New AOP Council members announced

The Association of Optometrists is pleased to announce appointments to 14 designated posts on its Council.

Adam Sampson, AOP Chief Executive, said: “I’m delighted to be welcoming our new councillors, who join the AOP’s 34-strong Council to represent different segments of the profession and members in their community across the UK. It is a great asset to any organisation to have such a broad range of knowledge to draw on to inform our policy work and services for members, especially in what is a hugely pivotal time for the profession.”

Mr Sampson thanked current and departing Councillors who he commended for: “their exceptional dedication and hard work” also acknowledging the ‘significant levels of engagement in this year’s process.”

Incoming Chair of AOP Council, Emma Spofforth said: “We appreciate and thank all the members who stepped forward this year. We saw a huge increase in the number of applications and as always the standard was incredibly high – making the appointments process all the more difficult.”

Newly appointed Council members:

Councillor	Representing
Northern Ireland	Brian McKeown
Scotland	Erica Campbell-Walker
Wales	Kamal Kalsi
Domiciliary care optometrist	Paul Chapman-Hatchett
Director of an independent practice	Kevin Thompson
Director of a multiple practice	Mehul Patel
Hospital optometrist	Alisha Mann
Independent prescriber	Ankur Trivedi
Locum	Meera Sodha
Newly qualified and early-career optometrist	Ali Yasen
Employee of an independent practice	Josie Evans
Employee of a multiple practice	Karan Vyas
Pre-registration optometrist	Priya Tanda
Undergraduate optometrist	Habeeb Rahman

The current AOP Council is made up of 14 elected members who represent areas across the UK, and 20 councillors with designated positions representing membership groups within the AOP.

Applications were open from 16 February to 15 March 2023, with the AOP Appointments Committee making the final decision on the designated posts on the 26 April.

AOP Councillors will begin their terms of office on 7 June 2023. The full list of Council members can be found at www.aop.org.uk/councillors

Ends

For more information, please contact Serena Box, PR and Media Manager, at the Association of Optometrists, [email protected] or telephone 020 7549 2040.

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