by Matthew Krayton | May 3, 2017 | All Chapters, Blog, News
Irish organizations from across the globe will gather from May 4th-5th at the Global Irish Civic Forum, in Dublin. The Forum offers these organizations a platform to discuss their efforts to engage the Diaspora. Over 220 individuals from 150 organizations globally will be in attendance this year. For our part, over half a dozen Irish Network USA chapters will be represented at the Forum.
We are proud to have grown to become a significant part of the conversation around engaging the Diaspora in the United States and are looking forward to having a strong presence at the Forum. You can follow along on Twitter and Facebook.
Strengthening the Digital Connection Between the Global Irish
As you may have heard, we are working hard to implement KonnectAgain, a new platform that will allow Irish Network members to interact, connect, and network more effectively online. KonnectAgain is an Irish startup that provides technology for companies and organizations to develop their own internal social network. During the Forum our delegation will be meeting with KonnectAgain to discuss our partnership. We are in the early stages of implementation, but are pleased to announce that we are opening a waiting list for access to the platform. If you are interested in becoming an early adopter, please click here.
The 2017 INUSA National Conference
We are also excited to announce that this year’s Irish Network USA National Conference will be held in Chicago. We’re looking forward to building on the successes of our past conferences in the Windy City. In the coming weeks, we will be releasing more details. Stay tuned!
As always, the success of Irish Network USA depends on the hard work and dedication of our members and officers. Thank you for helping to be a part of something big!
by Steve Lenox | Feb 8, 2017 | All Chapters, Blog, In The News, News
As INUSA has continued to grow, so to have our efforts to improve communications between our chapters and among our members. In the coming weeks and months we’ll be sharing exciting new ways Irish Network USA plans on meeting our mission of connecting Irish, Irish Americans and “friends” of Ireland all across the United States.
One important step we took recently, with a view towards drawing on the diverse strengths of our members, was to reorganize Irish Network USA’s leadership structure. Those changes included the creation of Regional Vice Presidents.
Those elected to fill these positions will be responsible for serving as another critical link between Irish Network USA and our chapters. It is with great excitement that we introduce to you our 4 members that have been elected to serve in these roles for their respective regions:
( Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Atlanta)
Eadaoin Waller is a partner in the corporate group of Andersen, Tate & Carr. Originally from Bettystown, County Meath, she did her undergraduate work at Queen’s University of Belfast. Shortly afterwards, she moved to Athens, Georgia where she graduated from the UGA School of Law in 2005. While attending law school, Ms. Waller competed in various Moot Court competitions and mistakenly thought that she wanted to be a litigator. Since then, she has seen the light and enjoys a transactional practice providing corporate and employment advice to her business clients.
Ms. Waller resides in Watkinsville. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation, the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, and, most recently the IN-USA Atlanta. She always been a supporter of and participant in Irish cultural life in the South, and has been honoured to held found the Atlanta Chapter of the Irish Network, and witness the growth of a vibrant and successful Irish community in Atlanta.
When she is not helping her clients to avoid Department of Labor audits and EEOC investigations, she loves cooking and running (in unequal measures), and returning home to show her children around Ireland.
(Chicago, Cleveland, Michigan, Minnesota)
Mark Owens is the Chief Marketing Officer of the Skylight Financial Group responsible for overseeing marketing initiatives within the organization. He works to develop areas such as marketing communications, including advertising, market research and social media. Mark leads the firm’s community outreach in both Northeast Ohio and the Columbus/Dublin region.
Originally from Derry City, Mark was offered a Business Studies scholarship in Cleveland at John Carroll University in 1998, before making NE Ohio his permanent home in 2001. A founding member of IN Cleveland, Mark has been instrumental in the success of our chapter there.
He continuously encourages efforts to engage the “Global Irish” in the Ohio region. Mark is married to Maria and they two children Lillian and Eamon.
