We are Sense International

Sense International works in partnership to provide services and raise awareness of the needs of deafblind people and their families so they can connect, participate and contribute to their communities.

• Work for us
• Trustees

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

Honorary Officer              Sunil Sheth - Chair

Other Trustees:  Sue Turner  Denis Tinsley Robin Heber Percy Pankaj Shah - Treasurer

Trustee Profiles

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.

 

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.

 

Robin Heber Percy joined the Sense International board in April 2009. She has over 15 years' experience in the field of International Development, with specific expertise in rural development, project cycle management and capacity building. Robin is currently a Programme Manager at the International Centre of Eye Health, which is part of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Prior to this she was Head of Programmes at ORBIS UK, a blindness prevention charity. She worked for many years for development organisations in Namibia, Uganda and Laos, supporting conservation and community-based natural resource management projects.

 

Pankaj Shah has been a supporter of Sense International since December 2004 and was appointed a Trustee and Treasurer in October 2008.  He was born in Kenya and came to the UK in 1971 and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Lubbock Fine in 1983.  He is a Senior Partner at Lubbock Fine, Chartered Accountants and advises clients on all aspects of financial and taxation matters.  His clients operate in a wide range of different industries, including property, hospitality, manufacturing, technology and charities.  His client base is predominantly UK although he acts for numerous clients based in India and East Africa.  Pankaj and his firm, Lubbock Fine, act for numerous charities and have been good supporters of Sense International.