Our trustees

Aaron Ward

Chair

Aaron is the Director of Public Engagement at National Museums NI. In this role, he oversees the strategic development of public programmes and initiatives, ensuring that museums serve as valuable public resources and deliver the maximum benefit to the community. Aaron has well-rounded experience through his previous roles working in the advertising, tourism sector and corporate sectors, and was formerly Deputy Chair at Ulster University Students’ Union.

Jim Bradley

Vice Chair

Originally from Maghera, South Derry, Jim was born in 1958 and went to Queen’s Belfast to study Agricultural Zoology. He then moved to Newcastle upon Tyne where he undertook a PhD in Insect Ecology. Jim began working for the Ulster Wildlife Trust in 1989 before spending 14 years at Craigavon Borough Council as a Conservation Officer, Centre Manager and then Head of Conservation at Oxford Island National Nature Reserve. In 2004 Jim became the manager of the Belfast Hills Partnership which seeks to improve and co-ordinate the management of an area with a range of urban/rural issues and conflicts – and has been there ever since. Over the years Jim has been on the boards and committees of various organisations such as Ulster Wildlife Trust and Northern Ireland Environment Link, as well as volunteering for a variety of local and community projects.

Sue Christie OBE

Interim CEO

Sue was Chair of KNIB from 2013 until 30 May of this year, when she became Interim CEO on the retirement of the former CEO. She is an ecologist, originally from the USA, with a wide range of environmental interests across the biodiversity, climate change and waste fields, and has been involved in a number of voluntary organisations, government committees and working groups on environmental matters. Sue was previously CEO of Northern Ireland Environment Link, the networking and forum body for voluntary environmental organizations in Northern Ireland for over 25 years. In retirement she spends her time with KNIB, a variety of committees, gardening and dog training. She has worked on Soqotra Island Yemen on education, botany and sustainable development, and has prepared teaching materials on Madagascar.

Brian Monroe

Treasurer

Brian, a qualified chartered accountant, is currently Chief Financial Officer at Ogier and previously worked as Director of Finance and Operations for Baker and McKenzie Global Services in Belfast. He started his career in Price Waterhouse, and has held senior management roles in the airport, retail, legal and recruitment industries. He is involved in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, training and supervising participants during their hill walking expeditions.

Tim Walker

Since 2019, Tim has been Acting Chief Executive of arc21, a local government contracting authority. Previously, he was Head of Waste Management in Belfast City Council. In this role, Tim has overseen many changes in recycling and waste policy in Northern Ireland. This year (2024/25), Tim is President of the Chartered Institution of Wastes.

John Thompson

John heads up Safety, Climate and Resilience at Translink, leading a team who are passionate about making the workplace, public transport and our wider community safer, greener and even more responsible. He has a Masters with Distinction from Queens University and his experience spans public, private and local government and sectors. He is the Chair of the Development and Governance Committee at the Northern Ireland Safety Group. He sits on the Belfast Resilience and Sustainability Board and is a member of the BITC Corporate Responsibility Leaders Group and is the Northern Ireland representative on BITC’s national Business Emergency Resilience Group (BERG). He also sits on the Belfast, Northern and Southern Areas Emergency Resilience Forums. John is also a Board Governor at Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College, one of NI’s largest Academy schools.

Emer Rafferty

Emer is the youngest director of Ecojustice Ireland alongside being a Live Here Love Here and a Translink Changemaker Ambassador. She is a Chemical Engineering student at Queens, and as a 19-year-old native Armagh girl, has been determined to ensure that urgent action is taken to stop climate breakdown and biodiversity loss, and to ensure a livable planet for all; for future generations, nature and wildlife. She was in the Global NAAEE 30 Under 30 Environmental Education 2021 list, was one of the chosen 13 COP26 Ambassadors and was a young reporter for FEE at COP27

Brendan Gallen

Brendan brings a wealth of experience in strategy, marketing and behaviour change to the Board of Trustees at Keep NI Beautiful. As a Strategy Director with The Foundation – a brand consultancy he has practical experience in creating impactful communications and providing clear strategic advice, with an inherent understanding of consumer behaviour in relation to communications. In his time in roles across consultancies and retail organisations, he has led on multiple award-winning projects that have delivered significant behaviour change and education – which aligns closely with the role of Keep NI Beautiful in engaging the public and other stakeholders on the importance of creating a cleaner, greener and more sustainable society. Beyond the professional sphere, Brendan is actively involved in the Northern Ireland community through his role as a Board Member for Bounce Culture.

Colin Smyth

Colm is a Chartered Accountant with five years of finance experience consisting of two years in industry and three years in practice. He is a commercially experienced finance professional with experience in the public sector surveillance industry, MoD managed contract space and retail. He currently is a Commercial Manager leading a team of two at BT Surveillance. Solutions.