The team and trustees

I am Bernie, Chief Executive of Blatchington Court Trust, since June 2024. I am also the designated Safeguarding Lead and bring a strong commitment to supporting people with sight loss, supported by extensive leadership experience across local government and the charity sector.

Outside of work, I enjoy cycling, reading and camping. I am also a lifelong supporter and season ticket holder of Aston Villa Football Club.

I'm Connor Scott-Gardner, and I'm the Young People's Advocacy and Engagement Officer at BCT. This means I broadly work with clients aged 18 to 29, as well as planning social events. I help young people with all kinds of things, from exploring employment opportunities, to filling out referrals for vision rehab services. I am also a Mental Health First-Aider.

I currently serve as one of the UK representatives to the European Blind Union braille working group, am a member of the UK Association for Accessible Formats general braille group, represent the UK on a joint World Blind Union and ICEVI research project into global braille usage, and am a member of the Goalball UK diversity, equity and inclusion committee.

I have been blind since birth and am a life-long braille user, tactile graphics enthusiast, and occasional goalball player.

I'm Fiona and I provide support to families of vision impaired children across Sussex, offering guidance, understanding, and practical assistance. I organise events for our younger clients and their families to help build connections and create positive shared experiences. I also signpost families to external agencies where appropriate, ensuring they can access the wider support and resources available to them. I am also a First Aider and a Mental Health First Aider.

As a parent of a visually impaired young adult myself, I bring both personal insight and professional understanding to my work.

Outside of work I enjoy hiking, travelling, and spending time outdoors exploring new places.   I am a qualified yoga teacher and enjoy yoga as a way to maintain balance and focus. I am currently learning Japanese, which I find both challenging and rewarding.

I'm Gemma and I provide administrative support to the BCT team and help keep the building running smoothly day to day. I also support the team with a wide range of admin tasks, and you’ll often find me on reception, welcoming visitors and making sure everyone feels comfortable and looked after as soon as they arrive. I am also a First Aider.

Before joining BCT, I worked as an Office Manager across a variety of industries, gaining experience in organisation, coordination and supporting busy teams.

Outside of work, I love to draw, get lost in a good book and head out for long, peaceful walks.

I support the organisation by maintaining and improving our database, ensuring information is accurate, up to date, and effectively used to inform our planning and decision-making.

I graduated from the University of Bath in 2025 with a degree in Mathematical Sciences. As part of my studies, I gained valuable experience working with the Office for National Statistics, where I developed my skills in data analysis and interpretation.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time outdoors and exploring the South Downs.

In my role I support people with sight loss by building their confidence in the use of technology such as mobile phones, tablets, computers and other assistive technology. I also support our staff team with any technical issues they face and oversee our technical systems and infrastructure. I am also the Data Protection Lead for BCT.

I studied computing at Brighton University and interned at the BBC in London. My lived experiences as a person with sight loss enable me to support others with sight loss.

I enjoy spending time at the beach, watching football and doing activities with my son including remote control cars, football, Pokemon and skateboarding.

I manage the staff and delivery of direct BCT client services, specifically Education Advocacy, Family Support, and Over 18s Support, and I manage the third-party partnerships we have with: LOOK UK for mentoring, Independent Counsellors and Possability People for adult benefits advice. I am also the designated Safe Guard Lead.

I have a long and varied career, ranging from hospitality (running bars and restaurants) to healthcare (managing an A&E department and running a Haemophilia Consortium) to adoption (chairing a Regional Adoption Panel for 15 years).

I am lucky enough to have a 3-minute commute to work and am a fan of Dolly Parton and cheese!

I process financial transactions, monitor our bank accounts, produce quarterly management accounts & annual statutory accounts

I am a Qualified as an FCA in 1987, 25 years as a practicing accountant before joining BCT

I have played golf since the age of 9 – in my 60th year of membership at East Brighton Golf Club. Other interests – holidaying, bridge & cryptic crosswords

I am a member of the Board and the Finance Committee and have responsibility for looking after the investment portfolios that we hold. I am a qualified chartered accountant and have spent most of my career as an investment manager and stock broker. I have two whippets that I love taking for walks and I used to play cricket and football, but now I just watch them on TV.

Alison has been involved in education for over 30 years, starting her career as a primary school teacher and retraining to become a Qualified Teacher of the Visually Impaired (QTVI). She was fortunate enough to work as the lead QTVI with the Brighton and Hove Sensory Needs Team for over 20 years. During this time, she was able to see first hand the positive impact of the life changing services provided by BCT for children, young people and their families. When she retired, she welcomed the opportunity to continue to be involved with BCT through her role as a trustee.

Alison is passionate about music and enjoys playing saxophone in local jazz and swing bands. More recently, she has been fortunate to combine her love of music with her professional experience through teaching music braille to visually impaired students.

I’m Andy, and I have the privilege of serving as Chair of Blatchington Court Trust. My connection to BCT runs deep — I was once a client myself, and I know first‑hand how life‑changing the right support can be for a young person with a visual impairment.

