a Government and Political Science student at University College Cork (UCC). As the Environmental and Sustainability Representative at UCC Students’ Union and Co-Chairperson of the UCC Green Campus Committee, he actively promotes sustainability and climate action at the university. Nationally, Cian collaborates with several NGOs and has been involved in grassroots campaigns focused on sustainable agriculture. He has served as a Youth Delegate to both COP28 with ECO-UNESCO and COP29 with UCC, continuing his work on climate action. Cian was also a delegate at the 2024 World Food Forum with the Department of Agriculture. Additionally, he is a member of the Organising Committee for World Food Forum Ireland and serves as a Public Participation Network Representative to the Strategic Policy Committee on the Environment, Water, and Amenity of Cork City Council.

Niall Hatch

Niall heads up BirdWatch Ireland's membership recruitment, fundraising, education & communications work and is editor of its membership publications. A keen birdwatcher since early childhood, he is a frequent contributor to radio and television programmes, most notably Mooney Goes Wild, co-hosts the In your Nature podcast and works closely with the global BirdLife International Partnership. He has also served as scientific consultant on the RTÉ and EBU co-productions Nature Live and Back from the Brink, as well as the BBC Radio 4 series Nature’s Great Invaders. Niall is a qualified solicitor and is a graduate of University College Dublin and Cornell University, New York.

Dr. Alejandro Valencia-Tobon

Alejandro Valencia-Tobon, PhD (Cucusonic Collective) works at the intersection of public art and biological science, using sound to address the threats to biodiversity | www.erratico.info | www.cucusonic.net

Dr. Rupert Cox

Rupert Cox is director of the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology, at the University of Manchester who works at the intersections between art and science and anthropology and conducts research on the politics and poetics of environmental sound.  https://granadacentre.co.uk | https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/rupert.cox