The Royal National College for the Blind - Board of Governors

RNC’s Board of Governors is a voluntary body which oversees the College's strategic direction and its proper management by the Executive.

The Board of Governors is primarily concerned with:

• Articulating the vision, mission and values of the organisation
• Developing strategy and setting corporate objectives
• Agreeing/ratifying policies and taking decisions on key matters/developments
• Reviewing progress and impact against plans and targets
• Monitoring the proper management of the College by the Executive
• Ensuring solvency, probity, effective financial management, and the safeguarding of assets
• Discharging Governors’ legal responsibilities as an employer; ensuring good employment practice
• Ensuring continuous quality improvement within the organisation, including the Board’s own performance.

Members of the Board are:

David Adams – Chair of Governors

David Adams is a qualified accountant who spent most of his career in the multi-national motor industry.

He joined the RNC Board in 1999 and became Chairman in 2003. David led the modernisation of the College facilities through the land sale which underpinned the funding for our recent campus development, including thePoint4 and Orchard Hall.

David, who is blind himself, said of his work with the College, “I know the barriers that exist in many areas of life and work. Having seen former students rise to great heights, and David Blunkett, former Home Secretary; Ryan Kelly, who plays Jazzer in Radio 4’s The Archers; and the England/GB blind football team are just a few examples, I decided to support the College to help ensure all blind people have access to fulfilling opportunities in all areas of life.”

Lady Gill Curtis

Lady Curtis has been a Governor of the Royal National College for the Blind for over 25 years.

She lives in Herefordshire and says she has always enjoyed making a contribution to the work of the College, where she takes a particular interest in fundraising.

Mark Cutter

Mark Cutter is Head of Innovation in Society at the School of Public Health and Clinical Sciences at the University of Central Lancashire.

He is a Barrister-at-Law, has written and lectured internationally on ethics, law and technology and has served as a Senior Consultant in Bioethics and Law with fellowships across Europe. He is Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal Studies in Ethics, Law and Technology and The International Library of Ethics, Law and Technology. Mark also serves as Executive Director for European Operations on the board of the Centre for Policy on Emerging Technology.

Alastair Glover

Alastair Glover has been a Governor at RNC since 2004.

After graduating from Cambridge and qualifying as a solicitor he worked for a city firm in London for 5 years, specialising in commercial and company law. In 1977 he moved to Herefordshire as company secretary of Special Metals Wiggin Ltd, then a subsidiary of Inco Ltd, a Canadian nickel mining company.

Judy Harris

Judy Harris is a qualified teacher and has worked in both the secondary sector and the Further Education sector. She is also a qualified Head Teacher Inspector.

Judy previously ran a training and consultancy company addressing quality, personnel issues and organisational change within both the education sector and business sectors.

Paul Hatfield

Paul is visually impaired and is a former RNC student. He specialises in Information Technology, working for a number of major companies in the financial sector. He is a founding member of the Disability Awareness taskforce at American Express. Having completed his teacher training with a period at RNC, Paul spent 4 years teaching mathematics in a mainstream secondary school before returning to work in IT. He has a particular interest in the proper recruitment and employment of people with visual impairment and has in depth knowledge of assistive technologies.

“Being an ex-RNC student and having had an ongoing and enjoyable association with the College since the age of 16, I was delighted to be appointed to the Board of Governors. RNC provided me with my ticket into higher education, in later years welcomed me back to expand my experience during my teacher training and I now find it very fulfilling to be so closely linked with such an excellent establishment again with the potential to reciprocate with a positive return on their investment.”

Richard Hemmings

Richard has varied, senior experience, notably as Chief Officer in several Local Authorities involving change management and working with the Audit Commission on governance. As Chief Executive of the British Transport Police Authority he established new governance arrangements on the transfer from the Strategic Rail Authority, and as an Election Monitor in a number of east European countries. He also has significant experience of risk management, audit, education admission appeals and child protection strategies. Richard retired from full-time work in 2009 and is a qualified lawyer.

“I think the College provides a wonderful service, through its dedicated and committed staff, to all its students. I want to bring my previous public sector experience to help the College to continue its great work.”

Shander Herian

Shander Herian lost his sight at the age of 10 after an allergic reaction to over-the-counter medication.

He studied at RNC during the late 70s and early 80s, leaving as a computer programmer in 1986. After working in industry, Shander opened his own IT supply and maintenance company which grew into a multi million pound business, making him a millionaire at the age of 32.

