Gillian Powell, M.Ed. B.A. H.D.E. Dip. Mont. Dip. Cat. A.L.C.M.
Biography.
Gillian is a part-time lecturer in Applied Professional Practice and Pedagogical Framing on a Bachelor in Applied Early Years Education course delivered in the Cork College of Commerce by the Dundalk Institute of Technology.
She owned and managed The Haven Montessori School in Bandon for thirty-two years.
This early year setting catered for over fifty children and the emphasis was on outdoor education. Outdoor education in three early years settings in Ireland was the focus of Gillian`s research during the course of a Masters in Education at University College Cork.
Prior to managing an early years setting Gillian was a secondary school teacher of English and Geography.
Notable achievements include being Auditor of the Geographical Society in U.C.C. and distinguished Bandon Toastmaster of the Year in 2001. In 2011 Gillian was named Bandon Person of the Year for her work on the Bandon Flood Group and the Irish National Flood Forum which involved advocacy for flood prevention in Bandon. As part of that, she ran as a Flood candidate in the 2016 general election. She received 701 votes after a four-week long campaign.
Gillian grew up on a farm in Lismore, Co Waterford. A childhood spent on the banks of the glorious river Blackwater in Southern Ireland has encouraged a lifelong love of nature and its healing properties. She is married to retired school principal Tom Powell and has five grown-up children.