The Integration Centre is a non-governmental organisation which is committed to the integration and inclusion of people from immigrant backgrounds in Ireland.

Atinuke Oluwole Achioya 
Development officer - Louth Minority Ethnic Consortium Project 
Tinu is Chairperson of Louth County Council Antiracism & Diversity Plan Team, she is a Louth County Council Peace III Partnership Member, an affiliate member of National Women Council of Ireland and she received an award from the United Nations Refugee Agency on Art and Culture in recognition of her contribution to Louth African Women's Support Group (LAWSG) Drama group and for her role in the integration of women in society through drama.



Aoife Breheny
Head of Development
Aoife works in the area of fundraising, profile-raising and integration strategising.  She worked with the Information and Advocacy service for The Integration Centre before her role as Head of Development.  Aoife holds a BA and MA in Continental Philosophy from UCD and graduated in 2009 from the University of Edinburgh with a MSc in International and European Politics.  Her areas of interest are human trafficking and migration policy and practices throughout Europe.


 

Mustafa Cezaroglulari is from Cyprus and he is a policy intern.  He holds a LLM degree in International and European Union Law from the University of Amsterdam and a LLB in law from Eastern Mediterranean University. His areas of interest are policy and legislation on European immigration.


 




Helena Clarke
Director of Public Affairs
Helena has an MA in International Organisations from DCU and a BA in English, Media and Cultural Studies from DLIADT. She is highly involved in community development and volunteering. She campaigns with Trocaire, has volunteered with the Irish Friends of Albania and undertook a research project with the women's rights organisation SEWA in India. She sits on the steering committee of the Irish Travellor Movement Yellow Flag Programme, and the GAA Intercultural Committee.



Ali Dennehy
Senior Information & Advocacy Officer
Ali has a BA in English and Philosophy and an MA in Humanitarian Assistance from UCD. Ali's work over the years has included advocacy and casework for clients, including client representation during statutory and legal processes. She monitors and reports on emerging client needs and changes in legislation and statutory policies and is involved with daily information provision (telephone and email) to the asylum community, service providers and support groups.




Killian Forde 
Chief Executive Officer
Killian Forde was appointed CEO of The  Integration Centre in March 2011. He has more than fifteen years experience in the sector both in Ireland and abroad having worked for NGOs and international bodies such as the UN and OSCE. Killian was the Co-ordinator of TravAct, a Traveller advocacy and training organisation from 2002 until his appoinment to The Integration Centre. Elected first in 2004 Killian was a Dublin City Councillor for seven years, and was the Chairperson of the Finance Committee for his second term. In addition Killian is an award winning travel writer. He was educated in Kimmage Manor Developments Studies Centre, the Royal College of Surgeons and DCU where he graduated with an MBA.

 


Jipe Kelly
Regional Officer for the West
Jipe is a Cameroonian national and has been involved in Community Development, Human Rights and Integration since coming to Ireland. He worked with the Galway Refugee Support Group before The Integration Centre.  He is a founding member of the Mayo Intercultural Action group and has been a board member of a number of organisations working to promote the human rights and integration of immigrants in Ireland. He was appointed to the Ministerial Council on Integration, representing Galway in the Connacht area. He received a social entrepreneur award for co-founding the African Community Online Interaction Portal in 2009 and is a member of the Galway City Community Forum.  
Jipe has presented to European audiences on a number of occasions. He is a member of the NGO Alliance and presented the NAAR Shadow Report to the UN CERD Committee in Geneva.  He also presented in Estonia before representatives of ministries around Europe on the Irish voting system. 
 




Marc Mbanda is an intern assisting the South-east region. He has been involved in community work since 2002, assisting in various research projects on asylum seekers and refugees.  Since 2005 he has been an active member of Waterford Immigration Network - a support group for asylum seekers, immigrants and refugees. Since 2008 Marc has served as a Board Member of Waterford Area Partnership.






 
Ian McCafferty
Integration Planning Project Officer
Ian holds a Masters in International Relations (DCU) and a BA in English and History (UCD). He has extensive volunteering experience, both in Ireland and overseas, and has worked with organisations such as Trócaire, Amnesty International, Foróige and Deep Griha Society in India.







