THE LEADERSHIP BEHIND REF

Our leaders guide the Ridley mission with a steady hand and a focus on impact. All donate their time and expertise to improve the lives of others.

The Ridley Eye Foundation in the UK

Meet the Patron

Lord Garnier

Lord Garnier

Patron
A former politician and Solicitor General for UK government from 2010-2012, Lord Garnier is a practising barrister. One of his principle specialist areas is International & Human Rights Law. 

Meet the Trustees

Nicholas Ridley

Nicholas Ridley

Chairman
Nicholas is the son of Sir Harold Ridley, the pioneering ophthalmologist who invented the intraocular lens (IoL) and performed the first cataract operation. Nicholas is Chairman of the Foundation.

Lauretta Ridley

Lauretta Ridley

Trustee
Lauretta is married to Nicholas and is the Trustee responsible for Fundraising and Relationship Management.

Sarah Roberts

Sarah Roberts

Trustee
Sarah, a qualified management accountant, is the Foundation’s Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer.

David Spalton Blindness in Nepal

Professor David Spalton

Trustee
FRCS, FRCP, FRCOphth
Prof David Spalton trained at Moorfields Eye Hospital and was appointed as a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at St Thomas’ Hospital, London. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, (the Chelsea Pensioners), King Edward VII’s Hospital for Officers, London and Civilian Ophthalmic Advisor to the Metropolitan Police. 

Special Advisors to REF

Mr Donald J Munro

Donald J Munro

Special Advisor
Donald J. Munro is currently Business Development Director for the David J Apple International Laboratory for Ocular Pathology, University of Heidelberg.

Rev Beacon BW Blindness in Nepal

The Reverend Dr Robert Beaken

Honorary Chaplain
Robert is the Parish Priest of Catsfield and Crowhurst in Sussex and is the author of several books. He is the County Chaplain for Sussex of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.

Nicholas Thorpe

Nicholas Thorpe

Special Advisor
Nicholas has spent over 30 years in stockbroking, managing Advisory and Discretionary portfolios, including a number of charities and formed part of the team with Richard Jackson. Now with approximately £80m of Assets Under Management at Redmayne Bentley. Nicholas is a Chartered Fellow of the Securities Institute.

Gerd Auffarth BW Blindness in Nepal

Professor Gerd Auffarth

Special Advisor
MD, FEBO
Gerd is Professor and Chairman at the Department of Ophthalmology of the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and is Head of the David J Apple Centre for Vision Research which includes the David J Apple Laboratory for Ocular Pathology in Heidelberg. 

Charlie McNaught

Charlie McNaught

Special Advisor
MRICS
Charlie is a chartered surveyor and Head of the Logistics & Industrial Team at JLL in the Philippines. He has over 8 years experience in commercial real estate spanning the UK and APAC markets. His expertise lies in the disposals, acquisitions, financial analysis, asset selection and strategic asset management of properties within the logistics and industrial sector.

Abraham Latchin BW Blindness in Nepal

Abraham Latchin

Special Advisor
Abraham is the Creative Director at ODL Agency. He has spent nearly 20 years working with clients in both Canada and the United Kingdom where he and his team work in production, communication, design and branding.

George Woodger BW 2 Blindness in Nepal

George Woodger

Special Advisor
George is the Partner and Creative Director at ODL Agency UK where he works with clients such as the City of London producing communication and marketing materials to support their activities and growth.

Volunteer Team

Alistair Wood

Alistair Wood

Chief Executive
LVO, MBE, FRGS
Alistair has worked in the government and charity sectors in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. He was previously a Trustee for the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital.

Shirin Fenn

Shirin Fenn

Volunteer
Shirin lives in North Yorkshire and works in Harrogate as a Dental Practice Manager. Her first visit to Nepal was in 2016 as part of a team helping to rebuild homes damaged in the earthquake. Shirin is a Trustee for Rebuild Nepal and is pleased to support the Ridley Eye Foundation.

REF Nepal Trustees

Gokul T BW 2 Blindness in Nepal

Mr Gokul Thapa

Chairman and Managing Trustee

Radha Krishna Bhandari

Mr Radha Krishna Bhandari

Legal Adviser

Shakuntala Dhakal Blindness in Nepal

Mrs Shakuntala Dhakal

Teacher and Social Worker

Dipendra Poudel

Mr Dipendra Poudel

Pharmacist

image0 Blindness in Nepal

Pratiksha Dhakal

Senior Surgical Nurse
Pratiksha is a senior surgical nurse, and specialist in intensive care. She is currently working in gynecology and obstetrics at Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital. She has previously worked in the oncology department of Bir Hospital

Lord Garnier

Patron
A former politician and Solicitor General for UK government from 2010-2012, Lord Garnier is a practising barrister. One of his principle specialist areas is International & Human Rights Law. He was called to the Bar in 1976, (Middle Temple); appointed a QC in 1995; and a Bencher in 2001. He was MP for Harborough between 1992-2017, and was Knighted in 2012; he was appointed a Privy Counsellor 2015; and granted a Peerage 2018. He is regularly consulted by NGOs and charitable organisations.

David Spalton

FRCS, FRCP, FRCOphth
Prof David Spalton trained at Moorfields Eye Hospital and was appointed as a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at St Thomas’ Hospital, London. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon to the Royal Hospital Chelsea (the Chelsea Pensioners), King Edward VII’s Hospital for Officers, London and Civilian Ophthalmic Advisor to the Metropolitan Police. He is a past President of the United Kingdom and Ireland Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons and past President of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. He is known internationally for his research on intraocular lens design. He lectures widely around the world and has published over 180 scientific papers. His book ‘An Atlas of Clinical Ophthalmology’ won the prize for the Best Medical Textbook of the Year for both the 1st and 3rd editions, a unique feat in medical publishing and has been translated in 10 languages.

Professor Gerd Auffarth

Special Advisor
MD, FEBO
Gerd is Professor and Chairman at the Department of Ophthalmology of the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and is Head of the David J Apple Center for Vision Research which includes the David J Apple Laboratory for Ocular Pathology in Heidelberg. His key professional interests include cataract and intraocular lens surgery, IOL-biomaterial laboratory research, ocular pathology, minimal invasive glaucoma surgery, glaucoma implants and stents and corneal surgery.