(Phoenix, Houston, Austin, Colorado)
Brendan O’Sullivan, is first generation Irish-American, born in Southern California to Irish Immigrant parents, Martin and Nancy O’Sullivan, both from County Kerry, Ireland.
Brendan began his career in the Oil & Gas Seismic Exploration industry where he worked for 15 years, which eventually brought him to Texas (Houston) in 1986. It is there where he met his wife Faith. They were married in 1989 and have two beautiful daughters, Katherine and Christina who were both born in Houston. Brendan left the Oil & Gas industry, in 1992 and began a career in manufacturing where he was the Sr. Electronics Component Buyer for Syntron Inc., in Houston. In 1996 Brendan was enticed to jump to the other side of the procurement desk and started his career in high tech sales with CompTech Sales. Brendan transferred to Austin with CompTech in July of 2000 to cover Dell. In 2003 Brendan accepted a position with ON Semiconductor as the Dell Global Account Manager. In 2010 Brendan began his career with Dell as an IT Project/Program Manager. Brendan is still with Dell today and has recently moved to the Dell Services team as a Senior Project Manager.
Brendan has been involved with the Irish in Austin since moving here and helped found the Austin Rose of Tralee in 2004 as part of the Celtic Cowboy’s Cultural side of the club. He has been involved ever since and is currently the Chairman of the Austin Rose of Tralee, now in its 12th year, as well as the sitting Cultural Chairman for the Celtic Cowboy’s Sports and Social Club. Brendan also helped found the Irish Network, Austin Chapter in 2013. Brendan is currently the sitting Network Executive Officer of IN ATX and the proud father of the 2016 Texas Rose of Tralee, Katherine O’Sullivan.
(Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Nevada, Portland)
Sean McGuinness is a partner at Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP, practicing out of their Reno, NV; Las Vegas, NV and Denver, CO offices. He is licensed in Nevada, Colorado, Iowa and Mississippi and his practice focuses primarily on gaming law. Sean received his J.D. from Drake University Law School in 1989. Sean is a member of the International Masters of Gaming Law and recently co-chaired a gaming law conference in Dublin, Ireland (October 2016).
He is a founding board member of Irish Network Nevada in 2013 and has been a participant at each of the Irish Network USA conferences (Washington, DC; Austin, TX, Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA). Sean’s Irish roots hail from Counties Cavan, Laois, Offaly and Westmeath.
Eadaoin, Mark, Brendan and Sean represent some of the very best of the Global Irish here in the US, and we are excited and honored that they have volunteered their time to serve in these positions.
As always, we look forward to working with all of you to find new ways to encourage investment in Ireland through business, culture, education and sport.
Thank you.
Steve,
President
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Jul 22, 2016 | Blog, Event Information, In The News, News
We are excited about the great response we have received for INUSA ’16 in San Francisco, September 15-18.
Those in attendance will have the chance to interact with high-level speakers from every segment of the “Global Irish” community, including business, government, education and the arts, and experience the very best of San Francisco through the hospitality of our hosts IN Bay Area.
Most importantly, INUSA ’16 will have an even greater focus than ever before on peer to peer networking. However, we don’t want to wait until September to start the introductions!
>>> Register for INUSA ’16 Today
We are pleased to introduce you to just a few of the attendees that will be joining us in San Francisco:
Aly Gardner-Shelby
Aly Gardner-Shelby is from Phibsborough, Dublin, and moved to the Seattle area about 20 years ago. Although she holds an M.A. in Ancient History & Archaeology, Aly is a long-time Program Manager in Microsoft engineering. She has also helped build start-ups and has served in the non-profit sector – mostly while taking a career break that ended up being very active! She got involved with the Irish Network when looking for more ways to connect, and to give back, and found IN a great way to do both. Aly recently became President of Irish Network-Seattle.
Mark Owens
Mark Owens is the Director of Marketing for the Skylight Financial Group. Originally from Derry City, Mark relocated to Cleveland in 1998 where he was offered a Business Studies scholarship. Mark is a founding member of IN Cleveland and has been instrumental in the success of our chapter there. He continuously encourages efforts to engage the “Global Irish” in the Northeast.
