Who’s who

When Cecilia’s husband died she felt that she still had some skills to offer and found a niche in the voluntary sector, initially by taking part in a Kings Fund pilot patient advocacy scheme at my local GP practice. This work still continues and she is very committed to the Patient Consultative Group.

When her sight began to fail and having been diagnosed with macular degeneration another patient told her about Sight for Surrey (which was then called SAVI). She was invited to take part in the pilot “Progress in Sight” Group and became a Sight for Surrey volunteer six years ago. She is currently starting to talk to groups of people about Sight for Surrey’s splendid work. She spent thirty five years in Primary Education, the last fifteen years as a Head Teacher so her skills lie in the field of communication and management. She became a Sight for Surrey Trustee in 2009, and Chair of the Services Sub-Committee in July 2012.

His career covered a number of fields including training, sales, marketing and IT consultancy. In recent years most of Bob’s time was spent working with the banking sector advising on and selling complex document management solutions. Bob was educated at Caterham School and now lives in Edenbridge with his wife Mahala. They have a son living in Yorkshire with 3 children, a daughter living and working in London and another daughter living and working in the French Alps. At the beginning of 2012, Bob became a volunteer with Sight for Surrey (which was then called SAVI) working with the local weekly Communication Class in Bletchingley. Bob is also a volunteer for SeeAbility in Horley. In his spare time Bob enjoys sailing, skiing, cycling, gardening and DIY. Bob became a Trustee in August 2012.

Cathy took early retirement from the insurance industry in 2016 after a number of roles at senior management level working with general insurance underwriting companies here and overseas. Her work has mainly been related to the technical aspects of insurance and included setting product strategy and monitoring performance.

Cathy lives in Reigate and since retiring has worked with Sight for Surrey as a volunteer driver and is also Programme Secretary for a local Arts Society. When time and money permit, travel is a passion.

Christine has recently been appointed a Trustee on the Board and will chair the Fundraising Committee. She comes to the Board with a strong background in Business Development, Marketing and Fundraising. Christine spent the majority of her professional career working in the UK and Ireland Marketing Development Organization of Procter & Gamble, a multi-national fast-moving consumer goods company.

Following an accident, her brother lost his sight and is registered blind, so she has first-hand knowledge of just how vital the support we give to our service users and their families is.

Christine will use her extensive experience in fundraising /income generation and her professional skills to ensure we have a strong and sustainable fundraising programme to deliver these services.

Christine lives in Surrey with her husband Steve.

Michael has recently become a Trustee on our Board. In 1997 after a hemorrhage in his left eye caused loss of central vision, Michael was diagnosed with a comparatively rare eye condition known as PXE. He was still able to see to drive, but Moorfields Eye Hospital advised that he should consider a career change from Landscape Contracting.

Michael was awarded the Diploma of Higher Education in Rehabilitation Studies in July 2000. Unfortunately, in 2004, he became partially sighted in his right eye and was no longer able to see to drive. However, with support from the Access to Work programme, Michael was able to continue with his career until retirement.

In the fifteen years of being a Rehabilitation Worker, Michael has met many members of the public in many different environments with some very satisfying outcomes.

He is married and lives in Hindhead, Surrey and has one daughter who is studying medicine. Michael is now registered severely sight impaired however he still maintains his interests of oil painting, gardening, sailing and dog walking.

Russell has Usher Syndrome. He was diagnosed with RP (retinitis pigmentosa) when he was about 13 after the Headmaster discovered him standing inside during fire practice in the night!

During the late 1980s, the late Mary Guest MBE set up a new group for Deaf people with RP and linked it to Usher Syndrome. There are different types of Usher Syndrome. Russell has Syndrome Type 1.

Russell studied Horticulture at a college in Hampshire, after which he entered full-time employment as a Science Gardener at Whitgift School, an independent school in Croydon. Sadly, he was made redundant after nearly 30 years service but the Whitgift Foundation agreed to accept his early retirement.

How did Russell become involved with Sight for Surrey?

Since being registered blind in 1987, Russell has been an active member of Sense and Sight for Surrey. An active artist, his well-known cartoon character is ‘Fred the Usher’. The very loveable hedgehog was created in 1990 when Sense asked him to design some Christmas cards. Fred the Usher still appears on Christmas cards today.

Russell is married to Anne. She was also diagnosed with Ushers; although she has had a cochlear implant. They live in Warlingham, where Russell enjoys gardening, local history, genealogy, antiques and visiting historic places like the National Trust. He even finds time to go to the gym!