The Board

Sara R Phillips

Chair

Denise Breen

Denise Breen is married with two adult children. Originally a Dub, she married a Lilywhite and now lives in Newbridge, Co. Kildare. Professionally, Denise has been working as a Project Manager in the engineering and construction sector for over thirty years. She has worked for the ESB, Arup, Jacobs, PM Group, Google and currently works with Iron Mountain, headquartered in Boston. With Iron Mountain she is responsible for delivery of Data Centres in EMEA and APAC – so she travels a lot! Denise has lived and worked in Ireland, the UK, the US and Asia and has experienced transgender issues across these countries and regions. In her spare time, Denise works with KFM radio, the commercial station for Kildare and is passionate about broadcasting. She loves cinema and writes a blog on www.thefourthwall.xyz Denise transitioned some years ago while living in the US and since returning has experienced first hand the challenges that trans and non-binary people face in Ireland. It is because of this, together with a desire to give hope to others who may be questioning their identity that Denise continues to enjoy serving on the Board of TENI.

Aoife Martin

Aoife Martin is a trans woman and a passionate trans rights advocate. In January 2017, she became the first person to transition globally within her workplace. Since then, Aoife has given numerous talks and interviews about being transgender in Ireland today. She is passionate about educating people on transgender issues and believes that by talking to people and putting her story out there that she can help make a difference and change how people perceive transgender people. Aoife has written an on-going transition diary for Headstuff and has appeared on a number of podcasts and on radio. Aoife is a firm believer in equality for all people and is determined to help make Ireland a better place for all trans and gender non-conforming people.

Lynne Tracey

Lynne Tracey started out in the Advertising Industry in Dublin. She spent her early career working in Agencies such as Campaign Advertising in Dublin and McCann-Erickson in New York. In the early 90’s, Lynne moved back to Dublin as a founding Director of McCann-Erickson Dublin and subsequently moved to the Javelin Group where she was a Board Director. Lynne was the first female President of the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI). She has also served on the Board of the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI), the Advertising Benevolent Society (TABS) and CCCI (CopyClear). She currently lectures in TUD (Technological University Dublin) and is a Communications Compliance Manager with CopyClear, who assess marketing communications for alcohol brands. She has worked there since 2007. Lynne also has extensive experience working with not-for-profit Boards. She served on the Well Woman Board for five years and chaired the Board for two years. She has been a Board member of TENI (Transgender Equality Network Ireland) for three years and is Chairperson of the Board of the New Theatre in Dublin’s Temple Bar.

Ollie Bell

“My name is Ollie Bell and I am a non binary socialist feminist activist from Tallaght. I’m co-founder and one of the main organisers of Trans Pride Dublin. Trans Pride Dublin is a grassroots pride with no corporate presence or sponsorship, which pushes the voices of the community to the forefront. I’m running for the board of TENI because I believe TENI needs a strong working class voice and someone who is willing to fight for all members of the trans community. I was active during the Repeal The 8th Campaign because I knew it was an important win for not only women but trans people too. I also fight against all issues of oppression, whether that be the fight against direct provision, climate change or the housing crisis. I am a recent Trinity College Drama and theatre graduate and hope to do a masters in youth work. I’m a Peer Educator and Youth Leader for BeLonGTo Youth Services where I give workshops to young LGBTQ people and encourage them to be agents of positive social change. I also volunteer as a facilitator with ShoutOut where I go to secondary schools and give workshops about different LGBTQ identities.”

Sam Blankensee

Sam is the National Membership and Campaigns Officer with the Irish Traveller Movement and previously held the position of National Development Officer and then Policy and Research Officer in TENI until 2018. While in TENI, Sam supported the establishment of Trans Kerry and the Gorey Trans Peer Support Group. Sam also supported the submission to the Gender Recognition Action Review and is currently undertaking a Masters of Arts in Management for the Non-Profit Sector. Sam is a non-binary trans masculine person and is an administrator on TG Ireland. Sam also acts as a substitute facilitator for the Dublin Trans Peer Support Group when needed. Sam is 25 and has been involved in the trans community for 7 years. Sam has an Advanced Certificate in Youth Health Promotion with an interest in developing healthy organisations. Alongside trans rights, Sam is passionate about reproductive justice, Travellers rights, and seeing equality as an intersectional issue.