General Profile
Garret Campbell is an Education Specialist, Advisor, Strategist, Facilitator and Accredited Mediator with 30 years experience across a range of senior leadership and advisory roles.
Founder and Director of Global Schoolroom, he has worked nationally and internationally with Government and Non-Government actors to develop and facilitate teacher education, school leadership and succession planning programmes in India, Uganda, Kenya, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Ireland. He has served on the Expert Advisory Panel of Assam Don Bosco University in Guwahati India and has been a visiting lecturer at Holy Cross College, Tripura, also in India. He was a founding member of the Irish Network for Education Worldwide, formerly the Irish Forum for Global Education.
Garret has worked with both the public and private sector, and in the not-for-profit area. From 2020 to 2025 he oversaw the operations of Migrant Teacher Project for Marino Institute of Education, advising on teacher registration pathways for internationally educated teachers and developing support programmes to aid their transition into the Irish education system. This and other assignments has led to his collaboration with state agencies and stakeholders in education, including the Department of Education and Youth, the Teaching Council, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, Teacher Unions, and Management Bodies.
He has held a number of Chairmanships/Directorships (e.g., Sonairte - The National Ecology Centre, and the Irish Development Education Association) and has been an advisor to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Department of Agriculture and to the Department of the Environment. He retained the Science and Education portfolios for the Advertisement Standards Authority of Ireland for a number of years.
Starting out as a Scientist and teacher, he lectured in both the Department of Botany and School of Education, UCD, and taught Biology and Maths in St. Conleth’s College in Ballsbridge for 14 years.
He is a Trustee nominee, serving on the Boards of two Secondary Schools in Dublin.
Mediation Qualifications
- Mediators' Institute of Ireland Accreditted Certificate in Conflict Dynamics and Mediation Skills.
- Mediators' Institute of Ireland Certified Mediator.
Education
- Bachelor of Science (BSc, University College Dublin), 1984 - 1988.
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the subject of Botany (University College Dublin), 1988 - 1994.
- Higher Diploma in Education (HDipEd, University College Dublin), 1998 - 1999.
Relevant Positions
- Garret has extensive experience in Education and Not-for-profit Leadership and Governance. He has served on a number of Boards and has worked closely with the public, private and not-for-profit sector.
- Garret was part of an advisory panel to the National Parks and Wildlife Service in the re-evaluation of Areas of Scientific Interest, now formally protected and known as Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), established under Irish law for their unique habitats, species, geological, or geomorphological features. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) manages these sites, which include diverse natural features such as bogs, sand dunes, river systems, and habitats for protected species like salmon and the Killarney fern.
- Garret worked with as an Environmental Advisor under the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS). REPS was an Irish agri-environment program, launched in 1994, designed to encourage farmers to adopt environmentally friendly practices through grants and training. Funded by Ireland and the EU's CAP, it required farmers to develop an environmental plan for their farms and led to changes in land management, though its impact on chemical use was minimal. REPS was succeeded by other schemes, including the Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS) and currently the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), which is Ireland's current flagship agri-environment program.
Roles held within the MII
- Member since 2025