Alongside my background as a former international blind cricketer and Pride of Britain award winner, I bring lived experience, purpose and a commitment to shaping inclusive cultures and strong governance. My goal is to help guide and nurture BCT’s work so we can continue creating lasting impact for blind and visually impaired young people.

I contribute to the charity’s strategic direction and governance, with a particular focus on people, culture, and workforce matters. I help to ensure that the right policies, and practices are in place to support staff and volunteers while enabling the charity to deliver its mission.

I am an experienced chartered HR professional with a strong background spanning the public, private and the third sectors. I hold a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Oxford Brookes University and have led on key areas such as change management, workforce planning, employee engagement, and organisational development. I bring a blend of strategic insight and practical expertise, with a passion for teams and organisations to thrive.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family and unwinding with a good movie, whether at home or at the cinema.

I qualified as a social worker in the early 1990s, and after 30 years in NHS commissioning, took early retirement this year. I‘ve lived in Brighton with my family for almost 25 years. During that time, both my daughters were diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, an inherited eye disorder that causes progressive central vision loss. The support we received from Blatchington Court was invaluable, as we came to terms with the diagnosis and navigated the world of (then) statement and EHCPs. So, I know first-hand what a difference the Trust can make, and I’m really excited to work with the board and staff to help deliver these and other services as part of the new strategy.

I am a strategy, governance, and transformation director with twenty years of experience across organisations, including HSBC and Meta. I joined the Blatchington Court Trust Board because I believe deeply in the power of community-rooted charities to create meaningful, lasting impact for the people and families they serve. I am committed to bringing my governance and technology expertise to support the Blatchington Court Trust's vital mission.

I bring over 40 years of experience as a chartered surveyor in the City of London, and in my role as a trustee I offer advice on all property‑related matters. After a long career in practice, I enjoy using my knowledge to help the charity make informed, confident decisions about its property assets.

These days, life looks a little different for me. I now run an arable farm, which has given me a fresh perspective and a new set of challenges that I really value. When I’m not working or out on the farm, you’ll often find me collecting or building model railways — a hobby I’ve loved for years.

I’m proud to support the charity and hope my experience and enthusiasm make a positive contribution.

I have been a Trustee since 2025 and have lived experience of vision impairment. I am also a keen jazz alto saxaphone player.

I have been a trustee for ... years. I am the parent of 2 girls. My youngest daughter is vision impaired and a client of BCT - I was so grateful for the support BCT has given us through the years and many transitions in life that I wanted to share my experience to help others. In my day job I am an Accessibility Consultant with a speciality in increasing accessibility for disabled users, such as access to digital content, websites, apps, museum exhibitions, animations... whatever anyone needs. I have specialised in enabling enjoyable and independent experiences for vision impaired audiences - which brings me back full circle to my daughter.

In my role as trustee I attend board meetings every 3 months, where we find out what's been going on in the trust including the services of advocacy, counselling, outreach to new clients and work with local schools. We also have an opportunity to talk to everyone who works at BCT about their activities and get updates on events and feedback from clients. Ultimately as trustees we need to ensure that the trust is running smoothly and we're fulfilling our obligations as a charity and to our clients. Outside of the board meetings we also form smaller 'action groups' to tackle specific issues, for example I'm currently working with a couple of others to recruit some new board members, and have carried out a survey with the current trustees to spot any skills gaps. 

I think the most valuable input I can bring to the board is my experience as a parent, living with visual impairment once removed - as the mum of a visually impaired 19-year-old. We've encountered many challenges, highs and lows as a VI family going through schools, exams, transitions and life in general. 

In parallel, my work trying to increase accessibility across the arts, cultural, broadcast and government sectors, gives me a deeper understanding of attitudes outside of the VI world, and a broad and practical understanding of access barriers that all our visually impaired youngters will face. Through my trustee role at BCT I'm committed to trying to increase the self esteem and confidence of our VI clients, and recognise the potential importance of the role of trustees in helping to make this happen.  

I'm a constant beginner - and have recently started a dance course, Charleston, Tango and Salsa and I have started a dance course and sea swimming course. Apart from that, you'll usually find me on Hove seafront still learning tennis, reluctantly jogging or most likely in one of the cafés.  

I’m Steve and I have been a trustee for... , servicing as Treasurer for Blatchington Court Trust. I’ve spent most of my career in public sector finance, including ten years as Finance and Business Director at the University of Sussex.

Alongside my professional work, I’ve been an honorary treasurer or trustee for several charities — from the West Pier Trust, where I helped manage funding for the i360, to long-standing roles with the Gardner Arts Centre, Actors of Dionysus, and the Clifton Montpelier & Powis Community Alliance, where I’m currently joint‑chair.

I’m passionate about bringing strong, thoughtful governance into the charity sector and ensuring that organisations like BCT can thrive, stay accountable and deliver meaningful impact for the communities they serve.