Belfast International Homecoming 2023

Alan is a visionary tech entrepreneur who has built a successful career in the Healthcare Technology industries working with the world’s leading healthcare providers (pharmaceuticals, medical devices, private and public healthcare) and technology providers (software, hardware, platform, cybersecurity, consulting).

As co-founder and CEO of global heart health technology company, B-Secur, Alan has been at the helm of building a world class team, and driving partnerships and commercial success with leading global corporations in US and beyond.  B-Secur’s FDA-cleared HeartKey technology is a world’s first which is revolutionising the way people experience technology, bringing personalised and preventative healthcare monitoring to everyone.

Alan leads 70+ experts at B-Secur including world-class scientists, engineers and experienced commercial executives at offices across the U.S., the UK and Ireland, with expanding customer bases in Europe, Americas and Asia.  He has also orchestrated unprecedented levels of investment fundraising of any early-stage company in Northern Ireland, including raising investment in U.S., enabling B-Secur to advance a truly unique world’s first technology.

Prior to B-Secur, Alan spent almost twenty years at Future Global 500 company, Accenture plc, latterly as Managing Director, working in Products and Healthcare based industries with a strong focus on technology innovation. This involved working with many of the world’s leading technology providers including Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Cisco, EMC and Salesforce.

A prominent member of Northern Ireland’s burgeoning tech sector, Alan works closely with a number of prestigious UK universities including Queen’s University and Ulster University.  Alan is a guest lecturer on entrepreneurship at the London School of Economics and works with the Department of Trade and Industry (TDI) and other industry bodies in the UK and Ireland developing strategies for technology leadership.  His expert opinion is regularly called upon by international analysts and media in the MedTech industry and he has contributed to articles in Forbes, the BBC, TechCrunch and the Financial Times.

Assembly Member Amy Paulin has served the 88th New York State Assembly District (Scarsdale, Edgemont, Eastchester, Bronxville, Tuckahoe, Pelham, Pelham Manor, and parts of New Rochelle and White Plains) since 2001. She chairs the Assembly Committee on Health and serves on the Committees on Rules and Education.

A full-time legislator, Assembly Member Paulin annually ranks among the state’s most productive and successful lawmakers. Her diverse legislative agenda includes health care, education, reproductive rights, child welfare, support for families, domestic violence prevention, sex trafficking elimination, government reform, sustainability, animal welfare, and gun control. She served as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Energy from 2013-2017, working to encourage renewable energy and ensure our electricity grid is reliable, and as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions from 2018-2022, where she championed expanded broadband access, public transportation, and utility resiliency.

As one of the most prolific legislators in the Legislature, over 350 of her bills have been signed into law to date. Among her most important legislative accomplishments include writing and sponsoring the bill that eliminated the statute of limitations for rape, sponsoring the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection and Justice Act, which dramatically toughened penalties for traffickers and buyers while providing support to the victims of human trafficking to help rebuild their lives, and authoring the Birth Control Access Act, which greatly expanded access to birth control for New Yorkers by allowing pharmacists to both prescribe and dispense hormonal contraception.

Assembly Member Paulin has a long, distinguished record of activism in public policy and community issues. Prior to her election to the Assembly, Paulin served in a number of capacities, including Executive Director, My Sisters’ Place; Member, Scarsdale Village Board of Trustees; Founder and Chairwoman, Westchester Women’s Agenda; President, Westchester League of Women Voters; Vice President, NY State League of Women Voters; Citizen Member, County Board of Legislators’ Special Committee on Families; and Member, Board of Directors of WCLA – Choice Matters.

Assembly Member Paulin was inducted into the Westchester Women’s Hall of Fame by the Women’s Research and Education Fund, has been honored by the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County and the NYS Camp Directors Association, and has been named NYS Legislator of the Year by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and by the National Organization of Women of New York State. Among other citations and recognitions, she has received the Spirit of Independence Award from Westchester Disabled on the Move, an Ally Award from New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NYSCASA), Vision of the Community from the Scarsdale Teen Center, the Metropolitan Library Council (METRO) award for outstanding and dedicated service in support of libraries, The Loft LGBTQ+ Community Center Equality Award and an MVP award from the NYS Association of Counties, and she has been named a Leader in the Fight against Domestic Violence by the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NYSCADV).Assembly Member Paulin was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, holds a Master’s degree, and has completed doctoral course work in Criminal Justice from SUNY-Albany. For over forty years she and her husband, Ira Schuman, have lived in Scarsdale, where they raised their children, Beth, Sarah, and Joey.

