Iverna is a high-level expert on human rights and gender equality. As an experienced manager and leader she is also frequently asked to contribute her ideas on organisational development and strategic planning and communications.
She was the Head of Amnesty International’s (AI) European Institutions Office, heading up the organisation’s work towards the European Union and the Council of Europe for many years. She sat on the European Board of Transparency International, and also served on the Advisory Panel to the EU’s Agency on Fundamental Rights. In 2009 Iverna left a managerial position in the private sector to pursue a career in human rights. Before joining Amnesty, she worked as a legal researcher for the United Nations Committee on ending all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), she also worked as a human rights desk officer with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s graduate programme. She holds an LL.M from the European Law School of the University of Maastricht where she studied international and regional human rights law, and a B.A. in European Studies from Trinity College Dublin. In 2017 she was listed as one of Politico's top 20 'Women who shape Brussels'.
Iverna McGowan has acted as a global spokesperson on EU Affairs and human rights for many years. She is a frequent contributor to outlets such as EuroNews, Reuters, RTE, AFP.
She is a frequent key-note speaker and has been asked to speak at many high-level Conferences. Some examples below.
Closing remarks EU-NGO Human Rights Forum, Brussels, December, 2016
Politico 'Women Rule' Summit 2018
Commencement Speech Vesalius University Graduation Ceremony 2016 Brussels
Irish Labour Party Conference 2016 - Address on Violence against Women
Acceptance Speech, European Civil Rights Prize, Sinti and Roma European Parliament, 13 April 2016