At the ICSW General Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya—held in conjunction with SWSD 2026—the appointment of Professor Gloria Kirwan as a new member of the ICSW Management Committee was ratified; she had been elected to that position in the elections organized by the ICSW prior to the General Assembly, in the spring of 2026.
Professor Kirwan has been closely associated with ICSW for many years, making significant contributions to the organization’s mission and activities. Prior to his election as member of the Management Committee, she served as special ICSW Special Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.
Dr Gloria Kirwan qualified in Ireland as a social worker in the 1980’s where she worked for many years in community and youth work, family services and community mental health services. She went on to complete further degrees in social science and law, culminating in her PhD degree which focused on the topic of service user participation in health and social care decisions.
Gloria is currently the Program Director of the globally recognised MSc in Healthcare Management at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, where she has also served as the Program Director of the MSc in Leadership and innovation in Healthcare and as the Education Lead in the Graduate School of Healthcare Management. She is also a Visiting Fellow at Trinity College Dublin where she previously held a permanent appointment and served as the Program Director of the undergraduate Social Work degree and also as the Director of Undergraduate Teaching and Learning in the School of Social Work and Social Policy.
In a voluntary capacity, Gloria currently serves as a Company Director with Focus Housing, a large, national charity tackling homelessness in Ireland. She also serves as a trustee of the UK social work organisation GAPS, and as Company Director and the Quality and Risk Committee Chairperson for Family Carers Ireland, a not-for-profit organization that delivers in-home assistance across Ireland to people living with disabilities and their carers.
Gloria has conducted research on issues relating to poverty, disadvantage and discrimination in society and has published and presented on these topics in many conferences across the world. She has served as Editor-in-Chief/Co-Editor of the Journal of Social Work Practice (Taylor & Francis), Groupwork (Whiting & Birch), and the Irish Social Worker (Irish Association of Social Workers). She has also served as Guest Editor in a number of journals. Her current research interests focus on health inclusion and participation in healthcare decisions, the digitalisation of health and social care services, and the intersection between healthcare and global sustainability.
ICSW warmly congratulates Professor Gloria Kirwan on her election and looks forward to her continued leadership and contribution to strengthening the global social welfare community.
