New ABDO Board members announced

Clockwise from top left: Deborah Bill, Sarah Gilbert, Gillian Twyning, Dylan Russell and Kimberley O’Donnell

ABDO has announced the appointment of five new members of the ABDO Board.

There were 11 candidates and voting took place online between 12 July and 27 August.

The new ABDO Board members are:

• Deborah Bill
• Sarah Gilbert
• Kimberley O’Donnell
• Dylan Russell
• Gillian Twyning

The ABDO Board sets the strategic direction for the organisation and oversees the work of the executive team in supporting and representing members, enabling them to develop their careers, raising awareness of the valuable roles they carry out and advancing the profession as a whole.

The new Board members will take up their roles at the next Board meeting on Thursday 7 November 2024 at which they will have the opportunity to discuss and decide on ABDO’s Annual Plan for 2025. Their period of office will be three years, with the opportunity to stand for a further term of three years.

Kevin Gutsell, ABDO president, welcomed the new members to the Board.

He said: “I would like to congratulate the successful applicants and look forward to working with them. The new members bring a wealth of different experiences and I’m predicting a good impact from all. There’s always next year for those who were not successful.”

Alistair Bridge, ABDO chief executive, commented: “Thank you to all the members who put themselves forward for election. Congratulations to those who were successful and commiserations to those who were not on this occasion.

“The new Board members have an important role to play and I look forward to hearing their perspectives and working with them to enable ABDO’s members to achieve the recognition they deserve as expert eyecare professionals who deliver outstanding care for patients.”

A profile of the new ABDO Board members will appear in the November/December 2024 issue of Dispensing Optics.