At CBM UK, we want to create a better world for everyone, everywhere. Our team’s commitment, expertise and dedication are helping to create lasting change for people with disabilities, their families and communities living in some of the world’s poorest places.
Our experts
To tackle our work effectively, we believe in listening to the real experts – people with disabilities themselves. We believe that people with disabilities should be central to the decisions and plans that affect their future.
Our partners
We work with experienced local partners to create lasting change. 100 per cent of our staff in the field are from the countries we work in. That way we can have a better understanding of the communities we work with.
Our Board of Trustees
We are governed by our Board of Trustees. The Board meets regularly and is responsible for setting our strategic direction and overall governance, and ensuring the organisation is financially sound and answerable to people with disabilities living in poverty and our supporters.
Tim Morris
Chair of Trustees
Tim started his career with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). His years of service included appointments as British Ambassador to Morocco and Mauritania, Head of Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ambassador to South Sudan and as Trade Advisor on Africa.
In 2018, Tim set up a consultancy specialising in advising companies and organisations on investing in Africa. He also works on climate issues – specifically the energy transition in low-income countries and conflict issues.
Tim is a passionate advocate for people with disabilities and, having lived with glaucoma for over 20 years, has a personal appreciation of the vital importance of access to healthcare. Drawn to CBM by its Christian values, its achievements, and its passion for the issues, Tim became Chair of Trustees in October 2023.
James Rayton
James read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University before spending 10 years (and counting) in the international development sector. Recently based in Kenya as Save the Children’s Director of Innovation and Impact Investing, he saw first-hand the impact organisations like CBM UK have. This motivates him in his role as a trustee and in his work on our Programmes Committee.
James is a serving army reserves officer, a qualified skydiver and fervent real ale enthusiast! He has been a CBM UK Trustee since 2017.
Rob Dillarstone
Rob graduated with a law degree from University College London in 1983 and qualified as a solicitor at Greenwoods in 1986. He has spent his career as an employment lawyer before becoming Managing Partner at Greenwoods GRM.
Rob is passionate about leadership and the firm’s values of respect, excellence, freedom and fun.
Rob worships at St Peter’s Church, Oundle. He is a keen runner and avid fan of Peterborough United. Rob became a Trustee of CBM UK in 2019.
Gill Kelly
Gill spent her early career working as a midwife in an Eastern Sudanese refugee camp, following the 1983-5 Ethiopian famine. Following her Masters Degree, Gill held several senior management positions in the NHS.
In 2000, Gill established a management consultancy company to develop a portfolio of NHS and health sector reform work. She has since worked in Africa, Asia and South America.
Throughout her career, Gill has held positions as a charitable trustee and became a CBM UK Trustee in 2019.
Elizabeth Dun
Elizabeth is an experienced educator. She worked as a headteacher to implement and manage effective change, successfully restructured an independent special school, and mentored school leaders in Rwanda through the British Schools Council.
Acting as an advocate for people with disabilities, she has represented clients in various professional arenas, won cases at tribunals and taken part in the national Disability Rights Campaign.
Charity work includes training with the British Red Cross and providing tribunal helpline support to parents and carers as a Special Education caseworker. Elizabeth has been a CBM UK Trustee since 2019.
Jayne Rowe
Jayne trained as an accountant with a small firm in Hertford, before joining Deloitte in 1999. She worked with a wide range of corporate and charity organisations before deciding to specialise in the charity and not for profit sector.
Jayne currently acts as specialist adviser to charity and not for profit organisations of all sizes, as Partner at Crowe.
In her spare time, Jayne loves travelling and exploring the world. She became a CBM UK Trustee in 2020.
Tom Robson
Tom has a background in international development, healthcare management and charitable sector leadership. Since completing a master’s degree in development studies at the University of Cambridge, Tom has worked in India, Tajikistan and Mozambique.
He also works with executive and management teams in a wide range of organisations to improve the effectiveness of their working relationships and management processes.
