Meet theBoard

Trustee & Chair
Board member since 2017
Chair Since 2021

Trustee & Joint Vice Chair
Board member since 2015
Joint Vice Chair since 2021
Alison is profoundly Deaf and has significant experience in the areas of deafness, disability, discrimination & equality. She was also the first ‘Deaf’ person to qualify as an Audiologist in the NHS in England & Wales.

Trustee & Joint Vice-Chair
Board member since 2009
Joint Vice Chair since 2021
Roland recently retired, having spent the last 25 years as an engineering consultant for Interfleet in Derby.
Roland is a former trustee of the National Association of Deafened People (NADP).

Trustee
Board member since 2013
Ben is a qualified architect with his own architecture business based in Rutland.

Trustee
Board member since 2018
Lucy has a strong background in fundraising and marketing management. Having worked for a range of voluntary organisations, including Sense, she is now at international development charity, Practical Action.

Trustee
Board Member since 2020
Former Trustee of Walsall Deaf Community Services 2019-2020
Former Specialist Employment Service Manager at Action on Hearing Loss Cymru (RNID) in Wales. Now works for NHS based in the Black Country for the Early Intervention Team.

Trustee
Board member since October 2019
Former Board Member at Oxford Deaf & Hard of Hearing Centre 2014-18 and at Deaf Direct 2018-19
Penelope was asked to join the board of the Oxford Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre because of her financial background: she had spent most of her career working at the Bank of England.

Trustee
Board Member since 2019
Deaf Direct Trustee for 20 years 1999-2019
William was previously a Trustee of Deaf Direct, serving as the Chair for eleven years. He continues to work as a Freelance BSL Tutor and is based in Malvern, Worcestershire.

Trustee
Emma is a parent of two Deaf young adults.
She is a seasoned professional with more than 10 years’ of senior management experience in B2B and B2C technology sectors at an international level.