The Breakfast Clubs are our Leadership Event Series. They create spaces for people in the sector, at all levels of their own Leadership journeys, to come together, hear some new ideas from other leaders in the sector and connect. They start with a fireside chat with two people with experience on a particular topic. We have a mix of leaders from within the sector and other experts in certain areas. Themes are be overarching and applicable to anyone on a leadership journey. After, we host facilitated roundtables with the audience to help people reflect on what they’ve heard and get to know others in their community.
Volunteering is the life blood of our sector and a huge part of Irish society. Over 1,1million or about 27% of people over the age of 15, volunteered in Ireland in 2022. But what happens when the volunteers in our sector intersect with the leaders in our sector? Well, we don’t know but we found two people who do!
We will be joined on the morning by Fahmeda Naheed and Aidan Collins, two people who are leaders in our sector but who are also volunteers.
We will discuss things like:
This event is free to attend but registration is required.
The Leadership Academy Breakfast Clubs are available to anyone in the community, voluntary, nonprofit, or social enterprise space at any level, from volunteer to CEO. The events are free and delivered both online and in-person to allow for accessibility. We’ve had just under 600 people attend our events in 2023.
Our attendee profiles show an ongoing mix of people at varying stages of their leadership journey from emerging leaders and young people considering a future career in the sector, to senior leaders with years of experience. We also have everyone from volunteers in the sector, to consultants working with the sector as well as staff in the sector. We invite anyone at any stage of their own leadership journey with an interest in the sector to attend.
Campaigner and Strategy Specialist
Director of National Voters Registration Day
Founder of Spéire Nua
Chairperson of the National Women's Council of Ireland
Operations Director at Mr Price Branded Bargains
Head of Graduate Business School TUD
Co-ordinator of Community Lifelong Learning Hub, Dublin Northwest Partnership
Advocacy and Campaigns Manager
Former CEO of The Psychological Society of Ireland
Academic, author, public speaker
CEO of the Irish Cancer Society
Fine Gael Councillor/ She Builds People
CEO Carmichael
CEO UCD Professional Academy
CEO Childrens Books Ireland
Co-Founder Black and Irish
CEO Mantra Strategy
Senior Manager Crosscare
Biodynamic Psychotherapist
CEO Open Doors Initiative
The Trussel Trust
CEO NOVAS
Foroige
Nonprofit Consultant
CEO of the ISPCC
CEO of the Daughters of Charity Child and Family Services
Director of Advocacy and Research at The Wheel
Head of Ethics and Governance, Chartered Accountants Ireland
CEO of Dóchas
CEO of Nano Nagle Place
CEO of Airfield Estate
CEO of Coolmine Therapeutic Community
Former Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
The Breakfast Clubs are organised by Sharon Hughes, the Leadership Academy Manager for The Wheel and supported by Ciara Power, Sector Skills Officer for The Wheel. The Leadership Academy lives within the Skills Team of The Wheel and Sharon and Ciara are supported by the Training and Events Team, Matthew Norman, Training and Events Officer and Sinead Vaughan Training Manager. We are usually joined by Mairead O’Connor, Senior Sector Skills Policy Manager and Bre Connolly Senior Sector Skills Manager. And very often lots of our Wheel colleagues. There are lots of us basically.
Contrary to popular belief the Breakfast Clubs were not called after Breakfast, even though it plays a valuable part in our day. It was actually called after the fabulous 1985 John Hughes movie.
In the movie five complete strangers find themselves becoming friends after spending a lengthy detention together. We had an idea that we wanted to make spaces for people from all across the sector with nothing obvious in common, to get together and connect. ‘Like that movie the Breakfast Club’, Sharon said to Mairead, and that is how The Breakfast Club stuck!