GORM Appoints New Strategic Advisor
GORM has appointed a new member to its Strategic Advisory Board, and it's no ordinary addition. Meet Lye Ogunsanya, a disrupter and social innovator whose impressive track record promises to bring innovative thinking into GORM's strategic vision.
Lye is the former Chief Executive Officer of Dídean, the first of its kind social enterprise in Ireland providing ethical housing solutions for international protection applicants. (Contributing to new models of direct provision based on dignity for applicants and local communities). Dídean’s model has recently been absorbed by the Irish government, to which Lye now acts as an advisor.
Prior to Dídean, Lye was Portfolio Manager at The One Foundation where he led change driven programs in Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Colombia and the Mediterranean. The programmes disrupted the Education in Emergency sector and contributed to precedents for the UN adolescent education programme ‘Generation Unlimited’.
In working with UNICEF, Lye was involved in developing humanitarian programs for families, youth and children in a number of refugee camps along the Syria/ Lebanon border and the Syrian/Jordan border. The programmes involved health, education and youth/adolescent development. His work in Jordan won UNICEF’s Champion for Children Award in 2018 due to the highly innovative and forward-thinking programme strategy. In the Mediterranean (Libya-Italy) he oversaw an aerial intervention program. This aviation intervention resulted in hundreds of lives being saved.
Lye, a seasoned professional in the telecommunications industry, has a rich background in mobile devices, with prior roles at renowned Sony Ericsson and LG Electronics. He is a published academic author on the subject of artificial intelligence and creating employment opportunities for refugees and displaced persons using advances in media and technology. He was recently awarded the IUSA Emerging Leader 2022 for his contributions to society and Irish USA relations.
In 2021 Lye co-founded CENF, a think tank at the Federal Polytechnic of Ilaro Nigeria, to facilitate ethical diaspora knowledge sharing for decarbonisation and Glocal development in Africa’s most populous nation. He has also recently been appointed as a Board Member of the prestigious Temple Bar Galleries+Studio Dublin and currently serves on the board of the Ireland United States Alumni Association (IUSA).
Lye in the The Wideshot Summer Residency
Lye was instrumental in the creation of the The Wideshot Programme in GORM, and served as a mentor in our summer residency.
Lye is a proud father and uses his drive, passion and experience to create a better Ireland not only for them, but for future generations that are to come. He is a trustee at Headfort School Kells, Meath.
