Ann Heelan

Ann Heelan is the CEO of the Association of Higher Education, Access and Disability (AHEAD) and she is absolutely committed to making a difference by changing minds and promoting change in education and employment practices, to open doors for skilled people with disabilities. She has a strategic eye and has successfully developed AHEAD by increasing the funding ten fold, acquiring the right talents and skills to ensure the organisation can grow, so that it can make the most impact and achieve its goals. She gets things done and sees her role as enabling others to do a good job. She enjoys the enormous variety in her job which has afforded her the chance to talk to Government Ministers, contribute to RTE radio programmes and to learn new skills and develop excellent personal relationships with professionals nationally and internationally. Ann was Chair of the EAIE Expert Community Access and Diversity from 2016–2018.