Key appointees will help funding body's aim to expand its reach
Deane, Ciara Appointed Operations Members: Chief Social Karaha, Newly Body’s Charity And Paul Lecturer Ucc Entrepreneur Ireland Energy The Board Clean New Funding Dr And Oneill, Finance Officer Rethink Leyla
Rethink Ireland has made two board appointments and one senior promotion as part of its ongoing development plans.
A provider of cash grants and business support to charities and social enterprises, Rethink Ireland has brought Leyla Karaha and Dr Paul Deane onto its board of directors, as well as promoting Ciara O’Neill to chief finance and operations officer.
Leyla Karaha is a founder of YourY Network, a grassroots community of social entrepreneurs and changemakers. Dr Paul Deane is a senior lecturer in clean energy futures at UCC.
With Rethink Ireland since 2022, Ciara O’Neill was previously finance director, leading finance, HR, legal and governance. Her promotion comes as the organisation plans to build upon hitting the major milestone of becoming a €109m fund for social innovation in Ireland in May this year.
Deirdre Mortell said: “We are delighted to welcome Dr Paul Deane and Leyla Karaha to Rethink Ireland's board.
"Leyla is the founder of YourY Network, a global community of social entrepreneurs and changemakers. With a background in accountancy and finance, she is a brave and dynamic leader within the social innovation space and we are delighted she has chosen to join us on our journey to becoming a €200 million fund.
“Paul works at University College Cork and brings with him a wealth of experience and academic expertise in the area of clean and renewable energy and will be a key voice as we develop our work on the Green Transition.”
Dr Paul Deane’s research looks at how society can move away from polluting fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources and spans renewables, electricity, energy modelling, climate and energy policy.
He has worked in Ireland and abroad as an advisor to governments, companies and communities interested in safer and cleaner energy. Internationally, he is one of the most widely-cited academics in his research field and provides scientific and technical assistance to research projects around the world.
Paul said: “I have always admired Rethink Ireland’s focus on supporting people with great ideas to make Ireland a better place, but also how they put fairness and justice at the heart of this process.
“A society that is inclusive and equal is naturally safer, cleaner, and more sustainable. It is a privilege for me today to join the board.”
Leyla Karaha is dedicated to bridging the gap between tech and social entrepreneurship. As a passionate social innovation ecosystem builder, her work includes organising the Techstars Startup Weekend Women Dublin and Techstars Startup Weekend Social Innovation Dublin events for the past four years to support people with their ‘tech for good’ business ideas.
Leyla is a DCU graduate in Accounting and Finance, with experience working for different non-profit organisations in Dublin. She also studied an MA in International Relations from DCU.
Leyla said: “I've long admired the impactful work of Rethink Ireland. They offer essential resources to support social enterprises that are making differences in communities across Ireland. It is an honour to join the board.”
Ciara O’Neill, finance director at Rethink Ireland for the past two years, is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and also has an MSc in the Management and Application of IT in Accounting from DCU.
Ciara has worked with a number of organisations across private, commercial, semi-state and not-for-profit sectors and has built up a broad knowledge and wide range of senior management experience leading teams, developing and implementing strategy, implementing continuous improvements and delivering results.