Our People
Nicola Browne, Executive Director
Nicola has been a social justice activist for many years. She has worked in academia, and NGOs on issues including refugee and asylum rights, penal law and the death penalty, and economic and social rights. She was a founder staff member of the ground-breaking Participation and the Practice of Rights organisation in Belfast, including seven years as the Director (Policy). Nicola has a strong commitment to grassroots and people-powered campaigning work and has supported groups from the most economically deprived communities to design and win campaigns to make real change for those living in social housing and for people using mental health services.
Nicola is a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity at the London School of Economics and a Fellow with The Social Change Initiative’s Leadership for Social Justice and Peace in Northern Ireland programme. She is a Board member of Dementia NI, and the MAC Belfast and holds both an LLB (Hons) degree from the University of Dundee and an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham.
Nicola can be contacted at nicola@actnowni.org
Roan Ellis-O’Neill, Campaigner
Roan joined the Act Now team in March 2024 as a campaigner after working as a freelancer to support Act Now’s tech transition. As well as maintaining our tech tools so that members can easily take action to deliver real change, his focus is on delivering people-powered campaigns.
Roan’s background is in post-growth politics and climate justice organising and is passionate about building power amongst young people. Outside of work, he is a published poet who won’t stop talking obsessively about his favourite band Black Country, New Road to his acquiescent cat, Oyster.
Roan can be contacted at roan@actnowni.org
Katy Allen, Community Engagement Lead
Katy joined the Act Now team in January 2025 as our Community Engagement Lead bringing with her five years of experience in community development across Belfast's community and cultural sectors.
Most recently, she worked in East Belfast, where she coordinated a welcome pack initiative with local partners to ensure new residents to East Belfast were connected into the support and service available locally. Before that, she worked on community-led arts programmes, events, and festivals, always focusing on building strong, lasting relationships.
As our Community Engagement Lead, Katy’s role is all about supporting communities to work together to make Northern Ireland a better, fairer, more equal place for everyone. She does this by creating training opportunities, building networks, offering tailored support, and ensuring our campaigns reflect the issues that matter most to you. She’s a big believer in the power of conversation and loves nothing more than having a good chat over a cuppa.
Want to hear more and see how we can work together? Get in touch at katy@actnowni.org