Ciara Hickey
Ciara Hickey is the global commercialization manager for Simplify Commerce by MasterCard. Ciara recently relocated from MasterCard’s operations and technology headquarters in St Louis to San Francisco. Originally from Cork, Ciara is a chartered accountant and has worked across the globe in Europe, Asia and North America. Ciara is looking forward to meeting the Irish community in the Bay Area!
Dr. Rory Murphy
Rory Murphy is a functional neurosurgeon from Cork pursuing basic and clinical research to aid diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and spinal cord injuries. He completed his residency in Washington University in St Louis and is now in UCSF. His main focus are wireless bioelectronics including bioresorbable wireless sensors and wireless implants that can aid spine healing.
Jessica Houghton
Originally from County Down, Jessica Houghton graduated from Queen’s University Belfast before she moved to Atlanta GA in 2012. She is currently a successful real estate agent with Coldwell Banker where she sells property in the Atlanta Metro area. Jessica was involved early on in the formation of Irish Network Atlanta working alongside President Brian Boland. She is Vice President of IN-ATL and coordinates communications and social media for the network since their official launch earlier this year. Jessica is also a recipient of the Irish Echo’s Irish Top 40 Under 40 award for 2016.
Rory O’Connor
Rory O’Connor came to Kansas City in 1978 on a J1 visa. After getting married in CA in 1986 he convinced his 5th generation Californian and Marin County wife to move to Kansas City in 1986 and they have lived there since. They have 4 children ages 20 to 27 who are scattered around the states. Rory has an undergraduate Civil Engineering degree from UMKC, a Masters in Civil Engineering from Stanford University started his own Construction Company in 2011. He was on the Board of the Kansas City Irish Fest for 5 years retiring as its then President in 2010. He continues to be very active in the Irish community and is helping lead efforts to launch an Irish Network in Kansas City.
Register for the Conference Today
Irish Network USA continues to play a leading role in engaging the “Global Irish” in cities across the US, helping our members “invest” in Ireland through business, culture, education and sports.
Don’t miss your chance to be part of what is sure to be the best “Global Irish” networking opportunity of 2016! Register today for INUSA16!
For information sponsorship opportunities and packages please contact: Steve@irishnetwork-usa.org
Join in the discussion now on Facebook and Twitter at #INUSA16
See you in San Francisco!
Steve Lenox – Irish Network USA
inusa16.irish
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Jul 6, 2016 | All Chapters, Blog, Event Information, In The News, News
The Board of INUSA has announced that Minister of State Joe McHugh, T.D. will attend and deliver a keynote address at INUSA16 to be held September 15-18 in San Francisco.
This will be Minister McHugh’s first official visit to the United States since assuming the role of Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, and will be an opportunity for him to hear from and interact with leaders and members of Irish Network USA. INUSA has been widely praised for its efforts to grow an inclusive and diverse membership made up of Irish, Irish Americans and ‘friends’ of Ireland. With 21 chapters across the United States, and efforts underway to launch in ten additional cities, INUSA encourages members to ‘invest’ in Ireland through business, culture and arts, education and sport.
“For Irish Network USA’s efforts to engage the ‘Global Irish’ across the US to remain relevant, it is critical that our mission remains closely aligned and in tune with Ireland’s Diaspora Policy,” stated Steve Lenox, President, Irish Network USA. “The support and encouragement we have received from the Irish Government has been a critical part of our success, and we look forward to not only sharing our progress with Minster McHugh, but also hearing from him on how we can continue to make sure the links between the US and Ireland continue to grow.”
Hosted this year by Irish Network Bay Area, INUSA16 will be Irish Network USA’s fourth annual national conference. Previous conferences have been held in Boston, Austin and Washington, D.C. and have offered attendees the opportunity to hear from high level speakers from both the US and Ireland, celebrate Irish culture and sport, share best practices for chapter development and develop meaningful relationships with members from across the US.
