New AOP Council members announced

The Association of Optometrists (AOP) is pleased to announce the results of the 2017 Council elections. The 2017-18 Councillors will begin their terms of office on 7 June 2017.

Five regional Council positions were open to a member vote this year: East of England, North East England, South East England, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber. Additionally, there were uncontested elections in the East Midlands, South West England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.   

The AOP also received applications for the appointed designated positions of Undergraduate Student Optometrist and Pre-registration Optometrist.

Henrietta Alderman, AOP Chief Executive, said: “I’d like to warmly congratulate our new Councillors and also thank those who have been part of the elections process this year. AOP Councillors play a vital role in representing the views of members across the UK, informing our policy making and helping to shape the future of the optical profession. Significant work lies ahead in 2017-18 including projects related to extended primary care services and the future impact of technology – I very much look forward to working with each of them in these areas.”   

Ms Alderman added: “I also extend my sincerest thanks and appreciation to our outgoing Councillors for their hard work and dedication – they have contributed a great deal to the AOP’s work and to the wider profession.”  

Newly elected AOP Council members 2017-18

Councillor	Constituency
Deepali Modha	East of England
Bhavik Parmar	East Midlands
Rakhee Shah	London
Angela Henderson	North East England
Dharmesh Patel	North West England
Andrew Bridges	South East England
Jane Bell	South West England
Susan Bowers	West Midlands
Nizz Sabir	Yorkshire and the Humber
Brian McKeown	Northern Ireland
Alison McClune	Scotland

 

Appointed designated positions

Appointed	Designated position
Alexander Thornton	Pre-registration Optometrist
Ali Yasen	Undergraduate Student Optometrist

For more information about the AOP Council and the role of Councillors visit the AOP website, www.aop.org.uk/council

Ends

For more information, please contact Serena Box, PR and Media Manager, at the Association of Optometrists, [email protected] or telephone 020 7549 2063.

High resolution images are available via this link.

Notes to Editors

Association of Optometrists

The Association of Optometrists (AOP) is the leading representative membership organisation for optometrists in the UK. We support our community of more than 17,000 members to fulfil their professional roles to protect the nation’s eye health. As a founding member of the Optical Confederation we work with others to improve eye health for the public good. For more information, visit www.aop.org.uk

Full list of AOP Council members 2017-18; includes Councillors who continue their term of office

Councillor	Constituency
Deepali Modha Emma Spofforth	East of England
Tushar Majithia Bhavik Parmar	East Midlands
Gordon Ilett  Rakhee Shah	London
Angela Henderson Jane Ranns	North East England
Ian White Dharmesh Patel	North West England
Andrew Bridges Valarie Jerome	South East England
Jane Bell Ed Bickerstaffe	South West England
Susan Bowers Francesca Marchetti	West Midlands
Stewart Mitchell  Nizz Sabir	Yorkshire and the Humber
Julie-Anne Little Brian McKeown	Northern Ireland
Alison McClune Sohaib Shafiq Kevin Wallace	Scotland
Mike George Nadeen Joseph	Wales