Board of Directors

Cathal Conlon

Board Chair

Cathal was born and raised in Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland, and attended Liverpool John Moores University, earning a degree in sports science in 1999. He is in his tenth season with the New England Revolution and his second as the Vice President of Marketing. He oversees and directs all aspects of the Revolution’s marketing initiatives, including advertising, grassroots campaigns, promotional activities, fans’ in-stadium experience and the team’s overall branding efforts. In addition, Cathal also oversees the Digital Media and Community relations departments. Cathal began his career in the golf industry, with positions at Brae Burn Country Club in Newton, Mass., Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club in Kenmare and Warwick Country Club in Rhode Island. He resides in South Boston with his wife Noreen, and their son Oliver. About IN Boston he says, “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with IN Boston. I have been involved with several Irish groups and IN is by the far the most inclusive, progressive and frankly fun I have been involved with. The events continue to improve and with the ambition of the board members, I look forward to an exciting future with the Network.

David Andreasson

Director

David is the Director of Finance & Operations at Voysis, an Irish voice AI start-up that has experienced considerable international growth over the past couple of years having received investment from a Boston-based VC firm.  Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, David moved to Boston in 2017. Having studied commerce at UCD followed by a Masters at UCD’s Michael Smurfit Business School, David worked in the EY Mergers & Acquisitions team in Dublin on various buy side and sell side engagements across a range of sectors including, tech, life sciences and logistics. Prior to this, David worked in London with Silicon Valley Bank’s tech team, funding high growth technology companies throughout Europe. David is also a mentor at MassChallenge, a global non-profit start-up accelerator and competition with a focus on high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs.

Donal Conlon

Director – IT

Donal was born in Dublin but spent most of his life in Sligo, Ireland. Graduated from University of Galway (NUI Galway), in Industrial Engineering, and University of Aberdeen in IT in Medical Physics, he focused his career in software and worked for companies in this field in Dublin and Galway. Having spent summers in Chicago, New York and Boston, Donal decided to move to Boston full time in ‘98 and has fully settled in, becoming practice director for a local software consulting company. Donal was introduced to the network by one of the founding members and asked to join the board to help with the web site. He believes “the network provides tremendous value to the community, and has an important, ever-increasing role of reaching out to new immigrants and visitors from Ireland to help them get introduced to the Irish network”

Kevin Culkin

Director

Originally from Ballina, Co Mayo, Kevin attended NUI Galway and subsequently Dublin City University receiving a Masters in Financial Mathematics. He moved to Boston in early 2016 and joined Irish Network shortly thereafter. Working as a Director for Wells Fargo’s Technology Media and Telecom team, Kevin is focused on supporting early and growth stage technology companies in the North East. Prior to moving to Boston, he worked as a Corporate Banker across Europe for both Wells Fargo and AIB. He is also a mentor at MassChallenge, a global non-profit start-up accelerator and competition with a focus on high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs. Kevin is a keen Gaelic football fan and hopes to one day see his beloved Mayo get over the final hurdle.

Laura Hamilton

Director- Membership

Laura was born in Cork City, Ireland and emigrated to Boston with her family in 1986. Growing up in Dorchester and Quincy, she has been an active member of the Irish community in Boston. She attended Northeastern University in Boston, receiving her BSBA in Finance, Masters Degree in Innovation, and is currently completing Northeastern’s MBA program. Laura is the Executive Vice President, US Operations at RxCelerate, an outsourced drug development company.  In her role Laura is responsible for leading all aspects of the company’s expansion into the US, as well as overseeing global Sales, Marketing and Business Development. Prior to this role, Laura was Director of Business Development at MassBio (Massachusetts Biotechnology Council) onboarding over 650 new companies in four years. Laura sits on the Board of Directors of BIBA (Boston Irish Business Association) and is a recipient of their 2015 Young Leader Award. Additionally she is a member of the Quincy Chamber Millennials and the 1787 Society at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. Regarding IN Boston, Laura says, “I have been involved with Irish Network Boston since its inception in 2010. The professional contacts I’ve made through my participation in this group are invaluable. I have attended events celebrating the numerous cultural and social Irish groups within our region. This organization is inclusive to all: Irish, Irish-Americans, & Friends of Ireland. I look forward to helping grow the membership in 2016 and beyond.”

Dawn Morrissey

Director and Board Ambassador

Originally from Co. Kildare, Dawn graduated from Emerson College, Boston with a BA in Film and has a Masters Degree in Business Administrative Studies from Boston College. Dawn produced the Irish film festival in Boston since 2003 and co-founded the non- profit BIFF Productions, with Peter Flynn, in 2008. She has been the festival director since 2009. Under Dawn’s directorship the festival has been included in Moviemaker Magazine’s list of top 20 Coolest Film festivals in the World and is the largest of its kind outside of Ireland. The Mayor of Somerville, MA also awarded an official citation for her work as the director of the Irish Film Festival in 2012.  Dawn is also the Senior Director of Research Operations at McLean Hospital, a Harvard affiliate and has been in that position since 2015, prior to that she worked in Grants Management at McLean. She is an advocate for mental health and champions Horizons for Homeless Children here in Boston. Dawn is a founding member of IN Boston. She lives in Waltham with her husband and two children.

Marcelle Murray

Director

Marcelle has an extensive background in event management, project and business administration, marketing, and training. As a senior consultant, she has been responsible for the planning and execution of campaigns and events for a wide variety of clients and projects in advertising, biopharma, entertainment, and IT industries. An Irish native, Marcelle has lived, worked, and studied in Dublin, London, and Sydney. She has been living in Boston for over a decade and works for a leading biotechnology company.  Marcelle is a founding and current board member of Irish Network Boston. She enjoys live entertainment, traveling, running, hiking, and sailing.  Her hopes for IN Boston: “That we remain an inclusive network and conduit for business, social, and cultural bonds in Boston, throughout New England, and across to the Island of Ireland – and back again.”

Dee O’Callaghan

Director

A Cork native hailing from Macroom also known as “the town that never reared a fool”, Dee grew up as an avid sports person, representing Ireland at a competitive level in Sports Acrobatics. Upon graduating with a B.Sc. in Software Engineering, she started her career in software working for Microsoft Ireland. After 5 years in Dublin, she moved back to Cork to work as a Technical Analyst for an Irish owned company called CoreHR before starting her 12-year career at DellEMC. During her time here, Dee relocated to Boston to take on a global role within DellEMC where she grew from strength to strength. Through various Irish events, she was introduced to several organizations in the Boston area, including Irish Partnership, Irish Network and Self-Help Africa. Dee is an honorary founding member for the “Boston Friends of the GPA” whereby they successfully organized three hurling events hosted in Fenway Park in aid of GPA Ireland. Today she is the Office Director for Cognizant Digital Engineering and looks forward to spending her spare time building relationships between the Irish & American communities & the membership of Irish Network Boston.