About us Who we are Our team Our team Gráinne O’Leary Chief executive Gráinne O’Leary is chief executive of Arthritis Ireland, where she is leading the strategy of the charity to be one of the leading patient centric health charities in Ireland. Prior her appointment as chief executive in 2018, she was head of services with the organisation since 2004 and has worked as a senior manager in the non-profit and healthcare sector for over 20 years. Gráinne developed and implemented Arthritis Ireland’s suite of patient support services, including the innovative Stanford University self-management programme, a national helpline and a national physical activity programme in partnership with the Irish Society for Chartered Physiotherapists. She serves as a board member of the Disability Federation of Ireland and IPPOSI. Contact: 01 647 0201; [email protected] Nathalie Peyret Office administrator Nathalie has been with Arthritis Ireland since 2009 and is responsible for the efficient running of the office, central administration, membership, amongst other duties. Contact: 01 661 8188; [email protected] Bronwen Maher Services manager Bronwen is responsible for the development and delivery of education and training programmes, as well as all the organisation's support services including Arthritis Ireland's branch and volunteer network. Bronwen first joined Arthritis Ireland in 2017 as community support officer, and prior to this date she worked and volunteered for over 25 years with not for profit and political organisations. Contact: 01 647 0205; [email protected] Svetlana Kushnirenko Programme coordinator & data management Svetlana has worked in Arthritis Ireland since 2008 and is responsible for the overall coordination and administration of Arthritis Ireland chronic disease self-management programmes (CDSMP). Her role also includes responsibility for Arthritis Ireland’s database - managing the organisations data to support fundraising, financial management, and community services. Svetlana is also Arthritis Ireland's data protection officer (DPO). Contact: 01 647 0206; [email protected] Eleanor Uí Fhiannachta Community support officer Eleanor joined Arthritis Ireland in 2016 as a community support officer. A graduate of UCD and a postgraduate of DCU, Eleanor worked supporting disability advocates in DFI for six years, having previously worked in the Rotunda Hospital. In her role in Arthritis Ireland she is responsible for the coordination of Arthritis Ireland mental health programmes and physical activity courses funded through grants. Contact: 01 647 0204; [email protected] Lucy Browe Community support officer Lucy comes from a background in the community and voluntary sector and has a strong interest in the role of volunteers in this field. Lucy chaired the Galway branch of Arthritis Ireland in 2011/12 and trained as a walking leader during this time. Based on this experience, she decided to pursue a Master's in Community Development at NUI Galway. Since graduating in 2014, Lucy has worked primarily with patient organisations but also in homeless services. Lucy joined the team at Arthritis Ireland in October 2020 as a community support officer supporting the volunteer branch network and walking groups to maintain and grow their activities. Contact: 01 647 0208; [email protected] Peter Boyd Services support officer Peter works with the services team in ensuring the delivery of Arthritis Ireland’s services and programmes, with particular emphasis on managing the Arthritis Ireland helpline and peer-to-peer network. Having held many voluntary positions within the organisation, including serving as a board member for six years, Peter joined the Arthritis Ireland team in 2019. Peter combines his role with on-going voluntary work for EULAR PARE (a European coalition of national organisations for People with Arthritis/Rheumatism in Europe), for whom he advocates on behalf of those living with arthritis across Europe at numerous conferences and events. Contact: 01 647 0202; [email protected] Alison McDonnell Fundraising manager Alison has a passion for fundraising and began working with Arthritis Ireland as fundraising manager in January 2021. She has many years experience in the fundraising and marketing sector in both for-profit and non-profit organisations such as Diageo Ireland, Amnesty International, Marriage Equality, Pavee Point, TENI, SVP Ireland and the Irish Wheelchair Association. Alison holds an MFA in Photography from Ulster University, and an Executive Masters in Marketing from DCU. Alison would love to talk to you about the many ways you can get involved with Arthritis Ireland. Reach out to Alison if you would like to run a community fundraiser, to support an awareness campaign, or to donate towards essential research. Contact: 086 075 7404; [email protected] Aisling O'Gara Fundraising executive Aisling joined the Arthritis Ireland fundraising team in February this year. She has worked with a variety or organisations both in the commercial and non-profit sector. With a background in communications and design, Aisling is excited to work creatively with our fundraising partners. Contact: 086 816 3772; [email protected] Brian Lynch Head of communications and advocacy Brian is responsible for achieving greater public awareness and understanding of arthritis, as well as of the work of Arthritis Ireland as a patient organisation and health research charity. He develops and manages the organisation's public health and health promotion campaigns, and is the media contact point and organisation spokesperson. He is the patient advocate on the National Clinical Programme for Rheumatology, is a member of the Health Products Regulatory Authority patient forum, a member of the governance committee of the Irish National Orthopaedic Register, a trustee of Health Research Charities Ireland and is on the executive of the Health Reform Alliance. He joined Arthritis Ireland in 2017. Contact: 01 647 0203; 087 122 0361; [email protected] Stephen Lee Digital marketing and communications executive Stephen started with Arthritis Ireland in December 2020. His career to date has been spent in the entertainment industry. He has a keen interest and passion in the work which Arthritis Ireland provides. With vast experience in digital marketing and social media management, Stephen sits on the Communications team. Contact: 01 647 0209; 086 185 7529; [email protected]