Tom has been actively involved for two decades in City Church Cambridge. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, tennis, golf and music. Tom has been a CBM UK Trustee since 2021.
Graham Gordon
Graham has over 25 years’ experience working on global justice and development issues for a variety of faith-based organisations, including Tearfund and Paz y Esperanza, a local human rights organisation in Peru. He is passionate about the role the church can play in transforming the lives of individuals and communities, and in challenging unjust systems and structures that keep people in poverty and perpetuate inequality.
Graham is currently the Head of Global Policy and Advocacy at Christian Aid. He was appointed a CBM UK trustee in 2021.
Simon Waithaka
Simon has over 18 years’ experience in senior leadership positions in the microfinance and humanitarian sectors. He has a track record of visionary, innovative and transformative leadership, with a PhD in Entrepreneurship (Social) from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, an MBA from Kenya Methodist University, and is a practicing Certified Public Accountant and Certified Secretary.
Simon is currently the Managing Partner of Maina Waithaka & Associates, an Audit and Consultancy firm based in Nairobi, Kenya, and serves as an Auditor for the Geneva based Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative (HQAI). Simon became a CBM UK Trustee in 2021.
Antonio Massella
Antonio brings over 25 years’ experience in the international development and humanitarian sector, including 15 years working at a senior management level for agencies of the United Nations across Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Middle East.
Born and raised in South Africa, Antonio works as a consultant, leading evaluations, designing research studies, managing projects and facilitating capacity-strengthening programmes for international donors, national governments, UN agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO).
Antonio was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2022.
Our Leadership Team
Our Chief Executive and directors together make up our Senior Leadership Team. They provide strategic direction and operational leadership to over 40 members of staff in the UK.
Kirsty Smith
Chief Executive
Kirsty joined CBM UK as Chief Executive in 2012 and is part of the leadership of CBM Global, the international Federation of which CBM UK is a member.
In addition to her strategic leadership of the organisation, Kirsty leads on CBM UK’s advisory work, promoting broader, systemic change and supporting others to put inclusion into practice. She is currently a member of the UK Government Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office’s External challenge board for disability inclusion.
Her previous roles include Chief Executive for All We Can (formerly Methodist Relief and Development Fund); Advocacy and Campaigns Director for World Action, a pioneering programme empowering young people to take action on global injustice, and Vice Chair of INGO network BOND.
Matthew Hanning
Director of International Programmes
Matthew joined CBM UK as Director of International Programmes in June 2018, bringing over 20 years of experience of disability inclusive development. He has been passionate about creating opportunities for people with disabilities since volunteering at a school for deaf and deafblind children in Jordan as a gap year student.
Since 2002, Matthew has worked for CBM in the Middle East, Australia and as Country Director for Indonesia from 2012-2018.
Ian Barker
Director of Finance & Operations
Ian joined CBM UK as Director of Finance and Operations in July 2021, with responsibility for overseeing the charity’s finances and maximising organisational efficiency, effectiveness and innovation. He brings over 15 years of experience within the charity sector, most recently with Cambridgeshire-based disability charity Papworth Trust, where he was the Head of Finance.
Ian is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Allan Thompson
Director of Fundraising, Impact and Communications
Allan joined CBM UK as Director of Fundraising, Impact, and Communications in June 2024. With over 25 years of experience, he has worked with organisations supporting people with disabilities in the UK and with an international organisation focused on preventing blindness in low- and middle-income countries. Allan has successfully led fundraising and communications teams, securing over £250 million in funding from donors, foundations, corporate, and institutional partners for projects supporting people with disabilities in the UK and overseas.
Additionally, Allan has served as a Trustee and Treasurer for the UK charity Childlife.
Our Celebrity Supporters
We are very grateful for our celebrity supporters who generously give their time to support our work in a number of ways. They help us speak out on important issues and use their platform to raise awareness of our work.
Meet some of our celebrity supporters.