At the age of 35 he was the first person in the UK to undergo a pioneering operation which restored full sight to one eye.

On his service to the College as a Governor, Shander said, “Being an ex student and now fully sighted, I feel I have a unique empathy and insight into student life at the College. I’m fortunate enough to have been a successful entrepreneur and I want to inspire students that anything is possible given the determination and right support. Without RNC’s contribution to my early adult life in both education and life skills I would not have become the person I am now.”

Tracey Lancaster

Tracey is Director of External Relations for the University of Birmingham with lead responsibility for the recruitment of home and overseas students, corporate PR, media and stakeholder relations, marketing, and internal communications. In her previous arts-based roles, Tracey has had experience with advisory groups for patrons with disabilities. Currently a school governor Tracey has a working knowledge of further education. She has also been a member of several professional and other bodies and undertook work for local charities during a four year career break.

Caroline Peachey

Caroline has worked as teacher in charge of Foundation Learning at the RNC for the past 5 years.

She believes that all students should have the opportunity to develop their full potential irrespective of disabilities. Caroline hopes that as a staff governor she can support the team in curricula areas particularly during these times of educational changes.

Caroline was the founder of Hope House Children’s respite hospice and Shrewsbury Opportunity Group. She believes that communication is key to an organisations success and is aware of the challenges that lie ahead for the RNC. Caroline has formed links with local agencies and supported the students in entrepreneurial ventures in retail, media and fundraising.

Caroline’s background is in drama and theatre. She has taught in arts centres in Herefordshire and Shropshire as youth theatre director. She has also taught in mainstream schools and college of further education.

"In the role of staff governor, I believe I can bring an insight into the needs, hopes and aspirations of our students to help them remove barriers to reach their full potential."

Thomas Poole MBE

Thomas Poole has been a Governor since 1970. He is a passionate advocate for self employment for people with sight loss. In 1998 Thomas was awarded an MBE for his services to people who are blind and partially sighted in Cambridgeshire.

Reading Economics and Law at Cambridge, Thomas was the first totally blind person called to the Bar who then went on to practise. In 1982 Thomas became an underwriting name at Lloyds. His legal career saw him become a prominent Group Litigant and Litigant in Person for 21 years.

Chris West

Chris West was Vice Principal of a Further Education college and head of a large Computing, Electronics and Mathematics department in a mixed economy college.

He has directed a number of government educational research projects and as Chief Executive of ECCTIS Ltd he won the contract to manage the UK National Academic Recognition Centre for the EU. He was also Vice President of the European Network of Information Centres.

As Managing Director of Anglia Campus at Anglia TV he established an online curriculum service for schools and as Managing Director of Granada Learning Professional Development at ITV he developed and delivered major e-supported learning programmes for teachers and head teachers.

Chris currently runs his own consultancy business delivering CPD and e-learning initiatives for clients that include AoC, LSIS, LLUK, and the British Psychological Society.

“I became a governor of RNC to play my part in ensuring that present and future generations of students are given the very best learning experiences to prepare them to shine in their future working and social lives.”

Julie Wilson-Thomas

Julie is the Chief Officer of Herefordshire Literacy Project (HELP) which provides literacy support and English for speakers of other languages, IT and workplace skills courses. She counts among her achievements the growth of the project, it gaining a national profile as a model of good practice, and being awarded grade 2s in inspections. A qualified teacher, she has also been employed as a moderator by the Open College network and is very active in local voluntary work, including sitting on various representative bodies. Julie has a visual impairment.

"I became a governor at RNC to make my contribution to this unique specialist charity and to support all the learners, staff and volunteers."

Dixie Dean

Dixie has worked for RNC for the last 14 years in various roles across both learning and residential areas. His current role as a Night Support Worker is supporting students in their halls of residence during the night. He is a firm believer in that our students are no different to any other young people who are at college; they all like to party and enjoy their time at college but perhaps need a little support due to a sight problem.

As a staff governor he hopes to bring a different view to the Governor meetings not only as learning centre but as a place where young people mature and gain confidence.

Dixie stated “ that during the time I have worked at the college no two days are the same and I always look forward to going to work, helping students develop and grow in confidence gives me a great deal of satisfaction, watching their journey from September through to July is fantastic”

Dixie is also involved with the college football teams and as helped numerous players over the years progress on to other clubs as well as becoming England International players.