We rely on a small army of brilliant full and part-time staff to provide our services supporting visually impaired adults, children and their families in Berkshire, from Sight Loss Support Officers to sport and children’s services.
Laura grew up in Lower Earley and attended school at Kendrick on London Road, just a 5-minute stroll from Midleton House. Having studied French, German and Russian at university and subsequently worked in France, Germany and Russia accordingly, Laura then built her career in the charity sector in London, working with the armed forces community, in employability, gangs, single-parent families, building volunteer teams, community building, and grant-giving. Laura loves how diverse Berkshire Vision members are in their needs and interests and enjoys talking to them and working alongside them.
Hannah grew up in the coastal county of Norfolk before heading off to University. She studied Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Chichester and took particular interest in how physical activity and social interaction can help people’s physical and mental well-being. Her first job out of university was working as an activity coordinator in a local care home in Norfolk. Hannah started with Berkshire Vision in the Summer of 2020 as an Activities Officer and has progressed into the Head of Service Delivery role, to support more of the services our members can receive. Hannah likes having the opportunity of supporting and getting to know the members of Berkshire Vision.
Gill joined Berkshire Vision in April 2020 and has lived and worked throughout Berkshire all her life. After a long legal career she made the move into the charity sector. Gill believes volunteering is very important and continues to volunteer for other charities. When Gill is not at work she enjoys being outdoors with a range of activities and has a collection of animals including pigs!
Jennie is from the London suburbs. Her first job was for a market research company where she worked for several years in many roles. After the birth of her son, she returned to work part time, before moving with her husband and son to Singapore where they lived for 11 years. They returned to the UK in 2010 with additional two daughters and a dog, and moved to Newbury. Jennie started working for Berkshire Vision as a home visitor in August 2015 before being promoted to a Senior Sight Loss Support Officer in August 2020. She enjoys the variety of the job and all the wonderful members she gets to help.
Dominique, known to lots as Dom, is a mum of 3 boys and 1 girl, 2 dogs 2 cats and 2 rabbits. Recently married to her lovely husband in 2021 she moved from Hampshire to Berkshire. She has spent many years in the care industry, but due to losing her own vision, she had to re think her options. She absolutely loves her Sight Loss Support Officer role with Berkshire Vision and loves working with our members who are all different, so no day is the same.
Greg was born and grew up in the Reading area and, although he has lived in Manchester, Cardiff and Andover, he has always been drawn back to his home town. He spent much of his career working in Training and Development for a range of organisations, a role that took him abroad to the USA and Europe, as well as to the Middle East, Egypt, and Singapore. Along the way, he particularly enjoyed meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures. More recently, Greg became a volunteer advisor with Citizens Advice Reading, where his passion for supporting people and giving back to the local community grew further. This led him to his current role as a Sight Loss Support Officer with Berkshire Vision. Greg is married with two grown-up sons, is a Reading FC season ticket holder, and enjoys keeping active through a mix of exercise, including Tai Chi and learning to salsa.
Di is married with 3 grown up daughters and a bonkers Labradoodle called Milly. She was born in Wokingham and schooled in Earley, but as an adult lived in various places, due to her husband being in the armed forces, the most interesting of which was Hong Kong. Once back on home turf she studied and achieved a degree in Community Art, which led to a self-employed creative career, where her love of working with various sectors in the local community began. This led to her present role as Sight loss Support Officer with Berkshire Vision which began back in 2020
Cara has been a Sight Loss Support Officer for 2 years. Before that she worked in learning disability care. She initially started volunteering at the Tuesday morning club at Walford Hall and jumped at the chance to be a Sight Loss Support Officer when a role became available. She loves helping people with a wide variety of things related to their sight loss. Whether that is organising transport for an appointment, filling in forms or navigating phone menus; if they are finding it hard due to their sight loss, she tries to help. She loves helping people with things they would not have otherwise been able to achieve. Outside of work she spends most of her time looking after her lively toddler and having fun with family and friends. She loves painting, drawing, crafts and is enjoying seeing her daughter starting to enjoy these things too.
