Maureen Gilbert

Maureen Gilbert is a human rights-based disability and equality consultant with many years’ experience of working on equality, diversity and inclusion issues in Ireland, Africa, Asia and the Americas for UN agencies, governments, statutory bodies, MNCs and NGOs.  Disability inclusion, intercultural issues and end of life comprise her main focus, along with gender, ageing and overall strategic approaches to diversity and inclusion.

Maureen has been a facilitator since 1983.  Since that time facilitation has been at the core of all her work, whether in qualitative research, attitudinal change workshops, client relations, people management and all else besides.

Following a career in Irish NGOs and statutory organisations, Maureen became an equality consultant in 2002.  She developed the UN’s approach to disability equality training (DET) and the training of facilitators (ToF).  She has devised and delivered DET and other diversity training for UN personnel (Asia, Africa, Europe), for Government and NGO personnel, academics, media, arts organisations and trainers (worldwide) and commercial companies (Asia), and for the TVET sector and parliamentarians (Zambia). She developed a facilitated customer service programme for the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 2019, and delivers ToF, writes facilitation guidance and runs coaching programmes for facilitators worldwide.

In addition, Maureen researches, writes and edits toolkits, guidance and policy documents and designs and delivers workshops on diversity and inclusion topics for a multiplicity of sectors and organisations globally.

Maureen is a member of the Voices4Care advisory committee of the All-Ireland Institute on Hospice and Palliative Care and undertakes PPI contributions for the Health Research Board.