From 2014-2024, for 10 years Philip worked at the heart of Irish politics. Navigating some of the most consequential political moments in the recent past, namely Brexit, COVID19, the war in Ukraine and the middle east.  

From 2014-2017 Philip worked for Leo Varadkar when he was a Minister as his Policy & Parliamentary Adviser in the Departments of Health & Social Protection. In 2017, Philip was appointed as the Taoiseach’s Special Adviser working on policy and Programme for Government implementation. Philip had policy responsibility for Education, Special Education, Further & Higher Education, Research, Innovation & Science and Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Philip was also responsible for the Taoiseach’s diary planning and co-ordination.  

In November 2021 Philip was promoted and appointed as Deputy Chief Staff to Leo Varadkar as he served as Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister). In December 2022 Philip was appointed as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Taoiseach up until April 2024. Most recently Philip was Nina Carberry’s (MEP) European Election Campaign Manager from April-June 2024. 

Philip graduated from Maynooth University with a Bachelor of Arts Double Honours in Geography & Music, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and a subsequent Postgraduate Diploma in Innovative Teaching and Learning. Philip completed a Masters in Public Management in 2022 in the Whitaker School of Government & Management in the Institute of Public Administration. Philip was a member of the 2012 Class of the Washington Ireland Program. 

Disha Suresh Kumar is a third-year Medical student at Queen’s University Belfast. She is part of the Washington Ireland Program Class of 2024 and spent her summer as an intern with Congresswoman Val Hoyle on Capitol Hill.  

Disha’s passion lies in enhancing healthcare access for marginalised communities and advocating for their representation within the system to ensure equitable healthcare delivery for all. 

Disha is also currently a project lead for QUB Medics4Medics, a society that provides peer to peer support to medical students in all years of their discipline and promotes good mental health among students on placement. 

Kacper is a Quercus Active Citizenship Scholar, Medical Student, Executive Representative at UCC Students’ Union, and a Washington Ireland Program Alum from the Class of 2023. 

Originally from Gdańsk, Poland, Kacper attended St. Brendan’s College, Killarney, and is now studying Medicine at UCC.  

Kacper’s leadership journey stems from student activism. During his time in second-level education, he represented his peers on global forums, advocating on many domestic and international issues including the State Examinations during the pandemic and continues representing students whilst in UCC. 

In the summer of 2023, Kacper took part in the Washington Ireland Program Emerging Leaders, where he completed a full curriculum on leadership and service and completed an internship in the U.S. Congress. He recently served as a Volunteer Team Lead for the WIP Class of 2024.  

Kacper is also heavily involved within his own community, where he serves as a senior volunteer in the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps, Training Officer of the UCC Community First Responder Scheme, and sits on committees of societies within UCC. 

Aidan is the Regional Director, Americas for Enterprise Ireland. In his role, Aidan is responsible for implementing Enterprise Ireland’s strategy for increasing client exports through identification of market opportunities, market connections and advice. Aidan leads a team of Market Advisors across supporting over 900+ client companies entering a end scaling key markets and verticals in Americas. Prior to this role, Aidan has had a number of roles within Enterprise Ireland, including Regional Director for the Border Region, Development Advisor, and in 2021 led the creation of a new department to fast track Enterprise Ireland’s Sustainability strategy and supports to clients.   

Aidan’s previous roles have included ten plus years in International Business Development roles including leading International Sales for the Award-Winning Irish exporter, Combilift Ltd. Aidan has founded two start-ups, successfully raised angel and seed investments and has been an advisor to several fast-growing technology businesses. Aidan is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs, scaling Irish business internationally and empowering colleagues to meet their full potential. Aidan is also an alum of the Washington Ireland Program.  

Dr. Lisa McNamee is a medical doctor with a special interest in aviation and space medicine. 

