Koulla Yiasouma

Koulla is a qualified social worker and worked as a probation officer in England. She established the first 24-hour telephone helpline for women who were experiencing domestic abuse in Northern Ireland before she joined Include Youth in 1998 as Director (Chief Executive).

In 2015 she was appointed by the First and Deputy First Ministers to be the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, and her eight-year term ended in March 2023.

Koulla has been appointed by the Minister for Children in the Republic of Ireland to be the Chair of Oberstown Children Detention Centre. She has also been awarded the role of Honorary Professor of Practice by Queens University Belfast.

She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Barnardo’s UK, an Ambassador for the Administrative Data Research UK and is currently working as an Interim Chief Executive and consultant.