Prof. Dolan is joint founder and Director of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre and an Academic Director of the M.A. in Family Support Studies. He also contributes to the wider undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes of the School of Political Science and Sociology as well as supervising Ph.D. candidates and Masters Dissertations in Family Support, Social Work and Community Development.
Dr. John Canavan is joint founder and Associate Director of the Child and Family Research Centre. He has extensive experience in researching and evaluating social intervention programmes in the areas of child and family care, educational disadvantage, and community and local development. He received his PhD from Queens University, Belfast in 2006 and holds an MA in Community Development from NUI, Galway.
Aileen Shaw joined the Child and Family Research Centre as the Manager of Strategic Development in 2007. She has extensive experience in fundraising and nonprofit management.
Emily O’Donnell was appointed to the position of Business Manager of the Child and Family Research Centre in 2008. Emily is responsible for the day to day operational and financial management of the centre.
As a graduate of NUI, Galway, Emily holds a BA in French and Italian, Higher Diploma in Business Studies and a Higher Diploma in Marketing Practice.
Prior to joining the Child and Family Research Centre, Emily worked in a number of business and marketing roles in the financial, education and communications sector.
Gillian is currently the administrator for the Child and Family Research Centre. Since joining the CFRC in 2006, Gillian has provided support to the MA in Family Support Studies and works on a range of event management and operational areas at the Centre. Gillian holds a BA in Business Studies from the GMIT, Galway and a Higher Diploma in Education from NUI, Galway.
Prior to commencing employment at the CFRC, Gillian worked in a number of administrative roles in the Health and Technology sectors.
Caroline works closely with colleagues in the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre on the cross-institutional PhD programme in Child & Youth Research, in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin.
Dr. Celia Keenaghan is a sociologist with over 20 years experience of research in the area of community engagement, particularly in relation to children and families.
Caroline McGregor (formerly known as Caroline Skehill) is Professor of Political Science and Sociology-Social Work. She is also a Senior Research Fellow at the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre. She began employment in the University in August 2012. Prior to coming to NUI Galway, she was a Senior Lecturer at the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast.
Dr. Michelle Millar has extensive expertise in funded social policy research and analysis. She is a Senior Lecturer in Public and Social Policy at the School of Political Science and Sociology, NUI Galway.
Michelle was the Principal Investigator of the Child and Family Research Centre study on the Labour Market needs and Social Inclusion of One parent Families in Galway City and County project. She is currently the Principal Investigator of the Evaluation of the Incredible Years Programme in Galway City.
