Meet Our Board

Chair

Bernard Byrne is CEO, Davy along with being chair of the Soar Foundation. He has worked previously in AIB Group, ESB and IWP International. It was while working in AIB as CEO that Bernard met Soar founder Tony Griffin and decided to get involved with the Foundation. Bernard was drawn to Soar through its values and ambitions and its preventative and proactive approach to working teenagers, to help them navigate through this most challenging period of their life. Bernard lives in Dublin and is married with three adult children who share some of his interests – golf and rugby.

Clodagh is a passionate believer in the unlimited potential of people and as Leadership Advisor and Executive Coach she helps business leaders to unlock the potential of their people and teams. She was drawn to SOAR by her steadfast belief that helping young people realise the power of their potential from an early age is the real secret to adult happiness, fulfilment and success. Clodagh is mum to three young adults Jack, Lucy and Sean, Clodagh is a keen golfer and is a lover of animals, in particular her 2 pooches Freddy and Ruby.

David is the Chief Operations & Sustainability Officer of SMBC Aviation Capital, a leading aircraft leasing company based in Ireland. David has held various senior roles in the company since its inception in 2002 and has over 30 years of aircraft finance and leasing experience, in Ireland and Asia. He oversees the company’s Strategy, Innovation, Government and Corporate Affairs, ESG, Corporate Communications, Property and Business Support functions. He has served as a board member on The Soar Foundation since 2021. David is married with 3 teenage sons, so teenage mental health is very important to him. He is passionate about supporting Soar in helping young people to build resilience and navigate their teenage years happily.

Karen Hand PhD is an experienced global strategist and social psychologist who is committed to unlocking systemic change. She has conducted deep research in tipping-point areas like cultivating food-chain sustainability, repealing the 8th amendment and creating positive cross sectoral platforms to bolster child resilience. Karen believes in the collaborative, innovative potential of every human being, organisation and pocket of society. She is committed to helping Soar create conditions to support all teenagers in Ireland to be seen, be heard and ultimately to thrive. Karen loves to travel on and off the beaten track along with her intrepid husband and two adventurous daughters in their late teens.

Marah Curtin is the Director of Client Engagement at Davy Private Clients. She has spent the entirety of her 20+-year career in wealth management and is a huge advocate of financial inclusion and making money advice more accessible to everyone, with a particular focus on promoting the financial empowerment of women and children. Marah has experienced first-hand the power of self-belief as well as the detrimental effects that a lack of confidence can have on a person’s ability to achieve their full potential. She is proud of the work Soar are doing to empower teens all over Ireland and believes Soar is changing the trajectory of teenager’s lives. Marah is the founder of @CentsforKids and @femolutionist and the co-creator of Finnegan (19), Seán (6) and Kennedy (1).

Working in communications and consultancy for almost 30 years, Niamh is an expert on strategic communications and the founder owner of O'Carroll Consulting, a PR Agency. She is attracted to the passion, energy and commitment of Soar in empowering young people to become the best version they can of themselves. Niamh has many years’ experience of the non-for-profit sector in Ireland and has also worked as an Adviser on Corporate Responsibility with some of Ireland's leading businesses. A mum of three - current and former teenagers - she has seen first-hand the impact that Soar can have.

Ryan is an accountant and has worked with KPMG since he left college. Ryan specialises in advising companies on their financial matters and also how they can run themselves better. He will use the experience he has gained over the past 25 years to help Soar deliver on its ambition and strategy. Ryan has three teenagers (and 2 pre-teens) and sees how brilliant, but very challenging, life as a teenager can be on a daily basis. Originally form Cork, Ryan lives in Dublin. He loves all sports but has a particular passion for Munster rugby, Liverpool FC and Cork hurling.