Regional support
Our head of regions oversees all our regional services across the UK. The team consists of 23 staff.
There are 17 regions in total, and the team are supported by a groups admin team, who are based at our head office in Andover.
Senior regional managers oversee each country and manage their own regions, together with 12 regional managers and 2 peer support coordinators they undertake a variety of different roles.
- Oversee the management of around, 400 face to face and online peer support groups. The Macular Society support groups build members confidence, helps them to better understand their own macular disease. And, of course, gives them a chance to make new friends who really understand what sight loss is like. To find out more visit About our support groups - Macular Society webpage. To search for your local group visit our Local support groups - Macular Society webpage.
- Provide information and advice about any aspect of living with macular disease
- Manage, recruit and support a large team of volunteers who make these services possible
- Develop and run regular volunteer training sessions and events
- Link and refer our service users to various internal and external support services
- Market and publicise Macular Society services via local and regional media outlets
- Create and develop good news stories and through their work and activities, attract funding for the Macular Society
- Network and influence local, regional and national bodies and attend various local and regional sight loss events
- Work closely with, and at times, create informal partnerships with sight loss organisations within their own region
Contact details for all our regional services' team can be found below.
The team also develop and run regional patient information events.
These run in partnership with local eye clinics. The events bring together patients and local clinic professionals in their area. They are either held online, using Zoom or via teleconference or face to face. They give attendees the chance to put questions to a clinician, ECLOs, nurses or ROVIs.
These events might include:
- What can I do to prepare for my injection?
- Should I be taking supplements to slow my age-related macular degeneration?
- Will stem cell therapy repair my vision?
- How will clinics keep me safe during a pandemic?
- What local support is available to help me adapt to my sight loss?
The regional services team are working hard to create our programme of UK wide patient information events for 2022. To find out what is happening in your area, please contact our head office on 01264 560 259.
The team
Maria Storesund – Head of Regions
maria.storesund@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07884 742 517
England
Stella Black – Senior Regional Manager for the South
stella.black@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07494 467 980
Amanda Read – Senior Regional Manager for the North
amanda.read@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07432 700 478
Paul Holden - Regional Manager Central Midlands
paul.holden@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07769 494 087
Carl Harrison - Regional Manager for the North West
carl.harrison@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07920 054 509
Vacant – Regional Manager for Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire
Please contact the Senior Regional Manager North England, Amanda Read (details above)
Tel: 07432 700 478
Stella Black is maternity cover for Dianne Nicola – Regional Manager for the London area returning June 2022
dianne.nicola@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07824 330 951
Sue Drew - Regional Manager for Central East
Sue.drew@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07517 543 948
Katie Lloyd - Peer Support Coordinator South
katie.lloyd@macularsociety.org
Tyler Phillips - Regional Manager for South Central
tyler.phillips@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07920 643 710
Katherine Young - Regional Manager North East
katherine.young@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07517 544 046
Lucinda Hardy - Peer Support Coordinator North
lucinda.hardy@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07517 544 027
Jo Fishwick - Regional Manager South West
jo.fishwick@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07947 373 244
Wales
Adele Francis – Senior Regional Manager for Wales
adele.francis@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07494 468 007
Marian Williams – Regional Manager for North Wales
marian.williams@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07495 054 053
Scotland
Laura Gray – Senior Regional Manager for Scotland North
laura.gray@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07948 352 967
Shona Spence (Maternity Cover for Aoife Mooney) - Regional Manager South West Scotland
shona.spence@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07586 168 803
Iona McLean - Regional Manager South East Scotland
iona.mclean@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07517 543 998
Northern Ireland
Karen Toogood – Senior Regional Manager for Northern Ireland
karen.t@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07852 885 925
Dr Emma Baxter – Regional Manager for the Western and Southern Health and Social Care Trusts Northern Ireland
emma.baxter@macularsociety.org
Tel: 07879 529 267
Groups Admin team - based in our Head Office in Andover, Hampshire
Angela Jackson – Office & Regional Administration Manager
angela.j@macularsociety.org
Tel: 01264 321 986
Charlotte Fogerty - Regional Administration Supervisor
Melinda Boardman – Regional Administrator
Olivia Gray - Regional Administrator
Tel: 01264 560 259
groupsadmin@macularsociety.org

About our support groups
Find out about support groups for people of working age and older, coordinated by the Macular Society for people with sight loss.

Find your local support group
Our local support groups are for people of working age and older, and provide information, support and friendship to people with macular disease and sight loss.