Paul Hanna - President
Following completion of a MBA at University of Ulster in 1992, Paul participated in the USA Export Market Development Programme, based in Boston Massachusetts, subsequently returning to University of Ulster as a Research Assistant in the Dept. of Marketing & Business Organization. From there he joined F.G. Wilson Engineering and in October 1994 took up a Technical Sales Engineer role in their North American office in Miami, Florida. Paul then moved to Chicago, Illinois and worked for eight years with Invest NI in the Midwest US office.
In 2005, he joined Corporate Express as a Business Development Executive focused on the US Federal Government. In 2008 Corporate Express was acquired by Staples Inc, and in 2012 he was promoted to the role of Government Strategic Account Manager with national-level responsibility for Staples’ business with a group of Federal agencies.
Professor Malachy Ó Néill - Treasurer
Professor Ó Néill is Director of Regional Engagement at Ulster University (since August 2021) and is currently Interim Director of Development and Alumni Relations. He is former Provost of Ulster University’s Derry~Londonderry Campus (2016-21) and Head of the School of Irish Language and Literature (2012-2017). He has played a central role in a range of strategic initiatives for the University including City and Growth Deals (UK Government), Shared Island (Irish Government), the inception of a School of Medicine (opened 2021), the development of the North West Cross-border Tertiary Cluster (with FE/HE partners), the establishment of a Manchester United Foundation Hub and the accreditation of Derry/Strabane as a UNESCO Learning City Region.
He was awarded a Personal Chair in Irish (2020) and appointed to the Department for Communities’ Irish Language Strategy Expert Advisory Panel in 2021. Prof. Ó Néill is Lead Investigator (Northern Ireland) in the c.€4million Shared Island social capital ‘Atlantic Futures’ research initiative with NUI Galway, University of Limerick and Atlantic Technological University and a member of the EPIC Futures NI (UKRI) steering group, funded by UKRI as part of the Local Policy Innovation Partnership (March 2024). He is Temporary Chair of the Governing Body of North West Regional College (since June 2023) and a member of the Irish Language, Literature and Celtic Cultures Committee of the Royal Irish Academy. Prof. Ó Néill is also a Director of Causeway Chamber of Commerce and Londonderry Chamber of Commerce. He was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2019, the highest accolade in UK Higher Education.
Alison Snookes - Secretary
Alison has led the Development Services team within the Development & Alumni Relations Office at Ulster University since 2011 and is responsible for oversight of operational support for the Fundraising, Alumni Relations and Corporate Engagement teams.
Before joining the University, most of her career was spent in the Middle East where she was, at various times, Head (Chair) of Business Programmes, Acting Head of IT programmes, Head of Foundation Programmes and a Business teacher in one of the campuses of the Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE.
She also worked in the early part of her career as an English teacher with the British Council in the UAE and Oman so has experience of both providing operational support and of working directly with students.
Fiona Duffy
Fiona Duffy graduated from Ulster University in 1982 with a B.Ed. in Communications Studies. She married Sean and moved permanently to the US in 1983 and taught elementary school in East Harlem for a few years before the birth of her first child.
Four children and one grandchild later, Fiona continues her work in education at Tuxedo Park School in NY, where she is in the business of fundraising. Being around elementary school children fills her with joy and fuels a motivation to continue empower people through education.
Her greatest love is her family, both in the US and in Ireland, and she is humbled to be of some service to Ulster.
Paul Jennings
Paul Jennings is Director of Foreign Exchange Sales and Environmental Products at Marex. Hailing from Warrenpoint, Co. Down, he moved to Boston in 1992. Paul has a long career in the US banking industry and was selected for the Irish America Wall Street 50 award several times. Paul is also a board member of the Boston Irish Business Association.
Mark Mathers
Mark Mathers has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, primarily in financial planning, relationship management, and business development. He most recently served as Managing Director of Boston Private Wealth, was a Senior Client Advisor with Silver Bridge and a Senior Financial Planning Consultant for the Bostonian Group.
Mark holds an honors degree in Business Studies from University of Ulster, a Certificate in Export Marketing from University of San Francisco, a Diploma in Philosophy from St. Patrick’s Seminary, and holds the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) certification. Mark values collaboration, collegiality and integrity in the process of positively impacting the lives of his clients.
He lives in Lynnfield, MA with his wife Kathleen and their three children. He enjoys soccer, Gaelic football and golf.Mathers is Managing Director at Beacon Pointe Wealth Advisors, an independent Registered Investment Advisory firm working with endowments, foundations, other institutions, and high-net-worth individuals and families.
Jessica Myers
Jessica has spent the last 18 years working in election administration, primarily at the state and federal level. Jessica began her career at PA Department of State in 2006. In 2010 she joined the US Election Assistance Commission's Testing and Certification Division. She returned to PA DOS in 2017 to join the Policy Office and was promoted to Director in 2019. Jessica currently works for VotingWorks, an election technology nonprofit that provides support and tools for conducting post-election RLAs and is working to develop an open source voting system. She serves as Head of Compliance. Jessica holds a B.A. from Gettysburg College and a Master's in Local History from Ulster University. She currently serves on the Board of the American Friends of Ulster University Inc. and the League of Women Voters (Pennsylvania).