Sheila has worked in the area of widening participation for over ten years. As Project Co-Ordinator of the UCC PLUS+ Schools Outreach Programme, she co-ordinated and developed outreach activities with second level DEIS schools in Cork, Kerry and Waterford, engaged in local inter-agency initiatives and collaborated with Access personnel nationally on the ongoing development and delivery of the Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) Scheme. Prior to working in higher education Sheila worked as a Health Development Worker with the Traveller Visibility Group Cork and as a residential Care Assistant in both family support and emergency homeless services. A graduate of University College Cork, Sheila holds a Bachelor in Social Science (2001), Master in Social Science (Youth & Community Work) (2003) and a Diploma in Management Practice (2020).

Rebekah holds a BA(Hons) in Addiction Counselling and PhD in drug sociology from WIT; her research focuses on public health and community development and she is a former Irish Research Council awardee. Rebekah sits on the Adult Continuing Education (ACE) Diploma of Substance Misuse and Addiction Studies Board in University College Cork and lectures for both ACE and An Cosán in Dublin, her teaching areas include Substance Misuse, Community Development and Wellbeing. Rebekah has experience designing and delivering a social action model for teaching which supports marginalised and vulnerable groups.

Aoife holds a BA in Early Childhood Studies and a Masters in Social Policy from University College Cork. She was awarded an Irish Research Council scholarship for her PhD which explores the areas of child migration, childcare policy and immigration policy. It specifically focuses on the lived experiences of separated children transitioning from being a minor in the care of the State to becoming an adult and ‘ageing out’ of the care system in Ireland. Aoife also holds an Advanced Diploma from The Honourable Society of Kings Inns in Immigration and Asylum Law and Policy. Prior to working as a research assistant, Aoife worked as a Montessori teacher and has taught on Social Policy and Early Childhood Studies programmes in UCC.