Conference Speakers 2024

Fern Lulham, BBC Broadcaster and Producer 

Fern Lulham is a public speaker, broadcaster, audio description narrator, disability awareness trainer and qualified psychotherapist. Little wonder then that she describes herself as a freelance communicator. Born severely visually impaired and now registered blind, Fern’s passion for communication started in early childhood when she would use an egg-whisk for a microphone to “interview” friends and family!

Drawing on her lived experience of sight loss, Fern is a powerful public speaker. She delivers engaging speeches that produce light bulb moments for her audiences, inspiring them to meet the challenges we all face whether disabled or not. Her CV includes a TEDx talk entitled “What online dating looks like when you’re blind” which achieved a standing ovation from an audience of nearly a thousand people.

Never one to pass up the chance of an adventure, Fern studied for her degree in Radio Broadcast Communication thousands of miles from home at Western Carolina University in the USA. She has gone on to use that experience as a presenter, reporter and producer of many radio broadcasts, including for BBC Radio 4 and the World Service.

Dr. Amit Patel, Author, Broadcaster, Motivational Speaker and DEI Consultant 

Dr Amit Patel is a best-selling author, diversity, equity and inclusion consultant, motivational speaker, disability rights campaigner and also sits on the Board of Trustees for the Vision Foundation, London’s sight loss charity. He is registered severely sight impaired (blind) since 2013. Amit was matched to Kika, his first guide dog in 2015. Kika was the inspiration for Amit to write his book called ‘Kika & Me’ which was published by Pan Macmillan in 2020.

Amit is also known as a broadcaster, presenter and media personality. He has appeared in various online and print media in the UK and around the world, and regularly features as a specialist contributor to multiple national news and broadcast media outlets. ​Committed to achieving greater representation of disabled people across all areas of life, Amit strives every day to challenge himself and challenge other people’s perceptions of disability.

Eleanor Southwood MBE, Director of Social Impact, Fight for Sight/Vision Foundation

Until March 2023, Ellie was a member of Brent Council’s Cabinet. Over the past eight years she has been accountable for core council services, including waste management and highways: housing, including building the first council homes in decades: local welfare and financial inclusion: and jobs, economy and citizen experience. She is passionate about good quality, equitable local services.

Ellie is a former chair of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) where she led the organisation through a statutory review by the Charity Commission, financial transformation and significant modernisation. She currently chairs Habinteg Housing Association, which specialises in accessible and adaptable homes across England. Ellie’s earlier career spans the public private and non-profit sectors and she brings significant public policy, campaigning and organisational change experience. Ellie is blind and lives in North West London where she is a local Councillor for Queens Park, Brent.

James Watson O’Neill OBE, CEO, SignHealth

James joined the deaf health charity SignHealth as chief executive in 2016 and has worked in the charity sector since 2001, including a variety of roles at Scope and the NSPCC. James is a trustee of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group and co-chair of the working group on EDI within the Civil Society Group. James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and a Leadership Fellow at the Society of Leadership Fellows at the College of St George at Windsor Castle. James was awarded an OBE for services to Deaf people in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours 2022.

Villa Vision:  Professor Leon Davies and Nikhil Sonpal

We are delighted to be welcoming Professor Leon Davies, President of the College of Optometrists, and Nikhil Sonpal, Lead Optometrist and Project Manager for Villa Vision to this year’s event.  Together they will share the innovative work undertaken in partnership between Aston University’s Optometry School and the Aston Villa Foundation, the charitable arm of Aston Villa Football Club.

Villa Vision is led by the Aston Villa Foundation in collaboration with Aston University with funding from the University, Premier League, Professional Footballers Association and EssilorLuxottica’s charitable Foundation OneSight. Designed and delivered by the Aston Villa Foundation’s dedicated eyecare team, Villa Vision helps to raise awareness on the importance of eye health for both children and adults within the local communities of Birmingham.

Villa Vision facilitates the placement of volunteer optometry students from Aston University’s School of Optometry during the project’s programme delivery within local schools. Students are provided with an opportunity to support classroom workshops and vision screening sessions, in turn enabling them to develop and enhance both their communication skills and eye examination techniques with children, as well as understanding the potential of this and other future career pathways within the profession.