About us

Alastair practised for over 40 years as a solicitor with Cleaver Fulton Rankin in Belfast, retiring in 2015. He was president of the Law Society of Northern Ireland in 1997 and represented the Society for 15 years on the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of Europe. He sits as a fee-paid judge in the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) and was a legal chairman and latterly Vice-President of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal Northern Ireland. He retired as chair of Belfast Philharmonic Society in 2020 but remains a member of the bass section. He is Hon Treasurer of McCracken Memorial Presbyterian Church, Belfast and the chair of National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland. He was a board member of Chamber Choir Ireland, Hon Secretary of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society and a member of the Northern Ireland Grants Committee of the National Churches Trust. He was awarded the MBE in the 2021 New Year's Honours.

Marcus is an architect who worked with historic buildings in Glasgow and Edinburgh before returning to Belfast in 1978 to run Hearth Housing Association. Through Hearth he was involved in the restoration of some fifty historic buildings, many of them having been derelict buildings at risk. He has been on the committee of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society for many years and chaired the Historic Buildings Council for Northern Ireland for seven years till retiring in 2020. He was awarded the OBE in 1995 and is an Academician of the Royal Ulster Academy.

Verity is an architect originally from Eglinton, Northern Ireland. She studied architecture at Queen’s University Belfast and has developed an interest over the years on how design impacts wellbeing. She has a background in research and completed her PhD in architecture in 2014 with a thesis entitled “Designing for Dementia: An Assessment of the Impact of the Physical Environment on Wayfinding Success in Long Term-Care Settings.” During her secondment to Rome, Italy, in 2011 she was responsible for completing a report on how European Union (EU) policy considers the dignity of older people in regards to the design and inclusion of technologies. She has a love for the built environment, its history and fabric and how it impacts on our wellbeing and has a role in enhancing our lives. Verity currently works as a senior architect for van Dijk architects and is based in their Belfast office.

Geoff is a Chartered Management Accountant, and served at Finance Director level for a number of public sector organisations. More recently he has undertaken roles in the local charity sector including Treasurer to the Province's leading architectural heritage charity and support to a prominent foodbank charity.

Rita is NI Support Officer for the Architectural Heritage Fund. From 2000 to 2013 she led on planning campaigns for the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society and developed its education programmes. Prior to that she was employed as Heritage Officer with Belfast City Council; researcher with Rachel Bevan Architects; and Northern Ireland Development Officer for the Ecology Building Society. She currently serves on the board of the Irish Landmark Trust, which saves and restores historic buildings to provide holiday accommodation across the island of Ireland. She has an MA in Town Planning from Edinburgh College of Art and a Royal Society of Ulster Architects’ Diploma in Historic Building Conservation. Rita was awarded a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship to study best practice in universal access to historic buildings in Scandinavia and the United States.

Karen has over 40 years’ experience in the architectural heritage sector in Northern Ireland. A previous chairman of Hearth Housing Association and Revolving Fund, she has also served on the Historic Buildings Council for Northern Ireland, The Irish Landmark Trust, the Ulster Architectural Heritage committee and is currently a Trustee of the Architectural Heritage Fund. Karen is a member of the UK Designing Libraries Advisory Board and the European Research Libraries Architecture Forum. Karen had a 45-year career in university libraries and currently works as a library building consultant. She has served on judging panels for the UK RIBA awards, the IGS Conservation Awards, the Australian Library Design Awards, and library building design competitions in Europe and China. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, an Honorary Member of the RSUA and was awarded an OBE for services to architectural heritage.

Richard is a retired Housing Manager. He was heavily involved in the redevelopment programme of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in South and East Belfast. He also worked in the area rehabilitation programme that ran in tandem with redevelopment. Until recently he was a board member with Clanmil Housing Association, with a particular interest in their historic buildings.

Gerry Mc Guckin is an experienced business and education professional with a distinguished career spanning over four decades. Holding an MSc in Engineering Software, a BSc in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, and an MBA from Ulster University, Gerry combines strong technical foundations with strategic leadership capability. 

Gerry served North West Regional College for 26 years, rising to Deputy Principal, where he played a pivotal role in the merger that created NWRC in 2008 and held responsibility for major estates development and building programmes across the north west. Since 2010 he has worked as an independent business consultant across multiple sectors. 

A proven innovator and community leader, Gerry has served on numerous not-for-profit boards, developed funded software solutions, and helped establish social economy enterprises. His expertise spans business systems, change management, workforce development, stakeholder engagement, and infrastructure. 

Manfred McDowell is a retired university lecturer in government and history. He was involved in the redevelopment of the original Royal (William Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh and the Summerhall Arts complex the iconic Edinburgh arts and performance venue. He currently on the boards of L'Arche Belfast and The Belfast Archive Project. 

Dr Angela Halliday is a visual artist, writer, and curator based in Belfast. She has over 25 years’ experience working across the visual arts sector. Angela holds a BA, MFA, and PhD from Ulster University, where her doctoral research explored narrative and female subjectivity in moving image practice. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is held in the collection of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and in private collections. Since 2011, Angela has served as Director of Digital Arts Studios, Northern Ireland’s leading organisation supporting artists working with digital technologies. She is a Council Member and Associate Academician of the Royal Ulster Academy (ARUA) and serves on the Belfast Stories Community Advisory Panel.

Bruce has a background in cyber-security and governance.

Jason has 15 years’ experience working in the heritage sector for various organisations including National Museums Northern Ireland, Linen Hall Library and Clifton House. He joined Hearth in May 2024 as Community Engagement Officer to work on the Riddel’s Warehouse project.

Having studied Modern History at Queen’s University Belfast, Jason was awarded the James E. Todd Prize for the highest scoring Masters dissertation written on an aspect of Irish history.

He is perhaps best known for his ever-popular history articles for the Belfast Telegraph and also as host of the Historical Belfast Podcast.

Michelle has over five years of experience in digital communications within Trust healthcare and the third sector, driven by a commitment to purpose-led, non-commercial marketing. With expertise in strategic messaging, visual storytelling, and brand development, she led the successful rebrand of Parenting Focus, enhancing the charity’s digital presence and impact among key audiences. She joined Hearth in November 2024 as Marketing and Communications Officer to work on the Riddel’s Warehouse project.

Michelle holds a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design from the University of Edinburgh and recently completed a PGCert in Audiovisual Post-Production from Queen’s University. Known for her creativity and dedication to meaningful communication, she crafts strategies that foster engagement and drive organisational success to benefit communities across NI.