The Team at COESI - 2017-2018

COESI is a National Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee and this is reflected in the make-up of our Board of Directors. We have two office bases, our Registered Office in Croydon, South London and our Northern office in Teesside.

To cover the work we do across the UK we have a team of experienced Directors who are specialists in sensory and environmental support services and experienced in different aspects of administration, charity management, disability awareness training, project work, service development and financial governance. 75% of our Board members have personal experience of sensory or physical mobility impairments. 

We are expanding as we develop and welcome volunteers to work with us. We recruit project workers and support staff as appropriate for specific work.

Management Board:- Our Board of Directors is the management board responsible for the legal, financial and personnel aspects of the organisation and for its vision and the development of policies and strategies.

As a company limited by guarantee we submit reports to Companies House, and as a charity we comply with the regulations of the Charity Commission.

Reports are prepared for our Annual General Meeting each year setting out the activities of the organisation and a financial overview.

We have 5 Directors:

David Rose is Chair of the Board of Directors and is a specialist for Deaf and Hard of Hearing services for adults and older people. David is also the CE of the Croydon Hearing Resource Centre.

Clare Edole is a specialist for deaf children’s services. Clare is a Director of the Croydon Deaf Children's Society.

Alan Norton, is a specialist in Independent Living, Training and accessible transport. Alan is located in Manchester and is skilled as a disability advisor, trainer and budget manager with considerable experience as a Chief Executive in the charitable sector. Alan is MD of Into Independence Ltd.

Pam Bennett is a specialist in equipment, telecare and adaptations for independent living, being particularly interested in how we negotiate built and natural environments, and has a wealth of experience as a project manager. Pam trained as an Architect and worked for local government and the NHS and also at the central government Office for Disability Issues. Pam is also the MD of GFI - Going For Independence CIC  an organisation providing information and advice for individuals, Independent OTs and independent living organisations.

James Kelleher joined us at our July 2016 AGM. James is CE of Disability Croydon.

We look forward to welcoming a new Director in 2018, the CE of  Croydon Vision., who's details will be added shortly.                                                        

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Our support team consists of :-

Sophie Bishop, who is employed by the Going For Independence CIC and works as a volunteer for COESI in Teesside, assisting with meetings, training development, administration and social media.

Amanda Rhead works with Alan Norton in Manchester, and provides some administrative support for national networking and project development.

Claire Jennings was a Project Worker for the Art for All the Senses (AAS) Research and Consultation project in 2015 funded by the Big Lottery. Claire has specific experience in project management and developing social media and now assists us from time to time as a volunteer.

Associates:  Richard James and Terri James have joined COESI as Associates. Richard is a Visual Impairment rehab specialist, currently working with Croydon Community Transport, and Terri (who has sight loss) is an experienced disability awareness trainer.

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