Our organisation

A board of trustees — made up of volunteers — is responsible for overseeing the management, administration and strategic direction of Sense International.

Trustee Profiles

Jeremy Charles was the Treasurer of Sense International from 2001 and became Chair of the organisation in March 2008. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand in 1981 and has worked in the financial services sector since then. He is currently Chief Operating Officer (COO) and a Director of Thames River Capital (UK) Limited, an asset management company. Jeremy previously worked as a management consultant within the investment industry; as Global Business manager for UBS Domestic Private Banking; and as COO of the Coutts Natwest Group, James Capel HSBC and Hoare Govett. He has made a huge contribution to Sense International's fundraising activities by arranging challenges, treks and events for colleagues in the City.

Catherine Cross is the Vice-Chair of Sense International and has extensive experience of international development having worked for SightSavers International for many years, most recently as the Manager for International Programmes, responsible for collaboration at a global level with agencies working in related fields. Prior to this she was the charity's Director of Overseas Programmes for nine years and has managed development programmes in Africa for 13 years. She has played an active role in the development of major global programmes including the Global Initiative for the Elimination of Avoidable Blindness (VISION 2020: The Right to Sight) and the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC).

Sunil Sheth has been a Trustee since October 2004. He is a senior partner at Fladgate Fielder Solicitors and advises a wide-ranging client base on corporate and commercial law, tax and trusts law. As the founder and former Chairman of the Society of Asian Lawyers in the UK, Sunil has an extensive network of contacts within the UK Asian community. He is on the board of two charities, acts as a non-executive director of several companies and has also been a member of the Business Association Panel of the Bank of England. He also has a wealth of contacts in India and East Africa and travels to these regions on a regular basis.

Sue Turner was first involved with Sense International in 1998 when she helped to organise the first DeafBlind conference in India and became a Trustee of in 2001.  Sue was elected onto the Sense Council in 1993 and is currently a Vice Chair. She is also Chairman and a founder member of the Kent Branch of Sense. She has a strongly committed to getting appropriate provision for all deafblind people, advocating the importance of Networks and Support Groups. Sue has four sons, two of whom are congenitally deafblind with a genetic condition that has not been diagnosed.

Elizabeth Bickham joined the Sense International Trustee board in 2007.  She has significant expertise in corporate profile and reputation communications with particular emphasis on leading innovative campaigning approaches, strategic direction, senior advice and media relations. She was appointed as  a director of Fishburn Hedges Boys Williams Ltd in Sept 1999 where she has responsibility for  diverse UK and international clients.  She has lived and worked in the USA and Norway for previous consultancies during her twenty year career to date.

Denis Tinsley joined the Sense International board in March 2008.  He qualified as an accountant in 1973 and joined McKinsey & Company in 1975 where he worked in the healthcare sector advising clients on all areas of activity - strategy, organisation and operations.  He also specialised in post-merger integration of major international companies.  He was made a partner in 1983 and held a number of high-level non-client responsibilities.  Since 2004, he has been a venture capital investor and coach to several small companies.