The work of EIL Intercultural Learning is overseen by a Board of 9 volunteers who meet on a regular basis throughout the year. All members of the Board have previously participated on EIL programmes and do not receive any payments or emoluments for their work. Board members are elected each year by the members of EIL. The members of the Board are:
EIL Board
Chairperson
Kate O'Brien
Kate is a Chartered Accountant working in Finance for a large Irish Company. Previously she spent 8 years working for an Accountancy Firm in Dublin specialising in Audit and Assurance Services with a focus on the not-for-profit sector. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Commerce International from UCC and participated in the Erasmus Programme, spending 9 months in Italy as part of this. Kate joined the EIL Board in March 2023.
Vice Chairperson
Santo Leung
I have been involved with AFS since 2006 after receiving a UNESCO Scholarship for a Study Abroad program from Australia to Japan. On returning I volunteered with AFS South Australia local chapter. In 2013 I completed a university exchange to Helsinki and connected to the local AFS chapter there and when I returned to Adelaide I completed training to be an AFS Qualified Trainer.
My involvement in AFS/EIL Ireland began in 2016 when I moved to Cork and became involved in the Study Abroad Committee. I have been involved with student orientations and I enjoy seeing the transformation participants undergo through the programs. I am a Management Consultant for a global engineering company and hold degrees in Architectural Engineering and Corporate Finance from the University of Adelaide. On the weekends I’m often exploring Ireland or further abroad to continue my intercultural learning.
Vice Chairperson
Andrew Ormsby
Andrew has been involved with EIL/AFS Ireland since 2015, when he travelled to Switzerland as a recipient of the Study Abroad Explore Award. Since he returned from his semester abroad, he has volunteered with EIL/AFS in many areas: mentoring Irish students during their exchanges; planning and facilitating orientations for international students that are hosted in Ireland; and working with the Study Abroad programme to bring intercultural learning workshops to Irish schools. He has represented EIL/AFS Ireland at an international level, working with the European Federation for Intercultural Learning on multiple projects.
Andrew lives in Galway, working as a Schools Project Manager for Baboró International Arts Festival for Children. His work involves developing, implementing and promoting Arts in Education programmes in the city, and it is strongly informed by the experience in non-formal education methods that he gained working with EIL/AFS Ireland. In his spare time he can be found hiking, reading, or telling anyone who’ll listen that they should get involved with EIL/AFS.
Niamh Hill
Niamh has been involved with EIL since 2009 when she received a Travel Award to Hong Kong. Subsequently, in 2013, she spent 6 weeks volunteering in India teaching English in a local primary school on an EIL programme. Niamh was first elected to EIL’s Board in 2017 and became Vice-Chairperson in 2018, as part of which role she has represented EIL at a number of EFIL and AFS meetings and conferences. Niamh holds a BCL and LLM from UCC and has practised as a solicitor in Cork since qualifying in 2012. She currently works as Legal Counsel for a large Irish company. Her other voluntary work includes over 10 years as a girl guide leader with the Catholic Guides of Ireland (CGI) and she has been a member of CGI’s Regional Executive Board for the past 6 years.
Paul Conway
I first became involved in EIL after a Homestay in Communist Poland in 1986. Afterwards, I was asked to represent EIL on the National Youth Council. With the creation of a new constitution, the EIL Board was established in the late 1980s and I have served on same for a number of terms, including holding the position of Chairperson on several occasions. I am regularly involved with the activities of the EIL Network. Married to Brenda, we live in Dublin and have a busy household with 3 adult children.
After spending most of my working life in the semi-state and private sector in Dublin Port I am now a civil servant. As an active volunteer in the Red Cross, I am responsible for the planning and provision of First Aid and Ambulance cover at national, regional, and local level. This involves regular coordination with other voluntary and statutory agencies to ensure preparedness for emergencies or severe weather conditions. Recent activities included supporting the Government’s response to the Covid 19 challenges and assisting displaced Ukrainians.
Emma McNally Jacobs
After returning from an AFS Exchange year in Luxembourg, Emma graduated from the University of Cape Town with a BA and Postgraduate Diploma in Organisation and Development.
Over the next 10 years she worked in the Learning & Development space, as a Learning & Development Manager at Independent Newspapers and MediKredit Integrated Healthcare solutions, and Master Trainer and Human Resource Development Consultant for Deloitte. In 2003, Emma and her family moved to Durban and started Westville B&B, which grew into a multi-award winning 5-star B&B business across three properties, with a team of 15 employees and students. Emma was on the Board of the National Accommodation Association of South Africa, a two-term committee member of the KZN Women in Business supporting female entrepreneurs, and she chaired the Durban West B&B Association.
In 2016, Emma started oil painting and grew a small side business called Emma Jacobs Art, and she was the Founder of Durban Art Workshops, using one of their properties to host these art workshops, helping other artists grow.
In June of 2021, the family moved to Ireland, where Emma took up a position as Duty Manager to learn Irish hotel operations, and then in March of 2022, she took over the role of People & Culture Manager at The Montenotte Hotel in Cork.
Emma is a certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner with GENOS Europe, has completed an Employment Law course with CORK ETB. She is a member of the Irish Hospitality Institute, the Irish Hospitality Federation’s HR Forum, Visual Artists Ireland, and Sample Studios.
In addition to sitting on the Board of EIL AFS Ireland, Emma regularly exhibits her Emma Jacobs Art, and enjoys spending time with her son, daughter and husband, and their two Scottish Terriers.
Aedín Mc Adams
Aedín has been involved with EIL since 2020 when she won the Global Awareness Programme (GAP) award to Mexico, focusing on the UN Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land. She has been actively involved in EIL since her return, volunteering on orientation days, arrivals workshops and pre-departure weekends. Alongside this, she is a member of the Global Education Committee (GEC). Aedín is currently a PhD candidate, researching habitat rehabilitation and restoration, focusing on mediating human impacts by creating a stable and harmonious habitat for the reintroduction of a declining snail species in Ireland. Outside of her study, Aedín is interested in equitable education, cultural exploration and GAA and enjoys being out in nature exploring Ireland and travelling abroad. “