Our Council
Our Council helps determine policy by tackling the issues you face day-to-day
The AOP Council acts as a representative body for our membership, ensuring voices from different modes of practice and career stages are heard and can contribute.
Our current Council consists of 34 members. Fourteen are elected to represent geographical areas, with 10 Councillors from English regions, two from Scotland and one each from Wales and Northern Ireland. Twenty Councillors have designated positions representing particular membership groups.
| Elected / appointed position | Councillor |
| Dispensing optician | Sarah White |
| East of England | Nicholas Hagan |
| East Midlands | Reena Rani Anand |
| London | Jagdeep Kaur Gill |
| Newly qualified and Early career optometrist | Summaya Ali |
| North East England | Simon Raw |
| North West | Sarah Lowry |
| Northern Ireland | Catherine McGukin |
| Pre-registration optometrist | Habeeb Rahman |
| Scotland | Frances Jamieson |
| Scotland | Johnathan Waugh |
| South East England | Rachel Hiscox |
| South West England | Karen Gennard |
| Undergraduate student | Ki Yan Lam |
| Wales | Martin Sweeney |
| West Midlands | Sukhi Drake |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | Nizz Sabir |
Councillors will begin their term of office on 5 June 2024 at the AOP’s annual AGM.
What do AOP Councillors do?
AOP Councillors represent members within their region or particular membership group. A key role is to communicate with members and to bring member feedback to the AOP at Council meetings, which take place three times a year.
Through their contributions at Council meetings and to AOP reports, Councillors directly inform our policy-making and the development of our services for members, helping to ensure we fully represent all members.
As well as representing members, Councillors also represent the AOP. They promote and actively encourage membership and deal with requests by referring members to the right people within the AOP who can provide answers, advice or support.
Meet and contact your AOP Councillors
What is my Council constituency?
Regionally-elected Councillors are chosen to represent members across 12 UK constituencies: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and nine constituencies across England. The border of each constituency is defined by postcode area.
Your regional Councillor elected to represent you (and therefore your voting constituency) is determined by the address you have chosen to receive your AOP communications. You can review this address within the My details section of your My AOP profile. Click 'Edit details' to find your addresses under 'Communication preferences'.
Find out more about the Council's structure, powers and the election process in our Council Byelaws.
Becoming a councillor
Elections of new Council members, take place two years out of three, during the spring. Forthcoming elections will be held in 2027, 2030 and so on.
Members can apply for designated positions representing particular membership groups when there are vacancies. We advertise these vacancies through emails and social media. The appointments are decided by our Appointments Committee.
If you're interested in becoming a Councillor, read the Councillor job description.
