Our new chairperson Bernadette Prendergast is one of the longest serving Heads of News in Irish radio, having developed and led the news service at Galway Bay FM since the station opened in 1989.  She holds a languages degree and Higher Diploma in Education from NUI Galway, where she now lectures in broadcasting on the Master's degree in Journalism.

Bernadette also holds a Master's degree in New Media and Society from the University of Leicester. A former secondary school teacher, and Speech and Drama instructor, she is a keen advocate of the need for continuous training for all broadcasters and of the benefits of networking.

A founder of Eist, the independent broadcasters association, and a member of Women on Air,  she joined the broadcasting sub-committee of Learning Waves in 2004, and became a board member in 2007.

Bernadette has co-written training manuals for the industry, and has scripted and produced several documentaries and dramas including the award-winning Boys From Brazil in 2000 and the much-acclaimed comedy series Hairs and Races in 2009.