“I am very much looking forward to attending the 4th Irish Network USA conference this September,” stated Minster McHugh. “It will be an opportunity for me to recognize the great work INUSA is doing to engage and network the Irish community in the US and to discuss with them how best to continue our work together in advancing the interests and addressing the concerns of our Diaspora.”
In addition to hearing from Minister McHugh, INUSA16 will also feature a number of other relevant speakers, and will also expand on opportunities for attendees to interact with each other through a number of workshops and networking opportunities. Registration will open soon, and sponsorship packages are available.
“We are looking forward to welcoming Irish Network USA chapters and members to the West Coast for the first time, and to show them the very best of the Irish community in San Francisco,” stated Ivan Harrow, President, IN Bay Area. “Building off of the success of past conferences, we have no doubt that attendees will leave our city more equipped to achieve the multi-faceted mission of INUSA and to play an even greater role in building ties within the Irish community here in the US and with home.”
Follow #INUSA16 on Facebook and Twitter to be part of the conversation!
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Jun 28, 2016 | Blog, Event Information, In The News, News
Members,
We are gearing up for this year’s 4th INUSA Annual Conference which will take place September 15th-September 18th in San Francisco. We look forward to visiting the West Coast for the first time, and thank IN Bay Area for all they are doing to roll out the green carpet for us!
Registration will open soon, but we wanted to give you an inside look into INUSA16!
This year we are excited to bring our participants a high-impact agenda featuring keynote speakers and dignitaries at the PCH innovation hub and afternoon breakout sessions at Google, followed by a happy hour networking reception.
Attendees will also have a chance to tour Irish influenced wineries in Napa Valley and a chance to see San Francisco from the water aboard a harbor cruise.
We’re working hard to make it the best “Global Irish” networking opportunity of 2016 and we look forward to presenting the best San Francisco has to offer!
Please feel free to share this message with friends and join into the INUSA ’16 conversation by checking out #INUSA16 on Twitter and following IrishNetworkUSA on Facebook here.
Yours Sincerely,
Steve Lenox
President
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | May 26, 2016 | All Chapters, Blog, In The News, News, Press Releases
Dear Friends-
In the months following the successful Irish Network USA National Conference in November, 2015, a specially created subcommittee developed a plan designed to support our anticipated future growth.
The discussions centered mainly around how Irish Network USA could best continue to achieve our mission of being the premier organization committed to connecting the Global Irish across the United States through business, culture, education and sport.
You will continue to hear more some exciting changes to INUSA:
· increasing opportunities to strengthen our Network regionally
· Launching a national fundraising plan to help fund continued growth
· Implementing a more structured approach to launching new chapters
First, we are excited to introduce you to our newly elected Board Officers:
Steve Lenox – President
Steve splits his time between New Jersey and Cork where, along with his wife Aoife, he is raising three boys, Conor, Cian and Dylan.
Since Steve was first elected in 2012, Irish Network USA has grown to 21 chapters, hosted three national conferences and grown their web presence significantly. During this time, Irish Network USA has become the standard bearer for efforts to engage the “Global Irish” through business, culture, education and sport.
Among the highlights of his time in this position are attending chapter events in cities across the US including Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and Cleveland, speaking at the inaugural Global Irish Civic Forum, attending the third Global Irish Economic Forum and connecting to “so many great leaders across the US, and the globe, all proud of their connections to Ireland.
Steve is the President of Lenox Consulting, a full service strategic communications firm providing public affairs, government relations and business development services to a variety of clients in both the US and Ireland. Representative clients include William Fry and Ecanvasser, as well as the NJ State FMBA and Jersey City POBA.
Sean Moynihan – Vice President
Attorney Sean P. Moynihan is the founder and principal of The Moynihan Group, LLC, a Boston based law firm specializing in government relations, corporate law, and transatlantic ventures.
