Who we are

Comber has a small number of core staff in Ireland and Romania, as well as a the support of a wonderful team of volunteers, trustees and donors.

Dr. Carrie Garavan, Executive Director (Ireland)

Carrie first worked with Comber in the orphanages in Romania in 1991 following the fall of Communism. She has pursued a career in both clinical practice and academia prior to returning to work with Comber in 2011 as a Public Health Specialist Project Advisor.

 

 

 

Bogdan Bobolea, Project Manager (Romania)

Bogdan graduated with a BA in Psychology (Major in Special Education) from University of Bucharest in 1997. He has worked for over ten years as an Educational Psychologist and Project Co-ordinator at various disability and health centres in Romania and England since graduation. Bogdan began working as a Co-ordinator for Comber in 2009 and is based in Bucharest.

 

 

Fiona Dowling, Former Executive Director (Ireland)
Fiona trained as a paediatric physiotherapist and volunteered in Romania in the 1990s. She began working in management and international development on a full time basis after completing an MBA and working in Irish disability services for a number of years. Fiona was Comber’s Executive Director from 2006- 2012 and is now a specialist advisor to The Comber Foundation

 

 

Emma Hassard, Fundraising Co-ordinator (Northern Ireland)

Emma has been working with the Comber Foundation since September 2011, starting with the phones4change schools appeal and more recently organising fundraising events in Northern Ireland- including the 21st Anniversary Dinner Dance, the Golf Classic and the pop up Butterfly Vintage Boutique.  Emma has worked in the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland for the past five years, focusing on markerting to help raise the profile of organisations, events management and fundraising.

 

 

 

 

Founders and honorary board members

 Eric & Elizabeth Carson - Eric and Elizabeth founded Comber in 1991. They have extensive experience delivering projects in Romania, fundraising, recruiting staff and managing the organisation over 14 years. Eric is the Managing Director of telecommunications company with over 30 years management experience.

 

George Hook, Patron of Comber (www.georgehook.com)

“Having accompanied volunteers from Comber to Romania, I have witnessed the tireless work they do in trying to close down state run institutions in Giurgiu County. This requires help from you at perhaps the most difficult economic times. Please find a little time in your heart for young adults that perhaps unknowingly will owe you a debt of gratitude for the rest of their lives.” 

 

 

Board of Trustees

 

John Sheridan (Chairperson) - John was a development worker in Romania in early 90s and Comber’s coordinator on the ground in Romania for 2 year period. He is an experienced paediatric nurse and nurse manager and is qualified in Health Services Management.

 

Kieran McCarthy CPA AITI - Kieran is a chartered accountant and partner in Hughes Blake, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors since Jan 2005.

Michelle McGill - Michelle has 5 years experience in senior management including operations and human resources, as well as running her own interior design consultancy. She is also an experienced fundraiser.

Miriam Kearney - Miriam is a lawyer by profession specialising in company and commercial law with over 25 years experience of law business and politics.

Aidan Mc Brien -  Aidan is a retired Social Care Work Manager with 35 years experience in Health and Social Care Development. Aidan is currently operating as an independent Trainer/Facilitator. He is involved in Mental Health, Learning Disability and Childcare training, development and evaluation in Romania since 2002.

Jennifer Malone - Jennifer is an Occupational Therapist (OT) working in the field of disability for over 14 years. Jennifer works as a senior paediatric OT in the Central Remedial Clinic, Dublin and is also an Occupational Therapy Practice Tutor for Trinity College. Jennifer is qualified in Supervisory Management from Irish Management Institute. Jennifer initially volunteered with Comber in the early 2000's and is more recently involved in the design, setup and running of the Comber Volunteer Programme.