We are…
Michael Sullivan, PhD.
A former Royal Marine and director of an American Overseas Research Center, Michael is a seasoned professional grant writer with more than six years of successfully securing and managing funding from federal agencies, large foundations and cultural bodies.
His key skills include meticulous research, comfort in navigating the complexities of grant applications and his ability to establish and maintain strong donor relationships. He is also our strongman when it comes to organizational program development and sustainability.
Michael has a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, as well as BA and MA degrees in International Politics and Development from the University of Leeds in the UK. Before tackling all that, he served as a signalman with the UK’s Royal Marines.
Originally from Merseyside, Michael has traveled and worked in Australia, East, South and Southeast Asia, and the United States. His doctoral research brought him to Southeast Asia and Latin America, including Argentina and Cuba. Writing is his passion and he’s an accomplished author with a book and numerous contributed chapters in peer-reviewed works under his belt. He also loves motorcycling, and recently bought an iconic Africa Twin Adventure Sports bike, which he’s planning on riding to Asia one day.
Nicky Sullivan, LL.M, PGDip (Gastronomy & Food Studies)
Nicky is a certified grant writer and funding strategist with a background in law, journalism and the non-profit sector (conservation and child welfare). These varied but related experiences have given her a powerful set of skills when it comes to researching and writing funding strategies and grant proposals, and she has worked on successful bids for EU and European foundation funding.
Her key skills lie in her ability to build a compelling case and structure stories for the greatest impact. She also really enjoys putting together funding strategies because it feels like building a world of possibility. Her background in journalism and marketing is pretty handy too if you’re on the lookout for advice on a media or social-media strategy.
Nicky has master’s degrees in International Law and Human Rights Law from Trinity College Dublin and in Intellectual Property Law from Queen Mary University of London. In 2023, she completed a postgraduate diploma in Gastronomy & Food Studies and, while her shot at the master’s was quashed by Covid and caring for family, she still keeps up with trends.
Nicky is Irish but took a look at the weather and now lives in Southwest France, where she has worked on a dairy sheep farm (producing the famous Ossau-Iraty). She has also lived and worked in England, Spain, Luxembourg, India, and Cambodia. In addition to grant writing, she’s a yoga instructor, but finds that there’s no peace like the peace that comes with a camera in her hand.
