Kate Nicholl is an MLA for Belfast South and served as the 79th Lord Mayor of Belfast. Kate is Chair of the All Party Group on Ethnic Minorities, Chair of the All Party Group on Climate Action, Vice-Chair of the All Party Group on the Arts.

Born in Zimbabwe, Kate moved to Belfast when she was twelve years old, where she attended Methodist College Belfast. She graduated from University College London with a BSc in Anthropology in 2011.

A Belfast City Councillor for the Balmoral ward from 2016, Kate also worked as a marketing professional before taking a career break in 2021 to serve as Lord Mayor of Belfast and was then elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2022. She is Migration Spokesperson for the Alliance Party and passionate about childcare reform, diversity in politics and ending violence against women and girls.

Kate lives with her husband and two small children in South Belfast.

Lata Sharma, is always proud to say that she was born and reared here in Northern Ireland albeit at the start of the Troubles, and she very much sees herself as a daughter of this society, a new branch of this tree, if you will!

She began working 8 years ago in the voluntary sector on diversity issues, seeking to find the most positive and productive ways to bridge the gap between the 2 main communities and those from different heritages; in particular those communities who have settled here since the GFA.

Professionally, her career began in N.I. as a musician back in 1985 singing in clubs, which certainly had its challenges! In 1986 the opportunity to be professional actor came about after a season with the Ulster Youth Theatre but professional acting work here was very limited as many productions of the time were very naturally based around the 2 main communities. So after a short stint working in London getting some broadcasting experience, she returned home and worked for a few months in commercial television, finally landing her first local presenter/reporter role in BBC N.I. From there she continued to work nationally for BBC television and BBC Radio 2.

Having 3 children brought about emotional challenges which meant having to step back from what was a very demanding career. She was determined to remain connected to the media, briefly writing a column for a local newspaper on these very relevant issues and becoming a social/cultural commentator on Radio Ulster and U105, which she continues to do today!

As someone who considers herself very much a Belfast girl but is equally proud of her Indian heritage, Lata began using the medium of writing 3 years ago as means to communicate cultural and social challenges here, by drawing from her own personal experiences and observations. Writing for those not only from different nationalities, heritages, cultures, religions, traditions but also for the 2 main communities, with whom she shares a deep love, respect and most importantly, an incisive sense of humour! Since writing her 1st one woman show, “Sausage Sodas and Onion Bhajees” which is a tale tackling cultural clashes between East and West, that are still very relevant even today, she has written short stories for a BBC/Lyric theatre collaboration and BBC Radio 4; stories all about how to navigate and fit into this much loved but divided society.

Recently Lata got back to performing as an actor, playing the role of Prince Esculas from Romeo and Juliet, in the Lyric. This was her first time back on a theatre stage in almost 30years.
A few weeks later, Lata took her one woman show, Sausage Sodas and Onion Bhajis”, to the stage at the Sanctuary Theatre in East Belfast, where she was raised, for a 2 night run.

During this time, Lata also returned to presenting a 6 part Radio Ulster series, “Roar of the Greasepaint”, about a long established culture of amateur dramatics, enjoyed by local people here in Northern Ireland, and also now doing a little stand in presenting on Radio Ulster.

Eileen Chan Hu is a social entrepreneur and Founder and Executive Director, CRAICNI. Born in Belfast, of first-generation Chinese, Eileen is passionate about adding diversity, inclusion, creativity, and colour to our society. Her 25 years’ experience in the field of race covers English language teaching, community development, community safety initiatives and health and wellbeing. Eileen has sat on an array of boards, was a member of the Centenary Forum and an Equality Commissioner (2018 – 2020). She is currently on the All-Island Women’s Forum and is Vice Chair of Migrant and Minority Ethnic Council NI, Trustee on New Europeans UK, and Horatio’s Garden. Eileen is a member of the Belfast Speakers’ circle and has spoken on race equality, social entrepreneurship and women issues. In 2021, Eileen was a TEDx Speaker. Her TEDx talk: ‘GaiWaak, Made in Belfast, Made with Purpose’, presented both her cross cultural experience and the philosophy she inherited from her parents. 

These influences all she does.
https://www.ted.com/talks/eileen_chan_hu_gai_waak_made_in_belfast_made_with_purpose?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

As a former CEO of Chinese Welfare Association, Eileen oversaw the building of the first multipurpose Chinese Resource Centre working to support Chinese and other communities as integral citizens in the community.

Prior to retiring in 2021, David had been a Human Resources practitioner for over 25 years, having worked in several high-profile, complex, and dynamic public service organisations, including: Inland Revenue Northern Ireland, Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Police Service of Northern Ireland.

His most recent position was Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion with the Police Service of Northern Ireland. He was also a part-time lecturer – developing and delivering level 5 and level 7 CIPD and CMI courses. He is also a qualified leadership coach & mentor and holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies, a master’s degree in Human Resource Management, and he retains his membership as a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.

In 2021 he received the CIPD NI HR award for outstanding contribution in the field of people development in Northern Ireland.

David was a ‘Class of 2021’ participant on the Boardroom Apprentice programme, and was hosted by the Community Relations Council, whose functions focus on enhancing diversity and including across the communities in Northern Ireland, and delivering against The Executive Office’s (TEO’s) Good Relations Strategy.

Despite now being retired, David remains passionate about initiatives that enhance diversity & inclusion and social mobility, and is presently involved in a TEO initiative which seeks to increase representation of disabled persons on public boards.

John spent his early career coding for a healthcare tech company in Pittsburgh before a 15 year stint in media. A journalist and editor at the North Belfast News, John also ran Ireland’s most successful independent food website, Forked.
In 2013 John launched a wifi software technology startup, which was used in restaurants, cafés, hotels, stadia and vehicles around the world.
John joined Entrepreneurial Spark in 2015 to help support ambitious startups throughout Ireland. The social enterprise was bought over by NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank in 2018. Since joining the team John has worked to support 7000+ startups across the country. Those businesses have raised £35m+ in investment and created more than 1000 jobs.
Since 2019, John sits as a member of Ulster Bank’s Regional Board and leads on climate and the drive to support a more diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem in Northern Ireland. John has also taken on an additional role as Norther Ireland’s Dealmaker, Department for International Trade and this month launched a podcast focused on diversity in Venture Capital.