Board of directors

 

Freddie Klok, Chairperson

 

My highly autodidactic nature, leading to years of experience in People Management, Governance, Grants Management, Accounting, Human Resources, Legal, etc. has brought me to various interesting and challenging places. I have always had a drive to contribute to Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice and with Saoirse, I have found another interesting place where amazing women are changing the world.

 

Emma Lauren Otten, Vice Chairperson

 

Emma Otten is a Marketing and Communications professional with a passion for supporting charities, non-profits, and small businesses. She holds an MSc in Management & Marketing and is a member of CIM with a Level 4 Digital Marketing certification. Emma has successfully led campaigns such as raising over €14,600 for the “Your Child is My Child” initiative and was nominated for Best Use of Digital Marketing at the IKTG Awards in 2022. She is also a Board Member at Saoirse-EHD and founder of Soapbox Socials, where she helped small businesses enhance their digital presence. Emma's experience includes working with ASCERT, where she manages communications to support individuals impacted by addiction and mental health challenges.

 

Vera Stojanovic, Secretary of the Board

 

Vera Stojanovic has been dedicated to supporting migrants since 2016, when she founded BetterTogether, an Irish charity focused on empowering migrant women in Cork. She is also one of the co-founders of the Sanctuary Mask Initiative, which later evolved into Saoirse. Her extensive experience includes international humanitarian work in refugee camps across Greece, disaster relief efforts in Mexico, and serving in the international response unit of the Swedish Red Cross. Her impactful work has earned her national and international recognition through awards, as well as two prestigious scholarships.  Vera holds a Master’s in Public Health in Disasters and has shared her expertise as a guest lecturer on humanitarian response at University College Cork and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.

 

Dr. Naomi Masheti

Dr Naomi Masheti is a Psychologist and Program Coordinator at the Cork Migrant Centre and a founding member of Saoirse. Originally from Kenya, she has lived in Cork with her family since 2001. Naomi leads the Cork Migrant Centre, a psychosocial wellbeing and integration hub based at Nano Nagle Place. Her work is rooted in a culturally informed psychosocial model of health and wellbeing, commonly applied in humanitarian settings. This model provides a ‘safe place’ where migrant families, children, and youth can participate in activities that enhance individual, social, and cultural wellbeing. Naomi is She is a guest lecturer at the School of Psychology, University College Cork (UCC) and Part-time Lecture on the International Development Course, UCC. Naomi was the recipient of UCC 2020 Athena SWAN Equality Award, Lord Mayor’s Civic Award and 2024 UCC Alumni Award 2024. 

 

Michael FitzGibbon

 

Mike FitzGibbon has an industrial background in engineering and information systems, working in the mechanical and electronic industries since the mid-80s. Mike moved to Tanzania in the mid 1990s to work in Development. On returning to Ireland, he worked in the areas of Antiracism and Interculturalism with the Irish Higher Education Equality Unit; and in the area of Food Security with the International Famine Centre in University College Cork (UCC). In 2006, he began his role as lecturer in UCC in the areas of Conflict, Gender, Humanitarian Responses and Communications, retiring this year. Areas of interest include: Conflict and Development and the media; ICTs in Development; the Ethics-Development-Technology nexus; Migration; and Protection.

 

Sr. Josephine McCarthy

Sr. Jo, has dedicated her life to missionary and community work. Beginning in 1978 with the Cork and Ross Mission in Peru, she later served 20 years in Ecuador and Peru with the Presentation Missions, working in challenging and lawless regions. Returning to Ireland in the early 2000s, Sister Jo supported development education for Presentation Secondary Schools and co-founded the Cork Migrant Centre  at Nano Nagle Place in 2006. Under her guidance, CMC became a vital hub for migrant support, integration, and advocacy.