At the 2018 UCD Alumni Awards, held on 9th November, Jane Ann McKenna was selected as the recipient of the UCD Alumni Award for Business. 

Jane Ann graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2003, and with an MSc in International Business in 2004. Through her work with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) over the past ten years, Jane Ann McKenna has built up extensive on the ground experience in delivering emergency medical aid to some of the most acute conflicts in Africa, Middle East and Asia. In 2007, she left her career in banking to join MSF in Darfur where she led MSF’s response to crises in the Central African Republic, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Ethiopia and most recently Afghanistan.

Pictured at the launch of the launch of the 2018 UCD Alumni Awards are Professor Tony Brabazon, Dean, UCD College of Business, Professor Andrew Deeks, President of UCD and Jane Ann McKenna, recipient of the 2018 Alumni Award for Business.

As former Director of MSF Ireland, she led the strategic growth and development of MSF’s Irish office, focusing on fundraising, communications and recruitment initiatives. She was actively involved in engaging Irish audiences and advocating on humanitarian issues including, Ebola, the Syrian conflict and the refugee crisis. Jane Ann is currently leading the development of MSF's Strategic Plan for 2020-2023 in the MSF HQ in Amsterdam.

Commenting on the award, Professor Tony Brabazon, Dean, UCD College of Business, said, "Jane Ann through her life and work is an outstanding role model for our current and future students. Using what she learned here at UCD, Jane Ann’s mission to bring assistance to people affected by severe humanitarian crises and makes her a very worthy recipient of this award."

Find out more about Jane Ann McKenna, and the other nine 2018 UCD Alumni Award winners here.