Award: Belfast International Homecoming Ambassador

Andrea grew up in the USA but has spent the past 20 years in Belfast.  Andrea graduated from the University of Virginia with an honours degree in accounting.  She spent the next 19 years working at Arthur Andersen/Accenture in Washington DC, London and Dublin in various Finance roles.  

Andrea has spent the last decade as Finance Director for a number of NI based companies that were founded by her husband, including the #1 car sales platform in NI – www.usedcarsNI.com. 

In the last 3 years, her focus has been the renovation of several listed Georgian buildings in Belfast’s Queens Quarter.  These newly renovated buildings are now known as The Regency and bring a unique 5* hospitality offering to Belfast.

Andrea, along with husband Anthony have actively engaged with Tourism NI and Tourism Ireland to bring this new accommodation to the luxury and golf tourism markets.  They have also worked closely with Belfast City Council on the broader regeneration efforts in the area.  

Anthony Callaghan, a native of Ireland, is a commercial litigator who practices in state and federal courts nationally, in addition to various alternative dispute resolution tribunals. His practice ranges from complex contract and restrictive covenant disputes to securities litigation, class and derivative actions, to counsel on a wide array of business issues. Mr. Callaghan advises a broad range of foreign corporate and institutional clients operating in the United States on legal issues that include corporate and transactional matters, dispute resolution, intellectual property rights, employment concerns, creditors’ rights, and mergers & acquisitions ─ where necessary, working with attorneys from Gibbons’ other practice groups to ensure effective and efficient outcomes for his clients.

Award: Equality Diaspora Ambassador Award 2023

Betty Yee stepped down as Controller of the State of California in January 2023, after eight years in post.

She will be a Gubernatorial candidate in California in 2026.

Betty has 35 years of experience in state and local finance and tax policy.  She was elected to the California State Board of Equalization in 2006 and re-elected in 2010, representing close to 9 million Californians.  Prior to this, Betty served as the State’s budget director.

As controller, Betty has been on the side of the community— holding government accountable, working to ensure income and retirement security, protecting our environment, and taking on big companies more interested in lining their pockets — to make sure the doors of opportunity continue to stay open so every Californian can fulfill their dreams, raise their families, and thrive.

Award: Belfast International Homecoming Ambassador

Prior to rejoining the world of entrepreneurship, Brian was the Executive Director of Sales Development at the Wall Street Journal where he oversaw the sales development and marketing programs for the financial and small business categories among the many Journal brands. From 2002-2010, Brian was President of Veracle Media and Moran Media Group.

A seasoned, multi-lingual entrepreneur with a strong track record for growing successful tech and lifestyle businesses from start-up through groundbreaking strategic insight, effective planning, creative business development and innovative marketing. Significant business transformation experience with a reputation for navigating complex environments to achieve success in multiple sectors and geographies.

Recognised by clients and colleagues as a professional with high personal integrity. Known for a contagious passion for excellence, a talent for resourceful business solutions and a capacity for motivational leadership. Builds strong partnerships to achieve swift adoption and generate a committed customer base and supply chain. Effectively markets products and services, skilled in persuasive presentation and effective negotiation.

Deep skills and expertise in Business Development, Brand Creation and Growth, Account Management, Reseller Networks, Channel Partners, Product Management, Storage Solutions and Cloud Computing.

