Board

Mrs Loughran is the Chair of the Children’s Court Guardian Agency for Northern Ireland. Mrs Loughran was a barrister before being appointed as a county court judge in 2004, a position from which she has now retired. 

She is one of the two authors of The Law of Children in Northern Ireland. Mrs Loughran was formerly a principal lecturer in St Mary’s College of Education. She has served on the Board of Governors of a primary school and two post-primary schools.

Ms Callaghan has been a social worker since 1980 having worked for many years in both the voluntary and statutory sectors in Northern Ireland. With extensive experience of family support, child protection and looked after children services she has held positions at both operational and strategic levels in a range of organisations.

She joined the Northern Ireland Social Care Council in 1994 followed by a period of secondment to the DHSSPS with responsibilities linked to professional registration and regulation, workforce development and planning. In 2007 Ms Callaghan took up post as Assistant Director for Social Care Governance and Workforce within the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. Prior to her retirement late 2019 she was Interim Executive Director of Social Work and Director of Women, Children and Families Division within the Northern Trust.

Mr Douglas qualified as a social worker in 1986 and worked within statutory children’s services in Northern Ireland. He has held senior management roles in early years; family support; child protection; children’s residential; fostering and adoption; and children’s public/private law court work services.

In 2011, Mr Douglas was appointed as Assistant Director for Family Support and Safeguarding Children, including Public Health Nursing Services, in the Southern Health & Social Care Trust, and held this post until June 2021. Prior to his retirement he was chairperson of a number of groups: the Southern Area Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse Partnership; the SBNI Children’s Domestic Violence and Abuse sub-group; the Health & Social Care Regional Emergency Social Work Service Operational Group; the Southern Area Multi-Agency Infant Mental Health Strategic Group; and the Southern Trust Family Nurse Partnership Advisory Board. 
 

Lee is a Non-Executive Director of the Children's Court Guardian Agency for NI, and Chair of its Audit & Risk Committee.  He is also Chair of the Audit Committee for the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People, and an Audit Committee Member for the Older Persons Commissioner for NI.
Lee previously served as a Non-Executive Director of the NI Social Care Council, NI Medical and Dental Training Agency, and Consumer Council for Northern Ireland. 

Lee holds a BA Hons in Business Studies, MA in Administration and Law and a PG Diploma in Social and Community Development.  He also has over 20 years’ experience working in Health Service Finance.

Ms Stevenson is head of legal services at the Children’s Law Centre (CLC), which offers free legal advice and information on a wide range of children’s legal rights issues.

She qualified as a solicitor in 1997 and initially worked in private practice before joining CLC in 2000 as an education solicitor. She was appointed as head of legal services in 2009, taking lead responsibility for operational planning, management and strategic development of CLC’s in-house legal team. She provides expert guidance and support to legal staff on casework and strategic litigation undertaken by CLC to bring about progressive changes in law and practice relating to children in Northern Ireland.

Ms McKenna qualified as a Social Worker in 1994 and for 30 years worked within statutory Children’s Services in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. She has held various senior management roles including Interim Co-Director within the areas of early intervention, early years, family intervention, child protection, looked after children, children with disabilities and public protection. 

Ms McKenna was also the chair of the Belfast Domestic and Sexual Violence Partnership for over 10 years where she led on a number of projects and initiatives to support the delivery of the Government Strategy Stopping Domestic and Sexual Abuse. Ms McKenna commenced her post as Chief Executive with the Children’s Court Guardian Agency NI in November 2024.