Gordon Ilett, Chairman Expand Gordon became a Trustee in February 2010 and sits on our Services and Quality Committee. He is an optometrist with his own practices in Bexleyheath and Sevenoaks. He is a National Councillor with the Association of Optometrists and also a long-standing advisor to the Special Olympics. Gordon is one of the country’s leading experts on eye care and vision for people with learning disabilities. "I have been working for many years to raise awareness of the importance of eye care for people with learning disabilities. My work in this field makes being a Trustee for SeeAbility a perfect fit – we are helping to shape and develop how eye care is delivered for this group of people."
James Deeny, Treasurer Expand The majority of James career has been in commercial finance officer roles. After training in audit and then specialising in tax with PWC, James worked in international CFO roles for US corporates including Paramount Pictures, CBS Outdoor, Technicolor and SDI Media; and in regional FD roles in the direct marketing collectibles sector with International Masters Publishers (Sweden) and Samlerhuset (Norway). James was also CEO for Western Europe for Samlerhuset managing its businesses in Belgium, UK & Ireland. James is now balancing portfolio FD roles through the FD Centre, with Trustee/NED opportunities.
Mary Moore Expand Mary became a Trustee of SeeAbility in March 2016 and sits on the Services and Quality Committee. She is an Organisational Development consultant with experience supporting organisations to develop positive work environments, good teamwork and effective leadership teams. She was a partner in Sheppard Moscow, the organisation development consultancy in the UK and established their business in Asia before becoming an independent consultant and executive coach in 2010. Mary is also a non-executive director of Devon Partnership NHS Trust in Devon.
Francois Delbaere Expand Francois became a Trustee of SeeAbility in December 2015 and is a member of the Finance and Audit Committee. He is a Chartered Accountant who has held senior finance roles in a range of private and public equity businesses. He is currently Group Finance Director of Phoenix Learning and Care Group, a Devon-based provider of services to disadvantaged children and young people. "SeeAbility provides a first class service to the people it supports and I am delighted to be able to contribute my experience and time to such a wonderful charity. Based in the South West, I enjoy visiting the services, seeing the specialist support we provide and contributing where I can at our Exeter, Honiton, Wellington and Bristol locations."
Mary Heathcote Expand Mary became a Trustee in 2014 and sits on the Services and Quality Committee. She was Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames from 2012 to 2013 and, as a Councillor, was Disability Champion for the Borough from 2010 to 2014. She is registered blind and for many years has championed the rights of vulnerable groups like the young, disabled and elderly, addressing many issues including the provision of health and social care. Her civil service career included roles in the Department of Energy, the Cabinet Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office among others. Whenever I visit a SeeAbility service I always leave inspired by the quality of the staff, their ability to create a "home-from-home" and their commitment to those in their care.
Rachel Pilling Expand Rachel is a consultant ophthalmologist from Bradford who specialises in paediatric ophthalmology. She was a founder member of the British Emergency Eye Care Society in 2013 and a member of the Oxford Ophthalmological Council since 2015. She has been interested in learning disability eye care for ten years after being invited to join the Royal College of Ophthalmologists Working Party in 2008. She has since been a member and chair of the VISION2020UK Learning Disability committee, publishing guidance on eye care for learning disability for RCOphth and RCGP and developing quality standards for eye departments. She has published widely on aspects of eye care for learning disability and is a regular invited speaker at national events. She has developed visual assessment tools to enable professionals to detect and act upon visual loss, including the Bradford Visual Function Box. The Special School Visual Assessment programme in Bradford is regarded as a beacon site. In 2016 she was awarded the Astbury Award in recognition of collaboration in eye care. Together with SeeAbility, Rachel is working with NHS England to change national health policy to enable all patients with learning disability to access sight tests in the community or in school and reduce undiagnosed visual loss in this high risk group of the population. Outside of this work, Rachel and colleague Dan Wadsworth were awarded the NHS Improvement Sir Peter Carr Award in 2017 in recognition of their collaborative Quality Improvement work. Their social movement “15seconds 30 minutes” aims to enable all NHS staff and patients to reduce frustration and increase joy. Follow them @15s30m.
Robert Jeens Expand Robert is a chartered accountant and spent his early career in practice followed by two group finance director positions. Since 2000, he has worked exclusively in a non-executive capacity with appointments ranging from large public to small private businesses principally in the financial services and technology sectors. He is currently chairman of Allianz Technology Trust plc and Remote Media Group, a private software group, and a non-executive director of two other publicly listed investment companies.
Rona Nicholson Expand Rona has had a long career in social housing and is currently Deputy CEO of Hanover Housing, one of the leading providers of housing for older people across England. Previous roles Rona has held are London Director of the Housing Corporation, where she was responsible for regulation and investment in London’s affordable housing, and Managing Director in the South East for Orbit Housing Group. She also has an extensive track record as a Non Executive having held positions in housing, health and charitable organisations. She is currently the Chair of the Equality & Diversity Board Advisory Group for the Homes & Communities Agency.
Deborah Hale MBE Expand Much of Deborah’s career has been in marketing and communications, and major events in both the UK and internationally. As Head of International Marketing for London Unlimited, she was responsible for the London House in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. This led to her role as Producer of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays. After leaving the Organising Committee she became Business Marketing Director for Facebook in Europe, Middle East and Africa. She now runs her own company, Brightpath Communications Limited, and is currently Lead Producer for the GREAT Festival of Innovation in Hong Kong, March 2018, on behalf of the UK Government.