Award: Seanchaí Ambassador Award

Kamal Al-Solaylee is the author of the bestseller Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes, winner of the 2013 Toronto Book Award and a finalist for the CBC’s Canada Reads and the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction. His second book, Brown: What Being Brown in the World Today Means (to Everyone) won the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing and was finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Awards for Nonfiction. He’s a two-time nominee for the National Magazine Awards, winning a Gold Medal in 2019 for columns. His third book of nonfiction, Return: Why We go Back to Where We Come From, was published in 2021 and was named Book of the Year by the Globe and Mail and CBC Radio. He holds a PhD in English and is the director of the School of Journalism, Writing, and Media at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Kathryn Ellis is the Director for the UMass Innovation Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst .

UMass Amherst is the flagship of the five- campus system in Massachusetts.  With over 30,000 students in over 190 academic programs the University is a R1 University and ranked number 3 in Massachusetts for Research.

The Innovation Institute that Kathryn manages is the UMASS Industrial partnership office which harnesses the relationship between companies seeking innovation challenges and matching with our expert researchers to solve them. Part of her role is managing and promoting innovation space on campus for spin out companies both from the university and start-ups in the New England area and beyond.

Prior to joining UMASs Kathryn was Economic Development Director for the city of Newton where she managed large scaled commercial developments in the city and assisted over 4000 businesses. Prior to that Kathryn along with a business partner formed an economic development consultancy practice called EDAgency. Contracts included promoting the cities of Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Bristol and Basel, Switzerland.

Kathryn is original from Belfast Northern Ireland and has lived in Boston for 30 years. Her career span has been involved in economic development and for 20 years of her career she was Vice President US East Coast for the SouthWest of England Regional Development Agency and was responsible for attracting large Northern American companies into the Region.  Kathryn holds a Bachelor Degree in Management and a MBA from Curry College, MA, she is currently completing her PhD in Educational Leadership at the University of Massachusetts. 

Kathryn is on the Board of the Boston Irish Business Association and past Board member of the British American Business Association.  She has helped organize multiple trade missions to Northern Ireland and Belfast is always a key city included in these programs.   Most recently in November 2022 Belfast welcomed two UMass Hockey teams (UMass Amherst and UMass Lowell)  as part of the Friendship Four Championships this visit also aligned with a visit by the Governor, Charlie Baker.  Kathryn also recently joined as US board member for the Friends of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland and is a keen advocate for helping career paths for the youth in Northern Ireland, she has welcomed multiple visits by Young Enterprise members at the UMass Boston Campus.    Kathryn’s proudest claim to fame is her Grandfather started Lavery’s in Shaftsbury Square and is now an iconic bar in the city.

Kevin has had a long and distinguished career in both the public and private sectors, serving with distinction in both appointed and elected offices at the local and state level. As the youngest person in the nation to be elected Mayor at that time, Kevin brought an entrepreneurial spirit to his role as the Mayor of the City of Lawrence, Massachusetts, emphasizing the importance of economic development and small business in the creation of good paying jobs. 

As a small business owner and the son of a celebrated local woman-owned business owner, Kevin understands that businesses flourish when employees are engaged and informed about how to create value and use all of their skills and talents to contribute to the organizational mission. This background informs Kevin’s work at Babson, where in his role as Vice President, Strategic Corporate Relations and Engagement and Off-Campus Operations, Kevin leads a team that introduces Babson’s unique approach to the academic discipline of Entrepreneurial Leadership to local and international government, corporate, health care, finance, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Kevin works closely with Babson faculty to bring certificate programs to lifelong learners everywhere has proven to be a game changer for all of the organizations benefitting from these programs, who see immediate and measurable improvements in employee morale, retention and organizational understanding.

Kevin has also served in high ranking corporate financial services roles, having been an Executive Director at JP Morgan Chase Bank and as Senior Vice President at Banco Santander, creating strategic business opportunities and significantly increasing market share and revenues.  Prior to his work in financial services, Kevin served in three Massachusetts gubernatorial administrations and held two state cabinet seats, Secretary of Administration and Finance and Secretary of Transportation and Construction.  Kevin served as the Mayor of Lawrence, MA from 1986 to 1993.

Kevin and his family are renowned for their philanthropy throughout the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts, and Kevin has served on several boards and has received many awards for his work in community organizations, including Lawrence General Hospital, the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, and the Boy Scouts of America. A proud father of two and new grandfather, Kevin resides in Merrimac, Massachusetts. 

