Our trustees

Sue Christie OBE

Chair

Sue was the CEO of Northern Ireland Environment Link, the networking and forum body for voluntary environmental organizations in Northern Ireland, from 1991 to 2014. She is an ecologist originally from the US with a wide range of environmental interests and has been involved in a number of voluntary organisations, government committees and working groups on a variety of environmental matters. In retirement she spends her time with KNIB, especially Eco-Schools and LHLH; a variety of other committees including Sustainable NI, Belfast Food Network, CNCC, INTERREG V; gardening and dog 'training'. She is also preparing teaching materials on Madagascar with a local charity, ADSUM.

Brian Monroe

Brian, a qualified chartered accountant, is currently the Director of Finance and Operations for Baker and McKenzie Global Services in Belfast. He started his career in Price Waterhouse, and has held senior management roles in the airport, retail, legal and recruitment industries. He is involved in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, training and supervising participants during their hill walking expeditions. He is also a fair weather cyclist, the demands of two children putting a strain on the amount of saddle time.

Anna Lo MBE

Anna was born in Hong Kong and settled in Northern Ireland in 1974. She had been a social worker in Social Services and Barnardos prior to being the Director for the Chinese Welfare Association. She was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007 and retired in 2016. Anna was the Chair of the Environment Committee in the Assembly from 2011 to 2016.

Tim Walker

Tim holds a PhD in Performance Management & Organisational Change. Since 1997, he has worked as the Head of Waste Management in Belfast City Council. In this role, Tim has overseen many innovations in recycling and waste policy in the council, such as the introduction of a food waste scheme. Tim was a trustee of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management until early 2017, and served as Regional Chair from 2001-2003. 

Stephen Finlay

Stephen has held management positions within the local government and tourism sectors. During his career he has worked as a consultant with Deloitte and has successfully delivered strategy and change programmes. Stephen has broad international experience having trained and worked in Canada, America, and Europe. He recently held the position of Director of Corporate Development with Tourism NI and through this role supported the introduction of ‘Live Here Love Here’. He is a keen proponent of sustainable tourism and has worked as Sustainable Tourism and Economy Lead with the South Downs National Park Authority, Britain’s newest National Park. Stephen holds a first class degree in Geography from Queen’s University Belfast and a MA in Geography from the University of Toronto.

Linda Bradley

Linda is a retired Civil Servant with over 30 years of experience in statistics, conducting research, research policy, and interpreting and presenting data. She has worked in senior management positions, leading a team of staff and managing large budgets. She has worked on statistics in 5 different government departments. She has a First Class honours degree and a PhD in Geography. Originally from Lurgan, Linda now lives in Bangor with her husband, also a former NISRA statistician. She has 2 sons. She is a season ticket holder at Ulster Rugby and enjoys carrying out furniture restoration and re-upholstery.

Eimear Montague

Eimear is the Executive Director at Northern Ireland Resources Network (NIRN), an organisation working with third sector organisations and local authorities to promote sustainable reuse and repair and the transition to a Circular Economy in Northern Ireland. In her previous role at Travis Perkins Group Plc, she was a founder member of the team which shaped the strategic direction of the organisation, researching sustainability and environmental policies in the built environment and developing projects to maximise these opportunities. From a farming background, she is passionate about sustainable rural development and sits on the Board of Rural Community Network (RCN), an organisation which promotes and supports the needs of the rural population in Northern Ireland.

Aaron Ward

Aaron has over 15 years’ experience in strategic engagement and communications and is currently Head of Audience Development at National Museums NI. He began his career in a research-based role in PwC and has significant experience in tourism development and brand communications through the positions he held at Tourism NI and AV Browne respectively. Aaron also holds a position of Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees for Ulster University Students’ Union where he passionately supports increasing advocacy for a range of student and societal issues.

John Thompson

John heads up Safety, Climate and Resilience at Translink, leading a team who are passionate about making the workplace, public transport and our wider community safer, greener and even more responsible.  He has a Masters with Distinction from Queens University and his experience spans public, private and local government and sectors.  

He is the Chair of the Development and Governance Committee at the Northern Ireland Safety Group.  He sits on the Belfast Resilience and Sustainability Board and is a member of the BITC Corporate Responsibility Leaders Group and is the Northern Ireland representative on BITC’s national Business Emergency Resilience Group (BERG).  He also sits on the Belfast, Northern and Southern Areas Emergency Resilience Forums.

John is also a Board Governor at Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College, one of NI’s largest Academy schools.  He is a Bangor man, a Liverpool supporter and a dad of two.