Like any organisation, people are the key to our success.
The Associates at West Cork Training offer a balance of expertise, judgment, dedication and integrity that makes us such an effective partner for your training needs.
Our Core Team of Associates:
Rita Kearney MA
Rita is an experienced community development consultant. She has considerable project management and co-ordination skills acquired through almost 20 years experience working predominantly in the not-for-profit sector in Ireland and overseas. Her practical experience is complemented by considerable academic achievement which informs her approach to projects and the delivery of programmes.
In a successful career, Rita has acquired substantial experience in project planning and review, organisational change, capacity-building, team support, report preparation, networking, and the accessing of a large variety of resources on behalf of clients as well as representation and presentation activities. Rita’s clients have included individuals, community groups and organisations, local development organisations, semi-state agencies and government departments.
Rita is passionate about development and the empowerment of people to achieve their objectives and always takes on projects in which she can bring her expertise and interests into play to achieve real and lasting results.
Stephen Sage
Originally qualified as an information and library services professional, Stephen is an experienced manager with considerable interpersonal and logistical skills acquired in a variety of senior public and private sector roles in the UK and Ireland.
In carrying out a number of corporate senior management roles he has gained and deployed in-depth knowledge of the gathering, organising and disseminating of information in a variety of formats from printed reports to databases and computerised systems. As a senior manager he acquired significant expertise in the management of change, organisational innovation, evaluation, planning, presentation, mentoring and training. In addition, he has proven abilities in both publishing and broadcasting.
In his extensive career, Stephen has been actively involved with a wide diversity of customer groups and organisations including education, the arts, museums, hospitals, prisons, elderly people, ethnic minority groups and those with disabilities. This totality of experience has been exercised at all levels from localised voluntary groups to government departments and international businesses.
Gillian Crowley
Gillian Crowley has enjoyed a successful career in business administration and sales both in the publishing and the banking sectors in London and Cork respectively. She has extensive experience in the areas of business development and strategic planning.
In recent times, her expertise has been in the education sector, particularly in addressing educational disadvantage and social inclusion with the Department of Education's Schools Completion Programme. Her skills include advocacy, conflict resolution, key working and mentoring. She is adept in communication and facilitation with groups varying in age, culture and social background.
Gillian is involved in community development as a voluntary member of management on a number of community organisations in her local area and is involved in overseeing funding, implementing forward planning and liaising with staff. She has displayed her commitment and capability in a number of successful local initiatives.
Gillian holds a Diploma in Youth and Community Work and in Special Needs Training.
Doris McGrath
Active in the teaching sector for more than ten years, Doris has extensive experience in training children, teenagers, adults and senior citizens.
She has been a key player in implementing a widely diverse range of existing certified programmes. She also has delivered redesigned programmes using different elements to deliver training packages tailor-made to suit individual or group needs.
Her ability to provide training in an environment which is both relaxed and fun, coupled with her excellent communications skills, easy going manner and an innate ability to inspire confidence in trainees, all contribute to ensuring a learning experience which will benefit all.
Dr. Debbie Heaphy BSc (hons), PhD, MIENVSc.
Debbie’s initial training was a BSc in Environmental Science then a PhD ‘The Application of the Principles of Sustainable Development to Landscape Assessment.’
She began her career as a Research Assistant for the Environmental Impact Assessment and Conservation Research Group at the University of Greenwich, London - involved in a broad range of conservation and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) projects whilst working toward her PhD - completed in 2002. Debbie was then employed as Lecturer in Ecology and Conservation for the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Greenwich and was responsible for a wide range of modules for BSc Environmental Science, BSc Geography and MSc Environmental Conservation. Her main subjects were Environmental Law, Landscape Character Assessment, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Ecology and Conservation.
Duties at the University also included project supervision for a very broad range of undergraduate and postgraduate research projects and commercial consultancy on behalf of the University. Debbie also completed a certificate in teaching competence.
Debbie project-managed a feasibility study of the Green Arc in Epping Forest District, a Green Infrastructure project involving an extensive stakeholder dialogue process to build consensus over the highly conflicted situation of public access in prime agricultural land. The process led to extensive stakeholder buy-in and indicated a positive outcome to the project in terms of wildlife management, increase in biodiversity with health and cultural benefits.
Since moving to West Cork in 2005 she has worked as an Independent Environmental Consultant to the University of Greenwich, University of Northumbria, and Hallam Associates, her most recent work being in the development of the Ecosystem Service Approach (ESA) to Regional Planning in the UK.
Debbie has also been employed by Teagasc on a part time basis, giving her a personal understanding and insight into the farming community and the landscape of West Cork.
Her on-going commitment is to achieving Sustainable Development by providing and developing best practice in environmental management on the landscape scale with the inclusion of all stakeholders.
Sally Barnes
After training as a teacher, Sally moved to West Cork in 1976 where she established the Woodcock Smokery, specialising in products from slow-smoked, fresh wild-caught fish devoid of any artificial additives or preservatives. As a successful businesswoman, Sally has built an international reputation for Woodcock Smokery winning awards at the highest level such as the Great Taste Awards and Guild of Fine Food in the UK and the Food Writer’s Guild of Ireland.
In promoting good quality food from sustainable sources, Sally has appeared in numerous television and radio broadcasts including with Richard Corrigan for RTE and Adam Nicholson for the BBC. She has also been a regular contributor on the international scene as delegate, exhibitor and speaker with such organisations as AKTEA: the European Network of Women’s Organisations in Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Irish Smoked Wild Atlantic Salmon Presidium and also Formaggio, Salone del Gusto, the Terra Madre Conferences and Slowfish in Italy.
Her commitment to the development of local business is demonstrated by her involvement as a member of the founding committee of Fuchsia Brands in West Cork, in her role as chair of the founding committee of the Skibbereen Small Business Association, in participating in the formation of the Union Hall Fisherman’s Co-op, and in helping to establish the highly successful Skibbereen Farmers’ Market. She is also a member of the Artisan Working Group with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and a member of the Health Service Executive panel on Safety in the Irish Fishing Industry.
Sally has added to her skill set by studying Food Production Systems and Oceanography with the Open University as well as obtaining a Diploma in Social Studies from UCC. More recently, she has trained and qualified as a Mediator, a qualification approved by the Mediation Forum of Ireland.
