Our Team.
Our Champions of Change
Rebecca Sheridan
CEO
Rebecca is an experienced and dedicated manager with over nineteen years’ experience working across several areas/disciplines within the non-profit sector. Since the inception of Gerri’s Place Rebecca has completed Mental Health in the Community in UCC, graduated from the Ideas Academy run by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and Rethink Ireland Social Enterprise Course. She has also completed a certificate course in Personal Medicine Coaching with Pat Deegan. Rebecca is passionate about making positive changes within the mental health and wellness sector. Her advocacy with her mother Gerri and ongoing learning have given her a unique insight into the sector.
Sukhneet Kaur Dhir
COMPANY SECRETARY
Sukhneet is a qualified solicitor with over seven years of legal experience in India, where she specialised in civil, commercial, and corporate law. Since relocating to Ireland, she has worked in governance, compliance, and legal roles across the public and non-profit sectors, including the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and the Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
Sukhneet brings expertise in board management, regulatory compliance, and company secretarial responsibilities in high-accountability environments. She holds a Master’s in Business Laws from India, and continues to build on her corporate governance practice in Ireland. She is passionate about strengthening transparency and ethical governance in mission-driven organisations, supporting the organisation’s governance processes, strategic decision-making, and ensuring regulatory and operational alignment. She is committed to contributing to Gerri’s Place’s mission of promoting mental well-being and inclusive support for all.
Our Advisors
Robert Barry
Counsellor and Psychotherapist
Robert currently works with the HSE National Counselling Service and Counselling in Primary Care. He has previously held roles with Pieta House, Maynooth University, Mental Health Ireland, The Human Flourishing Project, and Aiséirí. He completed a Master’s in Person-Centred Experiential Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice at the University of Nottingham. Before becoming a therapist, Robert worked as a secondary school teacher in both mainstream and special needs education settings. He is an accredited member of the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Michael Norton
Research Lead & Volunteer
Michael John Norton has been a volunteer with Gerri’s Place since its inception in 2021. In this role, Michael leads a research group whose current activities include an evaluation of Gerri’s Place. When Michael is not with Gerri’s Place, he is also a Recovery and Engagement Programme Lead with the HSE Office of Mental Health Engagement and Recovery, a part-time Lecturer with UCC, a dissertation supervisor with the RCSI and also as an early careers researcher with interest specifically in mental health including co-production, recovery, peer support work, alternative approaches to mental health treatment, and evidence-based practices.
Deirdre Ruane
Nurse, Social Prescriber
Deirdre is a qualified nurse midwife with significant experience in the Health Sector. She has been involved for a number of years in overseas development projects in many roles from a volunteer ( nurse / midwife in Rwanda post genocide to , acting country director there . In Ethiopia she undertook the
role as development fundraiser for Vita and was , responsible for organising high altitude runs and walks for Irish groups wishing to raise funds for
worthy projects . On her return from Rwanda, she worked in Saint Francis Hospice Raheny as a palliative care nurse.
She currently works as Social Prescriber community connector with the integrated care team for the older
person in Dublin north .Deirdre has seen first-hand the value a holistic approach to health and well-being can have and she is passionate about ensuring the person is at the centre of all decisions in relation to their
health.