David Kelly was appointed as Director of the Southern Regional Assembly in 2019. Prior to this he held the post of Assistant Director at the Assembly and Head of the ERDF S&E Regional Programmes. David has been involved in managing EU funded programmes since 2001, including Interreg and three Southern & Eastern Regional Programmes (2000-16, 2007-13 and 2014-20), and now the development of the Southern, Eastern and Midland Regional Programme 2021-27. David also oversees the development and implementation of the Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy for the Southern Region.

Kevin Lynch is Assistant Director/Senior Planner with responsibility for the development and implementation of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES). Kevin has over 30 years’ experience in planning ranging from national and  regional planning in Ireland and Scotland, development management, policy development and heritage with Cork City, Cork County, Limerick, Donegal & Westmeath County Councils and dealing with planning appeals across Ireland with An Bord Pleanála. He has extensive experience in European Projects and policy implementation.

Karen Power is an Administrative Officer in the EU Programme Division working on the Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027. Karen also worked as an EU Project Officer with responsibility for the delivery of three EU funded projects the SRA are partners on. As part of the Interreg Europe funded COHES3ION project the SRA worked with Maynooth University and regional stakeholders to define what a Smart Southern Region is and develop a framework to facilitate Smart Cities Driving a Smart Region. Prior to this Karen worked with the Regional Planning Team on the making of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) for the Southern Region.  Karen is a Business Studies graduate from University of Limerick and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in European Studies from the Leuven Institute in Brussels.

Niall is an Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Niall is a Funded Investigator with CONNECT, the SCF Research Centre for Future Networks and Communications and an Associate Investigator with CONFIRM, the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Manufacturing.

Niall's research interests are in technology adoption, currently studying how neutral host networks can be optimised for economics, access and carbon footprint

Niall's work focuses on enabling sustainable technology adoption in both private and public settings. The work covers strategic alignment of digital strategies with organisational goals, governance structures, business models, business model innovation, corporate venturing and climate for creativity.

Ms. Caroline Creamer is Director of the International Centre for Local and Regional Development (ICLRD) and a Research Fellow with the Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute and Office of Engagement.  Caroline is also Facilitator of the All Ireland Smart Cities Forum (AISCF) and ESPON Contact Point (ECP) for Ireland. A qualified town planner, Caroline has for the past 20 years worked in a research and management capacity on a number of funded projects in the broad areas of regional development, urban and rural regeneration, spatial planning, multi-level governance and collaborative networking.  Over the last decade, Caroline has been working with local government, regional authorities, communities and other key stakeholders across the island of Ireland on a range of programmes focused on place-shaping, regional innovation, rural revitalisation and spatial transitions.

Peter Portheine is director of the Eindhoven International Project Office (EIPO), guiding and supporting regions and cities around the world on collaboration, Smart Cities and socio-economic development strategies. He also acts as program director Smart Cities Brainport.  As an entrepreneur by nature, he has a long experience working and starting new businesses in ICT. Since 2009, he is working for the Eindhoven Brainport Development organization, focusing on development of programs on Smart Health and Smart Cities. He also is co-founder of the Brainport Health Innovation Network and the Brainport Smart District.

Peter also served as an elected member of the Provincial Council of North Brabant being spokesperson for Energy Transition and Climate Adaptation, Public Governance, Innovation and Research.

He has a strong focus on integrated socio-economic development and public-private entrepreneurship, as well as a passion for innovation and technology.

Claire leads Cork City Council’s Smart City, Web and Online Services team. She is responsible for the development of Cork City’s first Digital Strategy and coordinates Cork City Council’s smart city activities. 

Claire represents Cork City Council on smart city forums including the Cork Smart Gateway, All Ireland Smart Cities Forum, Major Cities of Europe and Intelligent Cities Challenge. 

Prior to this Claire was the Programme Manager of the Cork Smart Gateway and held roles in project management and policy development in Cork Chamber and the South-West Regional Authority.

Deirdre de Bhailís is General Manager of Dingle Hub. She is an experienced social enterprise and community leader with a comprehensive knowledge of strategic and operational development. Skilled in multi-stakeholder and community engagement, she drives multiple projects which address the community’s transition to a low carbon society.  These include the development of sustainable mobility initiatives and the investigation of anaerobic digestion solutions to address climate change.

Deirdre holds a degree in Electronic Engineering from NUIG and a Masters in Engineering Science from UCC.

Nikita leads the UK & Irish operations for BABLE Smart Cities and primarily works with public authorities as a Senior Strategy Consultant. She has more than 7 years of experience in multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral decarbonisation and smart city projects and is a PMP® certified project manager. She holds a joint master’s degree in Management and Engineering of Energy and Environment from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm and the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), with a focus on smart and sustainable urban development. She was formerly a researcher in urban systems development at Fraunhofer Research Society and worked on electric and hybrid vehicles at Tata Motors. She works with municipal representatives, researchers, and the private sector to identify innovative ways to solve urban challenges using data, IoT and collaboration. Nikita is a founding member of the World Economic Forum-supported Global Shapers Hub in Stuttgart and is a trained Climate Reality Leader.

Dr Lorraine D’Arcy is TU Dublin’s Sustainability Action Research and Innovation Lead where she is putting her academic knowledge into action working with the University’s Sustainability team to meet their aim of Carbon Neutrality by 2040. This secondment is from her role as a Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Transport and Mobility in TU Dublin bringing interdisciplinary perspectives from her research and practice to the public debate and policy development around transport, health and climate. She is a Civil Engineer with a background in traffic engineering, transportation planning and materials science (asphalt) and has worked in community sports development and health policy. She also holds a PhD in exercise and environmental psychology which focused on how streets, neighbourhood design and social determinants influence our transport and health behaviours. She was Conference Lead for Walk21 Ireland 2022 – the International Conference on Walking and Liveable Communities hosted by TU Dublin in September 2022, funded by the Departments for Transport, Health and Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

Robert is a Regional Planning Officer since 2016, working within the Regional Planning Division on the development and implementation of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) and collaborating on EU Projects. Robert has a focus on the Regional Transport Strategy and is the Assembly’s representative on the national Sustainable Mobility Policy (SMP) Delivery Team. Robert has over twenty-four years planning experience working across Local Authorities, private practice, international experience (Auckland Council) and regional planning. He is a graduate from UCC (BA in Geography and Economics), UCD (Masters in Regional and Urban Planning) and is currently undertaking a MSc in Sustainable Transport and Mobility with TU Dublin. He is a member of the Irish Planning Institute.

Catherine is a team member of EU Projects in the Southern Regional Assembly. She is currently working on Interreg Europe projects with the responsibility for building, recording, and submitting project claims. Previous work experience includes working in Marketing, Insurance, Banking and Sales.

Alice is a Regional Planning Administrator within the Planning Department of the Southern Regional Assembly working primarily on the development and implementation of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES). More recently Alice worked on the statutory RSES Two Year Monitoring Report summarising progress made in the RSES implementation. Alice is responsible for co-ordinating RSES and Regional Planning communications and is the planning representative on the Corporate Communications Team. Alice is also experienced in working on EU funded projects the SRA are partners on to advance RSES implementation.  Alice is a business and marketing graduate with a keen interest in local and regional development.