Mayo County Development Board is administered by the Community & Enterprise directorate of Mayo County Council.
The current staff members of the Community & Enterprise directorate are:
John was appointed Director of Community and Enterprise in September 1999. Before then he worked for 10 years with Mayo County Council as the County Arts Officer during which time the Arts had gone through major development and many innovative projects were initiated.
He has previously worked in the heritage and Gaeltacht areas and has teaching experience at second and third level, having worked for a short while in Pobal Scoil Gaoth Dobhair and having worked for a number of years in UCD. His post graduate studies were in Cultural and Historical Geography at UCD and at the University of Sydney, New South Wales. His primary degree from UCD was in Geography, Irish and Economics.
He has won European and World Championships as a member of the Lord Edwards Own Pipe Band.
John took up his position in February 2001. As the Community & Enterprise Administrative Officer with responsibility for Research & Strategy co-ordination, John’s initial task was to provide the County Development Board with accurate and relevant information to facilitate the production of a well-informed strategy. Since the publication of the Integrated Strategy & Implementation Plan John has been primarily engaged in co-ordinating the work of the Implementation Working Groups. He also has responsibility for policy position formulation & writing – i.e. making submissions to Govt Departments – e.g. on local development sector Cohesion and Endorsement processes on behalf of the County Development Board.
He is also involved in the provision and promotion of Research & strategic planning functions within local authority, to the community & voluntary sector, to elected members and to other CDB agencies;
After graduating with an Arts Degree in Sociology & Geography from NUI Maynooth in 1995, John completed a Masters in European Social Policy Analysis (MESPA). John has recently been awarded a Certificate in Managing Change (NUI – 1st Class Honours).
Prior to taking up the position of Research Co-ordinator he was employed as the Research & Evaluation Officer with the Area Partnership Company in Sligo. Previous employment was in the retail and banking fields.
Neil started work for the County Development Board in January 2001. His role in the Community and Enterprise Office includes working with the state agencies and the Community and Voluntary sector. This role is especially important in the context of facilitating the delivery of the County Development Board’s Integrated Strategy. Neil meets with a wide range of groups and plays a key developmental role with the Community & Voluntary Sector in Mayo.
He has previously worked as Research Co-ordinator; Community Development Officer; Rural Research Officer.
Declan began working for Mayo County Development Board on the 10th of January 2001. Most of his time is taken up with scheduling and attending meetings. His main responsibilities are for the Community Fora of the Ballina, Belmullet, Achill and Castlebar electoral areas. He also facilitates meetings of the Social Inclusion Measures Working Group, and sub-committees of the Group.
He also represents Mayo County Council on the board of South Mayo MABS, Citizen’s Information Centre and Open Space.
Declan has recently been awarded a Certificate in Local Government Studies (NUI). He also has a Certificate in Business Studies, a B.Sc. - Marketing Degree and a foundation Diploma in Adult Guidance and Counselling. His previous work experience includes: Student Union Official - 2 years. Marketing Assistant, Steel Stockholders - 18 months. Co-ordinator of Centre for Unemployed - 2 ½ years. Client Services, Foreign Exchange Investment Co. - 4 years. Mediator, Local Employment Service - 4 years.
Patrick has been working for Mayo County Development Board since June 2001.
He started here after he had attended GMIT Castlebar for two years, where he attained a Certificate in Business & Computer Applications.
Pat performs a wide range of duties including research, editing and updating of the Mayocdb website and using the MapInfo mapping program to create maps for use in the Integrated Strategy along with other office duties.