Dame Penelope Wilton DBE
Dame Penelope Wilton’s career has spanned acclaimed performances on stage, screen and television. She is a household name for many TV and film roles including Downton Abbey, Ever Decreasing Circles, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The BFG. Penelope has been a supporter of CBM since 2012, has presented our BBC Radio 4 appeal and added her voice to films introducing our work:
“When I first came across CBM, I was shocked to learn that people in developing countries are going blind because of conditions like cataracts. Cataracts cause half of all blindness. They can be treated with straightforward surgery – and yet for thousands of men, women and children, this simple operation is out of reach. If you’re living in poverty in a developing country, it must be truly terrifying to lose your sight. So several years on, I’m still as committed as ever to helping CBM train doctors, equip hospitals and fund operations, so we can build a world where no-one is needlessly blind.”
Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Brandreth is a writer, broadcaster, actor and former MP, well known for regular TV appearances including Celebrity Gogglebox, Have I Got News For You, Great Canal Journeys, The One Show and This Morning. One of the stars of Just a Minute on BBC Radio 4 since the 1980s, he has written numerous books and co-presents a weekly podcast about words: Something Rhymes With Purple. Gyles has generously supported CBM for over 20 years and presented our 2023 BBC Radio 4 appeal.
“I’m a supporter of the charity CBM – it’s a cause I’ve been proud to support, with my wife, for more than 20 years. We support CBM because we think it’s shocking that people still become blind because of conditions like cataracts that could be easily treated, or struggle to see because they can’t get a pair of glasses. CBM is helping to change that, working alongside local hospitals and health workers to improve access to sight-saving services, like cataract surgery. It’s amazing work.”
Joanna Lumley OBE
Joanna Lumley OBE, actor, TV presenter, author and activist, has helped raise awareness of fistula, a disabling condition that affects women after traumatic childbirth.
“I was so horrified to hear that around 2 million women are suffering with Obstetric Fistula. Not only have they endured a traumatic labour, in many cases resulting in the tragic loss of their baby, they are left with life-changing damage to their bodies. To then be shunned by their communities, is beyond belief.”
David Suchet CBE
David Suchet CBE, is an award-winning actor well known for playing Agatha Christie’s detective, Hercule Poirot, as well as numerous other roles for stage and television. A committed Christian, in 2014 he made a complete audio recording of the New International Version of the Bible. David spoke out in support of our ‘Colours of Christmas’ appeal:
“It’s hard to imagine Christmas without colour, particularly for a child. As a grandfather, I love to see my grandchildren enjoying the bright colours of the tinsel, the sparkling lights, colourful wrapping paper – all part of the celebration of Christ’s birth…. That’s why I am proud to be supporting Christian Blind Mission with their campaign to improve access to cataract surgery in the world’s poorest places, so children can see and enjoy the colours of Christmas. I hope you will join me and help give the precious gift of sight.”
Diane Louise Jordan
Diane Louise Jordan is a TV and radio presenter, best known for her work on Blue Peter, Songs of Praise and Radio 2’s The Sunday Hour. Diane is particularly passionate about our work to prevent blindness, after witnessing both her parents struggle with eye conditions. She has worked with CBM UK in 2014 on a number of sight-saving campaignsand visited our work in Rwanda with her grandson Preston. Watch Etienne’s Miracle, the story of Diane’s meeting with a young boy with cataracts and his sight-restoring surgery.
“I truly admire the passion of CBM UK, a charity that works tirelessly in some of the planet’s poorest communities to restore sight, mobility and independence to those living with disability. Simply put CBM UK demonstrates love in action for many of the most marginalised people in our world today.”
Anne Wafula-Strike MBE
Anne Wafula-Strike MBE, is a former Paralympic wheelchair racer who has competed for both Great Britain and Kenya. Anne grew up in Kenya where she contracted polio aged two, paralysing her from the chest down. Her family faced such hostility from neighbours, who feared that she been cursed, that they were forced to move away from their home village. Anne is therefore passionate about changing attitudes to disability and ensuring people with disabilities have the same opportunities as others.
