The evening’s ceremony will be hosted by
Ola Majekodunmi, a Dublin-born broadcaster, writer, and public speaker, is renowned for her work as an MC, co-founder of Beyond Representation, and a board member of Foras na Gaeilge, Dublin Film Festival, and Galway Film Centre’s National Talent Academy Steering Committee. An Irish speaker, Ola has presented shows on Raidió na Life 106.4FM and RTE 2XM, including the popular African Irish show “Afra-Éire.” Her contributions to various radio and TV shows have covered topics on politics, current affairs, and race. Ola has directed and produced video documentaries like “What Does “Irishness” Look Like?” and “Say My Ainm,” gaining international recognition. She holds a BA (Hons) in English, Media, and Cultural Studies, and an M.A. in Digital Broadcast Production from IADT. Ola was also appointed as the Dublin Culture Night and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Africa Day ambassador, adding to her diverse achievements. As an MC, she has received praise for her professionalism, engaging presence, and ability to connect with the audience. Her passion and versatility make her an excellent conference MC/presenter.
In addition to the presentation of the awards we are delighted to also enhance the evenings programme with a keynote address by
Dr. Norah Patten has been on a mission since the age of 11 to become Ireland’s first person in space. She is passionate about using her experience to encourage both young and old to shoot for the stars. Norah grew up in the west of Ireland, but a family trip to NASA in Cleveland aged 11 became the start of a lifelong dream to travel to space. Today she is a faculty member at the International Space University, and in 2017 became Ireland’s first citizen scientist-astronaut candidate with Project PoSSUM (Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere).
Norah has participated in several citizen science campaigns including microgravity research flight, spacesuit testing and evaluation, high-g flights and spacecraft egress. In 2019, she released her children’s book Shooting for the Stars (O’Brien Press), which won An Post Children’s Book of the Year (senior category). Through a partnership with U.S. company NanoRacks, the leading provider of commercial access to space, Norah initiated and managed ‘The Only Way is Up’ project, which launched Ireland’s first student experiment to the International Space Station in 2014. She also participated in the International Space University Space Studies Program in 2010, holds a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Limerick and has industrial experience from The Boeing Company and Bells Labs Alcatel Lucent.
The ROI of DEI: Driving Business Profitability through Diversity and Inclusion
Race in STEM
BIO
A dynamic and open-minded thought leader, Steven is a passionate speaker, mentor, and advocate in the D&I space, where he cultivates ideas, challenges companies on how to diversify their workforce, and builds meaningful connections with a range of communities. Steve is Global Community Manager for Race in STEM, a Trinnovo Group Community and global network initiative that seeks to encourage, inspire, and platform people of colour in the world of STEM.
Mindguardian & Political Researcher
BIO
Angelika Sharygina is a political analyst and researcher with experience in media propaganda, counterinsurgency, and sustainable policy development. She focuses on identifying and analyzing fake news, harmful content, and extremist groups online. Her mission is to help citizens access true information, guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She is currently a visiting researcher at Trinity College Dublin, working on her PhD on the consequences of misinformation in conflict and war. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from King’s College London and was commissioned by Reuters Foundation to produce a report on media consumption and perceptions in Ukraine. She advocates for equal rights for refugees and a participant on the UK Youth Leadership Advisory Board with Digital Opportunity Trust.
Inclusion and Accessibility Labs
BIO
Kyran O’Mahoney, one of the founders and CEO of Inclusion & Accessibility Labs (IA Labs), is a proven and product-focused senior IT professional, with over twenty years of experience in the delivery of large complex technical projects for the Financial Services, Insurance, Media, HR, Aviation, Retail Industries and Charity Sector in Ireland, UK, and United States. Kyran has held senior position in some of Ireland’s leading companies such as: Allied Irish Banks, Ryanair, and Dunnes Stores. Kyran also acts as CTO with the National Council for the Blind of Ireland puts him in the unique position to have hands on experience in the field of digital accessibility.
Mastercard
BIO
Grace Hayes is the Executive Vice President for Markets & Localization (M&L) at Mastercard. In this role, she leads M&L, the Market-Facing Technology teams (regional leads), Global Technology Hubs and Market Enablement teams.
Grace and her team are responsible for elevating stakeholder experiences and needs through innovative solutions and a culture of technology excellence. The team drives the strategic objectives of both Mastercard’s technology business unit and internal and external stakeholders, by helping to navigate and translate market trends, bringing a diverse mindset and acting as change agents to collapse the distance between our teams and our customers.
Grace has broad experience across her tenure with Mastercard. Most recently, leading all Product Delivery across our European division from our Dublin Tech Hub. Grace is accountable for defining and executing the implementation strategies and delivery readiness for new and enhanced products and services. Driving the introduction of multi-rail services, digital expansion, and the optimization of our Gateway business. By walking in the shoes of our customers, feeling the friction points in our product journeys and constantly seeking to improve and achieve what was once deemed impossible, is how she creates and leads inspiring teams. Driving value by unlocking intrinsic motivation to build a one-team culture to strategically position our diverse products for scalable growth. Distinguished track record leading cross-functional programs and teams, executing frameworks to identify, prioritize, structure, and solve complex business problems and deliver strategic recommendations.
Prior to joining Mastercard, Grace worked in MBNA, Bank of America for 12 years, where she held several management roles across Customer Service and Operations, Program and Delivery Management. Grace holds a degree in Business & Strategy, a Master’s Degree in Business & Science, specializing in Organizational Behavior and further studies in Big Data & AI Social Ethics and Technology Leadership.
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