Our Board

Mr Gerard Guckian MBE, DL, qualified as a solicitor in 1985 and is a partner in a firm in Derry/Londonderry. A longstanding member of the Law Society of Northern Ireland’s Children Order Panel, he has represented children in public law proceedings for more than 25 years. He previously held the positions of: Chair of Altnagelvin Hospital Health and Social Services Trust (2004-2006) and Chair of the Western Health and Social Care Trust (2006-2016).

Before these appointments he was also a Non-Executive Director contributing to his extensive experience in health and social care leadership and governance in Northern Ireland. Whilst Chair of Western Trust, he served on and chaired the representatives’ group of the Northern Ireland Confederation of Health and Social Care (NICON). In 2019 Mr Guckian was awarded an MBE for services to Health & Social Care in Northern Ireland. He additionally served as a Trustee of Foyle Hospice from 2018-2025. Since 2018, Gerry has also been a Lay Member of the Safeguarding Board for NI.

Denise Hunt BEM is a qualified barrister with over 25 years post qualification experience in Practice. In 2011 she assumed ownership and management of the Londonderry Arms Hotel in Carnlough until her retirement in 2024.

In the 2021 Queen’s Honours list she was awarded the BEM for services to the hospitality sector. Ms Hunt is a graduate of Queens University Belfast and obtained a Master’s in law from the London School of Economics. Ms Hunt holds another public appointment with the Department of Justice as a Board Member on the Probation Board for Northern Ireland.

Carol Diffin has over 40 years’ experience working in the statutory Health and Social Care sector. She qualified as a social worker in 1984 and has worked primarily in statutory Children’s Services across Belfast HSC Trust (BHSCT), Southern HSC Trust (SHSCT) and in the Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency, now known as The Children’s Court Guardian Agency for Northern Ireland since March 2023.

Throughout her career she has held a number of senior management positions, including Director of Children’s Community Services/Executive Director of Social Work in the BHSCT from September 2018 until September 2022. Mrs Diffin holds another public appointment with the Department of Health as a Non-Executive Director with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust (NHSCT).

Bria Mongan OBE has extensive experience working across the HSC, serving as an Executive Director of Social Work and Children’s Services and previously as Director of Mental Health, Learning Disability and Prisoner Healthcare. Ms Mongan holds a Master’s degree in Social Work and has held responsibility for all issues relating to Social Work policy, workforce, professional standards and Directed Statutory Functions.

Ms Mongan was awarded an OBE in recognition for services to Social Work and healthcare for prisoners. Currently, Ms Mongan is an Associate Consultant with the HSC Leadership Centre and undertakes work as an independent Social Work Consultant. She also holds another public appointment with the Department of Justice as a Board Member on the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI).

Mr Colin Reid qualified as a social worker in 1987 at Queen’s University Belfast and has worked across a range of roles during his career in the statutory and voluntary sectors and was Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the NSPCC for 20 years. His last substantive post was Head of Safeguarding at the Education Authority before establishing his own safeguarding consultancy in 2025. Colin has a long-standing interest in regulation and has held appointments at the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), the Food Standards Agency and the Optical Registration Board (ROI).

He previously served 2 terms on NISCC’s Fitness to Practice Committee and was appointed in 2025 to the Preliminary Proceeding Committee CORU, the health and social care regulator in ROI. Colin is a co-opted member of Disclosure and Barring Service’s Quality, Finance and Performance Committee where he provides a Northern Ireland input into arrangements. He was a previous Vice Chair and Chair of The British Association of Social Workers (BASW NI) from 2014-2020.

Mr Colm Donaghy has over 25 years’ experience in Health and Social Care, including 15 years as Chief Executive across several major organisations between 2002 and 2017: Southern Health and Social Services Board, Southern Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, and the Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust, where he oversaw significant service improvements in both hospital and community settings. During this time, he led the development of the Northern Ireland Suicide Prevention Strategy, Protect Life, and served as Director General of Co‑operating and Working Together, supporting cross‑border collaboration in health services.

Since retiring in 2017, Colm has continued to contribute to public service as a Non‑Executive Member of the Simon Community NI Board. He holds one other public appointment with TEO as a Lay Commissioner with the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission.

Fred Smyth is a Chartered Accountant and experienced finance consultant with extensive non‑executive experience across the public, voluntary, and private sectors. He has held senior leadership roles in Corporate and Business Banking, overseeing business performance, risk management, and guided teams through significant organisational change. He is a Non-Executive Board member of: Social Finance UK, the charity Include Youth, and its associated social enterprise, Viable Limited.

His previous roles include serving on the Board of the Children’s Court Guardian Agency and acting as Vice‑Chair of the Simon Community. Fred holds two other public appointments: with DFE as a governing body member of North-West Regional College and with DoH as a Non-Executive Member of the Business Services Organisation.