Award: Belfast International Homecoming Ambassador

Leigh has worked for Citi for 23 years, covering a number of products from derivatives to FX. Since 2001 he has had operational responsibility for Foreign Exchange, Foreign Exchange Options and Money Markets, this extended to responsibility to FXLM globally in 2007 and EMEA Market Ops Head in 2014. In May 2016 Leigh took responsibility for the Citi Belfast site, a presence of over 2700 people supporting a wide range of businesses within the organisation. Leigh is also the Northern Ireland Chair for TheCityUK, a private-sector membership body and industry advocacy group promoting the financial and related professional services industry of the United Kingdom.

Leigh joined Salomon Brothers, one of the founding institutions to the modern Citi in April 1986 having arrived in the UK earlier in the year. He worked in finance and operational roles in a number of banks before re-joining Citi in 1998. Leigh has lived in Belfast for 14 years, moving from London when the FX/MM Operations migrated. The FXLM business operates in over 80 countries and is supported by Operations in over 62 countries, the business is supported by over 900 employees globally.

Mary Beth Walsh was first elected to the New York State Assembly on November 8, 2016. She proudly serves the 112^thAssembly District, which includes parts of Saratoga, Schenectady and Fulton counties.

Mary Beth’s experience as an attorney, advocate for children and families and small business owner provides her with a unique perspective and background when dealing with bills and initiatives. As the Assembly Minority Leader Pro Tempore, Mary Beth puts her experience as an attorney to good use, debating numerous pieces of legislation on the floor. She is regarded as a reasonable, pragmatic, bi-partisan member.

As one of only three female members of the Minority Conference, Mary Beth is passionate about encouraging young women to get involved in government and public service.

Back in the district, Mary Beth has remained deeply involved and has toured countless businesses, not-for-profits, schools, military institutions and community centers. Throughout her time in the Assembly, she has hosted a variety of community events to provide important services and information to the residents of the district – including, ThinkDIFFERENTLY Day at the Saratoga County Fair, Women of Distinction ceremonies, forums on heroin & opioid addiction, domestic violence awareness, workforce development and school safety and Spring Cleaning events promoting safe, responsible disposal of electronics, documents and unused medication.

Mary Beth was appointed Assistant Minority Leader Pro Tempore in 2020 and currently sits on the Education, Judiciary, Mental Health and Ways & Means Committees. Walsh is also the Secretary of the American Irish Legislators Society and is the 2^nd Vice-Chair of the bicameral, bipartisan Legislative Women’s Caucus.

Mary Beth continues to maintain her law practice in Ballston Spa. She has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and has practiced almost exclusively representing children in Family Court for 15 years. She is also the municipal attorney for the Town of Edinburg and has served as Saratoga Assistant County Attorney.

Prior to being elected to the Assembly, Mary Beth served in a variety of leadership positions in local and county government, including two terms as a Councilwoman in the Town of Ballston and as a member of Saratoga County IDA, Saratoga County Ethics Advisory Council and Saratoga County Autism Council.

Mary Beth and her husband, Jim, live in Burnt Hills, sharing six children in their blended family and one naughty labradoodle named Kelly.

Award: Belfast International Homecoming Ambassador 

Michael Shinners has been the Marshall Center’s Registrar since October, 2022. Prior to that, he served as the Deputy Director of the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force – Africa Security Cooperation Directorate since retiring from active duty as a U.S Army Colonel in October 2017. Prior to retirement, he served as the Program Director of NATO’s Four-Star Joint Force Command exercises at the Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger, Norway following command of NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan’s Regional Support Command-South in Kandahar.

A career Infantry Officer, Michael served with the 25th Infantry Division, 82nd Airborne Division twice, 173rd Airborne Brigade, and the Infantry School. Staff assignments included the Army Staff at the Pentagon, Southern European Task Force, and U.S. Pacific Command. Operational deployments included Kirkuk (2003) and Baghdad (2008-2009), Iraq; Monrovia, Liberia (2003); and Kandahar, Afghanistan (2013-2014).

His awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Ranger Tab, Master Parachutist Badge with Bronze Service Star, and the Orders of St. Maurice and St. Barbara.

He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the United States Military Academy. Additionally, Michael completed the Senior Manager Course in the National Security Studies Program at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, and the Regional Senior Mission Leader Course at the International Peace Support Training Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

Michael is married to the former Karla Hein of Hot Springs, MT, an early childhood development counselor. Their son Timothy is a graduate student at the Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen, Germany, and their daughter Kelly is a junior at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland

Since his retirement from leading congregations over four decades from Miami, Florida to the San Fernando Valley in California, Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs remains committed to his congregants and their religious and emotional needs to this day.  Additionally, he continues his work strengthening interfaith relationships among all of the Abrahamic Faiths — Christians, Jews, and Muslims — to meet the local and global challenges all people face.

Motivated by a sense of the world’s injustices, Rabbi Jacobs has devoted his life as an advocate for human rights and civil rights, including his work in the areas of voting rights, Black-Jewish relations, reproductive freedom, and LGBTQ+ rights.  He is a past recipient of the Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award.

A Boston, Massachusetts native, Rabbi Jacobs lives with his wife, former California State Controller Betty Yee, in Alameda, California.

Suneil Sharma was a founding member of the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities and went on to become a commissioner on the Commission for Racial Equality which was responsible for overseeing the implementation of the 1997 Race Relations Order. He was appointed as an independent member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board from 2001-2011 and is currently the Chair of the Ram Foundation. The foundation was set up in memory of his Mother and Father and works with young people in the area of active citizenship on issues such as the climate crisis, identity, politics and social justice. In addition, the foundation supports food banks across Belfast. Suneil is also an entrepreneur and as an angel investor provides early-stage seed funding and advice to local tech start-ups. He is currently an investor and director in Gig Grafter, a cloud-based workforce management platform. He also writes a political blog under the name The Gob Uncensored, on a broad range of global, national, and local issues. He lives in Belfast with his significant other Wendy and his two children, Ethan and Jude.

Sinéad has a long career in social work and worked for the Australian Government – the Department of Health & Human Services, in Melbourne for over 10 years as a Child Protection Manager, Case Conference Chair Lady, Court Officer & Family Law Court Liaison Advisor. Sinead also managed the child and adolescent mental health portfolios. Sinead worked alongside Victoria Police around the establishment of the Child Sexual Assault and Family Violence Investigation Team.

Sinéad is a leader in digital mental health promotion and prevention. Sinead is the creator of the Informed Minds App- a psycho educational Mental Health & Wellbeing App – the catalyst of which was a devastating suicide attempt of a loved one. Informed Minds App uses the power of curated video content via lived personal experiences coupled with professional tools.

Sinéad is a co-author in the book ‘Mental Wealth’ and  features her Mental Health & Wellbeing TEDx Talk titled: “What’s The Point Talking To People Anyway?” across Ted.com platforms.

Interesting facts:

Sinead parents are foster carers and she has had 7 foster brothers in the last 27 years.

Sinead comes from a wide family of proud Irish music musicians and is a keen wooden whistle player herself. She resides in rural Co. Tyrone and has 3 beautiful little children.

Mr. Cox obtained an MBA from Pace University in 1978, graduated from New York Law School in 1982 and received his LL.M. in Corporation Law from New York University Law School in 1994.

Mr. Cox specializes in corporate, commercial and intellectual property matters, including corporate and limited liability company matters, as well as all aspects of copyright and trademark work. His broad-based experience includes negotiating and drafting agreements in a wide variety of commercial, licensing and employment transactions, structuring financing and acquisition transactions and providing advice on regulatory matters.

Mr. Cox was most recently a founding partner of Gordon, Herlands, Randolph & Cox LLP where he headed up the Corporate and Intellectual Property Group for nineteen years.  Prior to that he was a partner in the corporate group at Herzfeld & Rubin, P.C.

He began his career in the Legal Department of a major retailer where he worked on corporate acquisitions and dispositions. He also has extensive experience with respect to legal and regulatory matters concerning retailers and catalog merchants.