Board Members

Ken has been employed in various roles within Short Brothers plc since 1973 including Information Technology, Operational Research and project management roles in military aircraft.

Following the Bombardier acquisition of Shorts in 1989, Ken was appointed to lead the fabrications activity at Belfast and his responsibilities were later widened to cover Aerostructure Assembly. With the formation in 1996 of Bombardier Aerospace, he was appointed to Vice President & General Manager and was responsible for aerospace operational activity at Belfast, including Belfast City Airport. In May 2000, Ken was appointed Executive Vice President Operations at Bombardier Aerospace and was responsible for all aerospace operational activity in Montreal, Toronto, Wichita and Belfast until his return to Belfast in 2004 to take up the role of Vice Chairman.

Ken was a former Chairman of both Maydown Precision Engineering and Belfast City Airport’

Ken is also a Director of the Ulster Wildlife Trust and the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children.

Ken was appointed Chair of the Praxis Care Board in October 2011.

Dr Shanks is a Director Kilcreggan Homes. He was a Consultant Psychiatrist specialising in learning disability at Muckamore Abbey Hospital and had a community brief in Belfast, he has now retired. Dr Shanks was a member of the Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability, was a member of the Mental Health Commission for Northern Ireland and was a Parole Commissioner for Northern Ireland. Dr Shanks has been a Director of Praxis Care since 1995.

John is Chief Executive for the Development Trusts NI. He is also Chairman for LaganView Enterprise, also Executive Director for Air Ambulance NI. John also holds a number of non – executive directorships for a range of organisations. He is an active volunteer for Bitc’s Time to Read Programme.

Margaret was actively involved in the Public Sector housing field for twenty-nine years. Margaret accepted the post of Assistant District Manager (N.I. Housing Executive) and took up the post of District Manager in May 1979.

Anne is a retired Grammar school teacher, where she taught French and English as well as being Head of Residence and Head of the Careers Department. Currently, Anne is a Lay Assessor with the DHSS Social Services Inspectorate and Secretary (minutes) of Trinity College Dublin Association NI. Anne also actively volunteers with many organisations: she is a National Trust Volunteer Lecturer, a volunteer with the Marie Curie Day Therapy Centre, a volunteer with a local Church group for older people, as well as being a Praxis Befriender.

Vincent is a Senior Manager with First Trust Bank and has had a diverse and varied banking career within Northern Ireland extending back to 1972. He has held managerial roles and responsibilities since 1988 across a range of disparate areas in banking, including Branch Banking, Commercial and Residential Mortgage Lending/Administration, Quality Assurance and Risk Management and Asset Financing. Vincent joined the Praxis Care Board in 2005.

Etta was the Chairwoman and Director of the Northern Ireland Agoraphobia and Anxiety Society, the Charity she set up in 1980. Previous to this, she trained and worked in Marriage Guidance (now Relate) as a counsellor, then transferred into the field of mental health, working with people suffering from depression, bereavement and other psychiatric conditions. Etta has over 30 years of experience covering a very wide spectrum of counselling and was awarded an MBE in 1998 for her years of work dealing with people suffering from phobias and anxieties.

John is retired from a career in journalism and newspaper management in the UK and USA. He is a past President of the Newspaper Society, and Chairman of the Printing Industry Research Association. Directorships included Pearson Longman Ltd, The Press Association and (in NI) Century Newspapers Ltd, Business in the Community and City West Action Ltd. He volunteers with Bitc’s Greater Belfast Business Leadership Network and their Time to Read programme.

Donal is a qualified solicitor who practised as partner in a litigation firm in Belfast. Donal retired as a Parole Commissioner and as a member of the Mental Health Tribunal member in 2011, however remains a Sentence Review Commissioner and a Deputy County Court Judge.