Martin O’Brien

Prior to joining SCI, Martin worked for 11 years at the Atlantic Philanthropies. For the last three of these he was Senior Vice President with responsibility for global grant making programmes on Health, Ageing, Children and Youth, and Reconciliation and Human Rights.

He led the planning process for the conclusion of Atlantic’s programmatic grantmaking. He has particular experience of working in the USA, South Africa, Ireland, Viet Nam and Cuba.

Martin is also a seasoned activist for social change having worked for over 20 years in the peace and human rights movement in Northern Ireland. He led the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) which campaigned locally and internationally to advance human rights in Northern Ireland. 

Martin’s work as an effective advocate for human rights and peace has been internationally recognised with a number of awards and honours. He has extensive experience of high impact philanthropy, fundraising, human rights, advocacy, peace building, and conflict resolution. 

He has worked as an activist and as a strategic grant maker and this has given him a particular insight into the most effective ways to secure social change and maximise the impact of philanthropic investment.