After qualifying as a teacher in Kenya, Anne moved to the UK and her autobiography ‘In my Dreams I Dance’, was published in 2010. She is a non-executive Director of UK Athletics.
“As a Christian, I believe we all have a responsibility to reach out to people who need our help, so I’m proud to be part of the CBM family. CBM provides practical support that enables people with disabilities to overcome the barriers they face and fulfil their potential. But crucially we also work to change attitudes.”
The Rt Hon. The Lord Blunkett
David Blunkett, who represented the Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough constituency for 28 years (1987-2015) and served as Education and Employment Secretary, Home Secretary and Work and Pensions Secretary, became the UK’s first blind Cabinet Minister in 1997.
Lord Blunkett hosted a reception on behalf of CBM at the House of Lords. In a foreword to 21 Stories, a publication marking CBM UK’s 21st birthday, he wrote:
“Too many people with disabilities in developing countries are unable to fulfil their potential, held back by lack of access to education or healthcare, basic assistive devices like wheelchairs or hearing aids, and crucially by social attitudes that isolate women, men and children with disabilities and can rob them of self-belief. With a billion disabled people worldwide, it’s a devastating waste of opportunity, not just for individuals but for whole families, communities and societies. I urge you to support their important work creating opportunities for people with disabilities and encouraging other organisations to do the same.”
The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH
Sir John Major served as Prime Minister from 1990-1997 and is Chair of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, that has supported the work of CBM and other partners to eliminate the blinding eye infection Trachoma across Commonwealth countries.
“I fully support CBM UK’s work improving the lives of people with visual impairments in the poorest countries of the world. Those of us with sight are extremely fortunate, and anything we can do to eliminate avoidable blindness – and enrich the opportunities of those without that gift – is enormously worthwhile.”
Trudie Goodwin
Trudie Goodwin is an actor, best known for playing Sergeant June Ackland in the British television police drama The Bill and Georgia Sharma in ITV soap Emmerdale. She has also appeared in stage productions, Heartbeat, Casualty and Doctors.
Trudie has experienced hearing loss since childhood and is committed to tackling stigma and ensuring that people with disabilities around the world can fulfil their potential. She has supported CBM since she visited a CBM-supported eye hospital in Nigeria. Trudie voiced a film as part of our See the Way campaign.
“It turned out to be one of the most extraordinary and moving experiences of my life. Seeing the way that CBM UK is working to improve the lives of people with disabilities in circumstances far, far more difficult than mine, regardless of faith, has meant I have remained a supporter over the years. CBM UK’s ongoing work and their exciting ideas for new projects, means that they will continue to empower people with disabilities and provide a future for them. I want to be involved in that future and I really hope you will too.”
Victoria Brignell
Victoria Brignell is a radio producer and disability champion. She has been tetraplegic – paralysed in all four limbs – since she was six years old. Victoria has written widely and engagingly about disability and social-care issues, including for the New Statesman and Ouch! – the BBC’s website about life with disability.
“I believe passionately that people who live in prosperous parts of the world have a responsibility to assist those who are not so lucky, and that is why I support the work of CBM, as it plays a vital role in helping those less fortunate. Every person with a disability throughout the world should be able to live independently and have the chance to contribute fully to their community.”
The Rt Hon The Baroness Brinton
After serving for many years as a Trustee of CBM UK, Baroness Sal Brinton became our Patron in 2011.
Sal has been President of the Liberal Democrats since 2014. She became a member of the House of Lords in 2011 after a career of more than two decades in the education sector. Until 2011, she was Director of the Association of the Universities in the East of England.
Sal is an active campaigner for the rights of people with disabilities and served on a Select Committee in the House of Lords looking at disability (2015-16). She has rheumatoid arthritis and uses a wheelchair most of the time.
An active member of St Luke’s Church, Langley Way in Watford, Sal is Vice Chair of the Christians in Parliament group.