Shane Kimbrough is a retired United States Army officer and NASA astronaut. He was part of the first group of candidates selected for NASA astronaut training following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Kimbrough is a veteran of three spaceflights, the first being a Space Shuttle flight, and the second being a six-month mission to the ISS on board a Russian Soyuz craft. He was the commander of the International Space Station for Expedition 50, and returned to Earth in April 2017.

Dr. Monica Rho is a Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine where she serves as the Director of Residency Training for the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She is also the Chief of Musculoskeletal Medicine for the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. She is board-certified in Sports Medicine and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R). She is the head team physician for the US Women’s National Soccer Team, where she has been a part of the 2019 Women’s World Cup Championship Team in France; the 2021 Bronze Medal team at the Tokyo Olympics; and the most recent team at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. She is the former head team physician for the US Men’s Paralympic Soccer National Team and accompanied them to the Rio 2016 Paralympics. She is the 2015 recipient of the “Best Teachers of Feinberg Award” at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She has also been awarded “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” in 2012 and 2014 and “Mentor of the Year” in 2013, 2015, and 2016 by the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. In 2019, she was named an IF/THEN Ambassador, charged with promoting women in STEM fields to inspire young girls across the country. As a part of this initiative, a life-sized 3D printed statue of Dr. Rho was on display at the Smithsonian Institute in March, 2022 with all of the IF/THEN Ambassador statues.  In 2020, the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation named her for the PASSOR Legacy Award and Lectureship.  

A serial entrepreneur in a technology and innovation focused career spanning over 30 years, John has held executive-level positions in R&D, Operations, Sales, and General Management in both the SME and MNC environment. During this period he has been a founder or co-founder of several ‘Blue Ocean’ technology start-ups, the last three of these in the life-science sector.

John has led the company from a start-up in 1997 through a US merger, NASDAQ IPO, trade sale and return to a privately held company by MBO in 2008. Today, Aerogen is recognised as a pioneer and the global leader in ICU ventilator/hospital-based aerosol drug delivery. Its award-winning products are employed in over 75 countries throughout the world, helping to provide life critical interventions from the emergency department through to the NICU. Aerogen’s proprietary technology permits proteins, peptides, suspensions and solutions to be nebulized, paving the way for targeted drug delivery to the lung.

Under John’s Leadership Aerogen has achieved circa 30% CAGR since 2008 and in recognition of its export success, Aerogen was awarded the prestigious European Business Award Ruban d’Honneur in 2011 and again in 2016, when John was also named the European Entrepreneur of the Year. As a leader within the Irish life-science sector, Aerogen was named both The Irish Med-Tech Company of the Year and The Irish Exporter of the Year. The Company has received the highest award granted by the US respiratory community, the American Association of Respiratory Care, the Zenith Award, for ‘providing products and services that enable respiratory care physicians and therapists to achieve clinical excellence’.

A Chartered Engineer, John is recognized as a technology innovator and is credited with over a dozen commercialized international patents in products ranging from robotics to life-support ventilation. He holds an MBA from Oxford Brookes University and as an Adjunct Professor at the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG), he guest lectures on his core business interests of Innovation Strategies and Technology Entrepreneurship.

He is a founder faculty member of the NUIG Bio-Innovate program (run in conjunction with Stanford University Bio-Design), an incubator unit that promotes entrepreneurial start-ups in medical technologies where he has actively mentored several early-stage companies. In 2016, in recognition of his contribution to the development of the Irish Medical Device sector, John was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate by the National University of Ireland, Galway.

John is a Board member of Kedalion Therapeutics Inc. a pioneering ophthalmic drug delivery company based in San Francisco. He is a former member of the Board of the Irish Med-Tech Association and The Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology and has represented Ireland as an industry expert in the European Competitive Council in Brussels.

John is a very active social entrepreneur in his local community where he long-term member of his Community Development Association and a founder member of The Connemara Greenway Alliance. An ardent supporter of International charities such as World Vision and Their Life’s Matter’ he continues to lead significant fundraising initiatives for irrigation / agricultural, healthcare, and local enterprise creation in the developing world.