Trustees

Adrian is a longstanding Trustee, former Chair and Vice-Chair and is the current President of MyVision Oxfordshire Trustees. A Professor of Optometry and former Head of Optometry at the Oxford Eye Hospital, Adrian’s experience of working with people with Sight Impairment and his clinical knowledge has been invaluable in the development of the charity.

Trustee since 2015

Guy has experience in IT and market research, resulting in an extensive understanding of the business issues faced by the charity sector today. As a long-time volunteer he also has a deep working knowledge of the organisation at all levels. Guy is also Severely Sight Impaired and as such brings to the Board a personal understanding of the issues confronted by someone with a Visual Impairment.

Margaret has experience managing the provision of various services throughout education, social care, supported housing and the voluntary sector. She continues to be involved locally through her support for MyVision and other local service providers. Margaret is also Chair of Oxtalk (Oxford & District Talking Newspaper for the Blind)

Simon has been Severely Sight Impaired since the age of 22 as a result of a brain tumour and therefore has a very personal understanding of adjusting and adapting to life with Sight Loss. Simon has a particular interest and empathy in supporting children who have a visual impairment. He regularly volunteers at the Oxford Children’s Hospital, where he entertains and supports the young people.

Janet spent her career in education, supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities across Oxfordshire. Following her retirement in 2018 and inspired by people with visual impairment on a walking holiday in Bulgaria, she became involved with MyVision as a volunteer. She has been involved in social and activity groups and the befriending service as well as organising fundraising events.

Trustee since 2021

Julian’s son is visually impaired so can empathise with other families in a similar position and has been a member of MyVision for many years. Julian has had a long business career, focusing on strategy and its implementation, in both large and small enterprises. He was formerly a partner in a major accounting and consulting firm and more recently has been running his own consultancy business.

Anna has worked in the charity sector as a Trust and Grant fundraiser since 2013.

Her experience and knowledge has enabled her to work with a number of small and medium sized charities to develop successful trust and grant programmes.

She is looking forward to lending her support and experience to the MyVision fundraising team, seeing them achieve and go beyond their fundraising goals. 

Chinonye is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in liquidity management, capital markets and investor relations gained over 20 years across various sectors including public service, financial services, telecommunications, and fast-moving consumer goods. She was previously Group Treasury & Investor Relations Director of a food manufacturing company and Chair of the women network where she led initiatives to increase advocacy and promote gender diversity. She had close family members who were visually impaired and is passionate about using her diversity of thought and experience to support MyVision.

By profession, Anita trained as an optometrist. She spent a significant part of her career working with RNIB to improve services and support to meet the needs of the people using them. She worked in partnership with many organisations across health, social care, and the voluntary sector, as well as with the NHS and the Department of Health. On retirement, Anita moved to Oxford bringing with her the same passion and drive that she had while working. She recently joined us as a trustee and is looking forward to being part of this dynamic and person-centred organisation.

Simon, brings a wealth of knowledge regarding disability inclusion as well as lived experience of visual impairment. He has been visually impaired since birth with Atrophy of the optic nerve, with associated Nystagmus and Coloboma.

Simon moved to Oxford for university and has lived in the city all his adult life. He currently works for Elsevier, a science publisher, and he leads the company’s content accessibility efforts, ensuring all their books, journals, audio, and video content are accessible to people with disabilities. He is an active campaigner for disability inclusion. At Elsevier, Simon started the Disability Employee Network, and he is currently helping to develop a toolkit focused on disability equity in scholarly publishing. Simon is also very active in the community having volunteered for various charities in Oxford.

Robin has extensive experience in the management of voluntary services in Oxfordshire since 1995. He was a Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire from 1996 until retiring in 2014. When Chair of Age Concern England, he was invited by the RNIB to chair a Low Vision Services Implementation Group to carry forward their work of securing practical integration of such services at a local level. The result was the creation of many local ‘Low Vision Groups’.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, USA, the Countess graduated with a BA in Politics in New York. She spent much of her working life in advertising and marketing, travelling between New York and London before moving to England in 1970. She has lived in Oxfordshire since 1975 and has been involved with MyVision Oxfordshire as a Patron since 1994. Her mother-in-law, the 8^th Countess Macclesfield, had been Vice President and then Patron of OAB since 1962.

 

She has two children, one granddaughter, three stepdaughters and seven step-grandchildren. Her hobbies include spending time on muddy showgrounds watching her granddaughter competing at horse shows and watching her race at point-to-points and racetracks.

 

The Countess says:

“I remember very well the opening of the Campoli Resource Centre at Bradbury Lodge, which is commemorated with a plaque in the entrance lobby. It was wonderful to see the potential to aid more people in a purpose-built centre. Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse books, assisted and was a great supporter, always donating signed books. At a charity dinner one night in aid of the organisation, he not only signed his own books but even Morse tour guides!

I am happy to do all I can to support MyVision Oxfordshire, as I can see how important the practical assistance given is, particularly to those people newly diagnosed. It is encouraging to know that, although research is important, the day-to-day needs of materials and information are met so capably by MyVision. I am proud to be the joint patron of such a worthwhile charity.”

Moira studied Classics at St Anne’s College, Oxford from 1971-75, followed by a PGCE in History and Religious Education at Canterbury. Her career in education has involved pastoral and academic leadership roles in state and private schools, both junior and senior. She was an ISI inspector with special interest in social, moral, spiritual, and cultural aspects. She has also served as a governor at two schools for many years.

After Canterbury she moved to St Albans and it was there that she became involved with the homeless charity, Martin House. Soon after arriving in Oxford in 1985, she became a trustee of Emmaus and helped to establish its Oxford community by chairing the Events and Fundraising Committee; after the community was built, she joined the Companion Welfare Committee. More recently she has been involved with Oxfordshire Youth, assisting with the organisation of fundraising events.

 

Married to Dr Stephen Darlington MBE, Moira has had close links with music and cathedrals over forty-five years. They have three daughters and six grandchildren and live in Headington. Interests include music, theatre, art, and she currently juggles two book groups. Time permitting, she likes to steward at the cathedral, welcoming visitors.

 

Appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Oxfordshire in April 2020, Moira is part of the group with special responsibility for East Oxford and she is the Lieutenancy lead on equality, diversity and inclusion.

 

Moira says:

“Becoming a Deputy Lieutenant has afforded me the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of both the benefits of living in Oxfordshire and the disparity in access to those benefits for various reasons, disability being an example. I admire those who cope with any form of disability, physical or mental, and do not allow it to define them. In some countries they are termed not “disabled” but “people of determination”, which is a far better description, in my view, of their tenacity, adaptability and positivity. I hope to be able to use the networking opportunities my role as a DL affords me to advocate for the “people of determination” supported by MyVision Oxfordshire and do my part to create a more equitable society.”