Theresa has worked with children and adults for over 22 years, qualifying as a Vision Rehabilitation Specialist in 2015. Since then, she has supported people with sight loss across local authority, charity, and community settings. Most recently she spent five years as the sole Vision Rehabilitation Specialist in Bermuda, an experience that took her far beyond the day job. She threw herself into island life, getting involved in community events, hosting a regular radio show to reach people who might not otherwise know what support was available, and somehow managing to fit in the occasional swim from those famously pink-sand beaches, all while keeping up her competitive rowing! Returning to the UK, she was drawn to Berkshire Vision’s mission and is delighted to be part of the team helping to develop and grow the vision rehabilitation service here. Outside of work, Theresa loves cycling, long coastal walks, and a good coffee with friends; preferably all three in the same day.
Emma has been living in Reading for 15 years. Her experience with large corporates in a HR Project role and early career spent in the care sector provides a great mix of skills for the role of a busy Activities Administrator. She loves working with the charity sector, and was a volunteer and then Trustee for the charity Babies in Buscot Support. There is a history of Glaucoma and other vision problems her family, so playing a role in helping others at Berkshire Vision made sense on a number of levels. She enjoys travelling, walking and cooking.
Samantha also known as Sami has spent the majority of her life in Reading, having grown up in Tilehurst. She spent four years in Swansea studying Counselling and Psychology before moving back home and starting work in schools as a Teaching Assistant. This eventually led to over ten years working as a private nanny with different families. She absolutely loved her time working with children and supporting their involvement with different sports and activities. During covid Sami completed her yoga teacher training and now her favourite part of the week is teaching Chair Yoga to those with limited mobility.
Phill has lived in and around Reading for the last 35+ years, working in various flavours of the IT sector, for medium and large companies. In 2022, he decided to have more time available for his family and move away from IT. Working initially as a driver then moving into supporting our members with their tech and general day to day equipment. He sees the role as identifying tech relevant to members conditions, making it accessible and friendlier, then through this, providing members with a better quality of life and increasing their independence. In his spare time, he enjoys running, a regular participant in the Reading Half marathon, cycling to explore the localities and can be found supporting the local bands at festivals and pubs.
Jenna grew up in Northern Ireland before moving to Reading in 2006 to study and settled here with her husband and three children. Alongside raising her three children Jenna completed a STEM degree concentrating on biology and health sciences, after her youngest began school she started working in a school in the exams department whilst also joining the board of governors in a local primary school.
Jo joined Berkshire Vision in March 2025. She previously lived and worked in London but moved to the country outside of Reading when she married in 2011. She then started volunteering alongside running her own business and became a Sighted Guide Practitioner and Guide Dog fosterer. Now that she wants to spend more time at home, she’s putting her volunteering experience to use as Volunteering Co-Ordinator.
Clare joined Berkshire Vision in June 2021. She has over 20 years marketing and communications experience, initially in the IT sector, moving to the charity sector 10 years ago. She has been a trustee and chair at a local pre school and most recently led marketing at Colostomy UK. In her spare time Clare is kept busy by her two children. She enjoys theatre, music, reading and hiking and can be found most days taking spin classes on her Peloton.
Viv joined Berkshire Vision in July 2022. Prior to this, Viv worked in Sales and Marketing roles in a wide range of organisations such as electronics, printing and the Corporate Hospitality Industry. Viv was also the Sales and Marketing Officer for Beautiful Berkshire Tourism – promoting hotels, visitor attractions and Conference Venues in Berkshire. Viv was delighted to secure her role in Berkshire Vision. Viv loves interacting with people and helping to make people aware of the wonderful sight loss support services that Berkshire Vision can offer. Always looking to embark on something new and challenging, when Viv gets any spare time she spends it socialising with her husband and friends, walking, entertaining and pursuing her love of Art. She loves travelling - and her cooking skills aren’t bad either!
Elizabeth joined Berkshire Vision as Grant Writer in April 2022. She worked in bid management for over 15 years, in both the IT and education sectors, before taking time out from her career to be a stay at home parent to her two young sons. During the last few years, Elizabeth has volunteered for local charities as a grant writer and fundraiser, and has been a trustee and chair of a local preschool. Most recently she was a classroom assistant for a local school which she found particularly rewarding. When not working, Elizabeth enjoys spending time with family, DIY, walking and the cinema.
Matthew is fundraiser at Berkshire Vision. When he is not working he enjoys playing rugby and spending time with his two young children.
How to get support if you or someone you’re close to is affected by sight loss.