He is a 1992 cum laude graduate of Providence College and a 2001 cum laude graduate of Suffolk University Law School’s evening division program. He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in January of 2002.
He spent over a decade working in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as Counsel to the House Ways and Means Committee and Counsel to the House Majority Leader.
His firm builds and executes strategies for companies and organizations in need of government relations and public affairs counsel by encompassing legislative, regulatory, procurement and business development advocacy. The firm also represents Irish companies and organizations seeking to establish or expand operations in the United States including legal and compliance services as well as relationship facilitation within the business, government and academic arenas. Likewise, the firm represents American companies seeking to establish or expand operations into Ireland and Irish companies and organizations working to identify targets of foreign direct investment.
Attorney Moynihan is a current board member and past President of Irish Network Boston (IN Boston) and is currently Vice President of Irish Network USA (IN USA). He also serves on the
Irish International Immigrant Center’s (IIIC) Internship Advisory Panel working to identify employers for the J-1 visa holders. In the past, he served as Vice President for Global Partnerships of the Boston Irish Business Association [BIBA], a “Connector” with the former Boston World Partnerships (BWP) non-profit organization and as a trustee of the Irish Pastoral Centre in Boston.
Maura Clare – Treasurer
Maura Clare is originally from Fairfield, Connecticut, where ancestors from Counties Clare and Cavan (and France and England) settled. Now a resident of Boulder, Colorado, Clare is a communications and event management consultant.
Over the last 20 years, she has shepherded a wide variety of memorable, distinctive events, including international conferences attended by thousands, keynote addresses, musical and dramatic performances, receptions honoring dignitaries, intimate private celebrations, educational forums, and political programs.
In 2010 Maura help establish Irish Network Colorado and has been a driving force behind its continued growth. During this time Maura has served as Vice President and President of IN-CO and has also represented the chapter on the National Board of INUSA. Through her leadership, considerable networking skills and organizational prowess, Maura has helped Denver welcome several high profile guests including Ireland’s Ambassador to the EU, Daniel O’Sullivan, Ireland’s past Ambassador to the US, Michael Collins, and former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.
Rachel McCormac – Secretary
Rachel McCormac is a native Dubliner and has been involved with IN Chicago for the past 12 years. She became President of Ireland Network Chicago in May 2015. Rachel came to Chicago in 2003, at the height of the Celtic Tiger economic boom in Ireland. She left her role as Marketing Director at Douglas Newman Good to come to Chicago and live the American Dream. Over a decade later and she is helping others to “Build Dreams” through Artane Construction, the company she operates with her husband which specializes in general contracting, project management and design.
On arriving in Chicago, Rachel focused herself on creating a social and business network in Chicago. Rachel believes that to create a successful and happy life in a foreign country, you must make a concerted effort to become involved both in the local and the Irish communities.
Rachel is a born organizer and was President of the Old St Mary’s Parents Council where she directly contributed to the fundraising and organizing of their Gala Ball raising over $150,000.
Rachel is a keen runner / walker and has completed the 39 mile Avon walk for Breast Cancer twice.
Rachel returns to Ireland every year to visit family and visit parts of Ireland that she has never been to before. She takes a keen interest in the economic and political situation in Ireland.
Rachel lives in Bridgeport, Chicago with her husband Simon and son James.
“IN Chicago is a business network of both suits and boots, a network of Irish, Irish American and those with an affinity to Ireland. It’s not all about business, it’s a link to Ireland, a support network to the new Irish and the old Irish, an opportunity to embrace our Irish heritage and use it to our best advantage for our business and social networks” said Rachel at their Annual Black Tie Ball in February 2016 which was attended by over 340 Irish and Irish Americans from Chicago.
We are delighted to have our 2016 INUSA official board of Executive Officers up and running. There is no doubt that Steve, Sean, Rachel and Maura will do an excellent job in their new positions and we are excited to have this fantastic group lead INUSA in 2016 and indeed for our annual Conference in September.
