Board of Directors
John Green – Board Chairman
John has been associated with Festina Lente since its inception in 1988. As Chairman of the Board, he works closely with the CEO and the rest of the Board to provide governance oversight and support to the operation of Festina Lente’s range of activities. His background has included directing financial services companies, and he has significant experience in taxation and auditing. Outside of his work with Festina Lente, John has an interest in history and current affairs, and has also served on the Board of the Glasnevin Cemetery Trust including as Chairman. He enjoys golf, rugby and equestrian activities, and lives in Kilpedder, County Wicklow.
Caroline Crowley – Board Member
Caroline is a solicitor and partner in a legal firm, and brings her knowledge of legal issues and management to our Board of Directors. She has also served on the board of other charities, so has an excellent knowledge of the day-to-day challenges that can arise in a charitable organisation. Her son has attended lessons at Festina Lente so she has a great understanding of the organisation’s operations. Caroline enjoys learning more about the services and opportunities offered at Festina Lente as part of her role on the Board, and aims to be of service wherever possible. She is inspired by the work done by the team across the organisation. Caroline enjoys golf, spending time with family, and is a proud Leinster Rugby supporter.
Greg Jones – Board Member
Greg is a marketing and communications specialist, and was Marketing Director for Guinness Peat Aviation. He later joined McConnells advertising, then Ireland’s largest communications group, where he became Deputy Managing Director. He kept horses for many years so understands how important they can be for learning and therapeutic opportunities. His favourite part of being a part of the Board is getting to meet with staff and students taking part on the programmes, and seeing them develop and grow in the organisation.
Patricia Grogan – Board Member
Patricia has had a very varied career and brings a wide range of skills and experiences to Festina Lente’s board. Trained as a secondary school teacher and as a TEFL teacher for business professionals, she also has a background as a special needs assistant, giving her an excellent understanding of the range of work Festina Lente undertakes. Patricia is a senior coach for the RDAI, and was the Eastern Area Representative from 2014 to 2020. She enjoys spending time with her family of 5 daughters and 4 grandchildren, gardening, art and music.
William Micklem – Board member
William has been involved in Festina Lente since its’ foundation in 1988. His specialism is as a Coach. Williiam is a Fellow of the British Horse Society, a Horse Sport Ireland coach and coach educator, and author of the Complete Horse Riding Manual. He was formerly National Coach for Bord an gCapall, coach to the Irish Junior and Young Rider Event teams and Training Director at the Gleneagles Mark Phillips Equestrian Centre. He champions a kinder approach to our work with horses and is the inventor of the more humane Micklem bridle and girth. William also breeds horses, including the Olympic horses Mandiba and High Kingdom.
His current main interest is in performance improvement for all performers and in developing structures to enable this, including ‘The GO! Rules’ and ‘The EDGE’. William was a keynote speaker in the 2018 HETI (Horses in Education and Training International) conference hosted by Festina Lente.