AOP announces new Council members

The Association of Optometrists (AOP) is delighted to announce the new members of its Council, following the election and appointment process in April 2018. The Councillors will begin their three-year term of office on 6 June.

This year, geographical positions were contested in Scotland, South East England, South West England, West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Councillors were elected unopposed in the East Midlands, East of England, London, North East England, North West England, Northern Ireland and Wales.  

The AOP also received applications from undergraduate students, pre-registration optometrists and newly-qualified optometrists for three appointed, designated posts.  

Henrietta Alderman, AOP Chief Executive, said: “Highly deserved congratulations are in order for our re-elected and newly-elected Council members, who’ve already made a significant contribution to the profession – proving their dedication and passion in striving for optometry. Some interesting challenges and opportunities lie ahead, and I’m very much looking forward to working with these individuals on the key issues facing optics in the coming years.”    

Ms Alderman continued: “I’d like to thank all of those who have been part of the election process this year – with particular thanks to all those who put themselves forward for these important roles including designated positions, which received an unprecedented amount of applications. I also extend my gratitude to our outgoing Councillors for all their hard work.” 

Newly-elected AOP Council members 

Newly-elected Councillors representing geographical constituencies across the UK.

Councillor	Constituency
Emma Spofforth	East of England
Tushar Majithia	East Midlands
Gordon Ilett	London
Jane Ranns	North East England
Martin Sweeney	North West England
Valarie Jerome	South East England
Ed Bickerstaffe	South West England
Francesca Marchetti	West Midlands
Stewart Mitchell	Yorkshire and the Humber
Julie-Anne Little	Northern Ireland
Eilidh Martin Kevin Wallace	Scotland
Nadeen Joseph	Wales

Newly-elected appointed, designated positions 

Councillor	Constituency
Shivani Rughani	Newly Qualified Optometrist
Ali Yasen	Pre-registration Optometrist
Shoaib Ilyas	Undergraduate Student Optometrist

AOP members can contact their Councillors through the Association’s online community forums. 

For more information about the 2018 election and the role of Councillors visit the AOP website, www.aop.org.uk/elections

Ends

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

For High Resolution images please visit this Dropbox folder.

Notes to Editors

Association of Optometrists 

The Association of Optometrists (AOP) is the leading representative membership organisation for optometrists in the UK. We support over 80% of practising optometrists, to fulfil their professional roles to protect the nation’s eye health. For more information, visit www.aop.org.uk

Full list of AOP Council members as of the 6 June 2018 – 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
Dharmesh Patel  Martin Sweeney	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  Eilidh Martin Kevin Wallace	Scotland
Mike George Nadeen Joseph	Wales

Appointed designated positions

Councillor	Designated position
David Adams	Hospital Optometrist
Shivani Rughani	Newly-qualified Optometrist
Jonathan Bennett	Franchisee/Joint Venture Optometrist
James Dawson	Dispensing Optician
Will Holmes	University Lecturer
Fatima Nawaz	Early Career Optometrist
Ali Yasen	Pre-registration Optometrist
Shoaib Ilyas	Undergraduate Student Optometrist