The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) has welcomed five committee members since late 2024 and in 2025 whose expertise and experience are helping to guide our grant-making.
Seán Byers, Maryam H'Madoun and Alessandra Palange have joined our Sustainable Future committee and Charlotte Heath-Kelly and Kieran McEvoy have joined our Peace and Security committee.
Our Sustainable Future committee funds imaginative and inclusive approaches to tackling the climate crisis and building a just and equitable economy in order to protect the planet for future generations.
Of the newest committee members, Seán works for Trademark Belfast, a social justice co-operative with a focus on post-conflict transformation, political education and the new economy. With a background in labour history, his work is now largely focused on political economy education for activists and the development of trade union strategies for combating the far right.
Maryam is an economist with a PhD in applied economics and a 20-year career dedicated to global economic, environmental, and social justice. She is a heterodox economist who uses decolonial, evidence-based approaches to drive systemic change. Her experience includes eight years in global philanthropy, along with extensive work in policy, research, litigation, and grassroots organising.
Alessandra is a researcher working on a range of projects related to climate justice, education, Islam, digital media, democratic practice and the co-production of knowledge. She is passionate about exploring social alternatives at the intersection of community engagement, enterprise, policy, and academia.
Our Peace and Security committee supports approaches to defence and security, which prioritise peace, non-violence and human rights.
Of our newest members, Charlotte is an author and professor of politics and international studies at the University of Warwick. Her research explores the multi-agency partnerships that have brought counterterrorism policing into collaboration with frontline services, like health, education, and social care.
Kieran is a professor of law at Queen’s University Belfast, specialising in the legacy of conflict and violence in Northern Ireland. He is also a veteran peace and human rights activist, with decades of leadership in organisations like Community Restorative Justice Ireland and the Committee on the Administration of Justice.
You can read more about our grant making committees here.
Top row (l-r): Seán Byers, Maryam H'Madoun and Alessandra Palange. Bottom row (l-r) Charlotte Heath-Kelly and Kieran McEvoy.