Merseyside: Meet the members

Kelly Barton

Kelly is the Engagement Manager for the north west and is a former member of the Merseyside Sight Loss Council.

She has been visually impaired all of her life and is keen to use her own experience to help others make positive change for blind and partially sighted people.

Kelly very much enjoys participating in sport and is particularly keen on running and cycling.

Kelly’s career to date has been in journalism and PR, before moving into volunteer management in the charitable sector.

She is now looking forward to leading both the Greater Manchester and Merseyside Sight Loss Councils in future projects and campaigns across the north west region.

Norma Williams

Norma has over 25 years of experience in governance, both in community and strategic corporate leadership where I focused on social care and community development. She is interested in engaging with other visually impaired people like herself and feels that the only way change can happen is by being involved and part of the decisions that make a difference to blind and partially sighted people’s lives. Norma is keen to make organisations and partners aware of people’s abilities rather than their disabilities.

Naomi Ditchfield

Naomi has been visually impaired since birth and has a Guide Dog called Dixie. She is a volunteer & Trustee at Bradbury Fields Rehabilitation Centre for Blind and Partially Sighted people in Liverpool. Naomi enjoys supporting Liverpool FC as a season ticket holder, even taking her Guide Dog to all of the home games. Her other hobbies include walking and hiking, tandem riding and visiting various places of interest. Naomi feels it is important to raise awareness of the issues facing blind and partially sighted people in their local areas.

Mick Spriggs

Michael is originally  from Birmingham and moved to Liverpool 28 years ago. I have a condition called Stargardt disease meaning he lost his sight at the age of 11. He joined the Merseyside Sight Loss council to help all working age people with sight loss to find a way into employment, hoping that their experiences are more positive than his own. He believes that there are so many experienced and talented people out there who have a lot to offer. In his spare time Mick enjoys supporting Aston Villa FC.

Laura Kennedy

Laura has worked for the NHS for 15 years so brings a wealth of public sector experience to the sight loss council. She lost her sight overnight at the age of 31 so has a lot of insight into the barriers that people blind and partially sighted people can face. Laura is very passionate about making a difference due to the excellent support she received following her diagnosis.

Laura continues to work full time and in her spare time she enjoys reading, running, travelling and shopping.

Paul Tudor

My name is Paul Tudor.

My hobbies are walking, keeping fit, cricket, goalball and I love to watch stand-up comedy gigs. I have been visually impaired all of my life.

My sight has deteriorated as I have got older. I joined the Merseyside Sight Loss Council so I could help blind and visually impaired people get the same opportunities when applying for job vacancies as sighted people.

Julie Lee

I had a fulfilling career in the Home Office for 25 years but felt that the time was right to restore balance to my life by taking early retirement.

I loved almost all of the varied roles that I held, all relating in one way or another to learning and development.  The best part of my career was working with others to bring about positive change.   A good example of this was when I became the Strategic Lead for the Department I worked for to introduce Vocational training and qualifications.

Over a three year period, the unit I led was responsible for arranging Vocational qualifications for over 300 members of staff. This provided lots of scope for individuals to develop not only their confidence but also gain valuable qualifications and for the department to be able to measure improvements in efficiency and productivity.

I have a strong sense of fairness and have always been interested in challenging the way things are done to make them better.  I want to harness this and my professional career to work with other Sight loss volunteers who want to improve the quality of life for people like me, who want to live full, varied and rewarding lives by removing barriers and shining a light on inequality.

Since leaving work I have moved house, taken up Yoga and have also volunteered at a local charity for the Visually Impaired.

An interesting fact about me – I have completed the London to Brighton Cycle Marathon twice, the second time on a tandem.

MIke Wright

I have been totally blind since birth. I frequently use public transport while carrying out work as a piano tuner. I would describe myself as a confident traveller with an ability to both plan and execute various routes.

In 1997, I became one of the first people to cross the English Channel in a dragon boat. This is a sport I continue to pursue. A particular aspect of dragon boat racing that gives me some personal fulfilment is that I am able to compete with and against able-bodied paddlers.

I have a good working knowledge of various types of technical devices such as smart phones and computers. I am sufficiently confident when it comes to setting a number of these from new out of the box.

I have a reasonable knowledge of politics – both at national and local level.