Zéphyrin Ngaliema Mukoko
Information & Advocacy Officer
Zeph is a qualified Lawyer from the DR Congo. He studied Law at Université de Lubumbashi from 1983 to 1986 and at Université de Kinshasa from 1986 to 1989 graduating with Honours. He was admitted to the roll of the Barreau de Kinshasa Gombe in 1991. He became member of the International Criminal Barr (ICB) in 2003. He arrived in Ireland in 2006 and joined our Information team in 2009. A native French speaker, Zeph also speaks Lingala, Swahili (Lubumbashi) and English.





Kathy O’Connor
Southwest Regional Officer
Kathy has a background in the arts, education and business, she volunteered in a Direct Provision Accommodation Centre for five years, and developed a local support group for asylum seekers and migrant workers.   She was also employed by the VEC, Cork City Partnership, Avondhu Development and KASI to run art workshops and to teach ESOL and Crafts to various immigrant groups. She has an MA from UCC in Contemporary Migration and Diaspora Studies.




  Seamus O’Leary
Southeast Regional Officer
Seamus has been involved in the community development sector since 1992. He has been with The Integration Centre since 2007 and prior to that he worked with Trocaire as programme officer liaising with local development groups in India and the Philippines.  He lived and worked in a community development setting in Pakistan from 1998 – 2001, and had been involved with asylum seekers in East London in 1997.  He was engaged in a variety of voluntary development initiatives in Albania and Romania.  Seamus also completed an MA in Rural Development in UCD. 




Tosin Omiyale  Tosin Omiyale is a North East (Border Region) Development Intern.  She is involved in community development and peace work.  Prior to this, she worked as a communications intern and later took up a temporary role as an office manager. Tosin holds a BA in French Language and an MA in International Journalism from DIT. She volunteers with Trócaire and is a member of the Louth Peace Network. Her areas of interest are research in peace and conflict resolution, peace-building, ethnic tolerance and cultural diversity.





Noelle Politis
Office Manager
Noelle has a vast amount of experience in administration and office management. She worked for a number of years with Peugeot Ireland, and has been with the organisation since 2009. She has a BA in European Cultural Studies.





Peter Szlovak
Head of Policy and Research
Peter was born in Hungary and received his Degree in Law from Szeged University. He arrived in Ireland in 2004 and started working for a Direct Provision Centre in Cork.  He went on to study and completed the LLM programme. He has worked on publications for Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre in Cork before taking up his role with The Integration Centre. He is responsible for the monitoring of integration within the organisation.


Brian Gallagher is an intern with the Public Affairs team in Dublin. He has a Masters in International Relations from DCU and a BA in Economics and Political Science from TCD. He is involved in community development here in Dublin where he volunteers with Merchants Quay Ireland and Christian Aid.  Prior to this internship, he spent time teaching EFL in Ireland, Spain and New Zealand.




Alexa Whiting is interning with the Development team in Dublin.  She will receive her BA in International Relations and Economics from Boston University in May 2013. Originally hailing from Seattle and possessing a strong passion for language, travel and culture, Alexa has volunteered throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean, and has work experience both in London and various regions in France.




Anna Lodermeier is an intern with the Public Affairs Team in Dublin. She will receive her BA in International Relations and Management from Regensburg University of Applied Science in March 2014. Back in Germany, Anna worked as a research assistant for her University and was also volunteering for the International Office. As she holds a degree in an extracurricular study program in Intercultural Competence, her areas of interests are among others international relations and integration work.


Hilary Bizumuremyi is an intern with the information and advocacy team in Dublin. He holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law (NUI-Galway) and a BA in Development Studies (Kimmage DSC). His areas of interest are Socio-legal research, public policy, social justice and peaceful social transformation. Hilary works also with Crosscare Migrant Project as a policy intern.


Sandra Porter interns with the Information and Advocacy team. Prior to this internship she lived and worked in Spain where she taught ESOL to minority groups on a voluntary basis. She has worked abroad on education & construction projects in South East Asia and Central America. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Furniture Design & Manufacture from GMIT.