Committee

Amy Clarke – Chair

Amy qualified as an Optometrist in 2004 from Bradford University and as an IP optometrist in 2017. She currently works for an independent practice in Cheltenham and also works at Worcestershire Acute Trust. Has a special interest in glaucoma and paediatrics. chair@glosloc.co.uk

Alvaro Borges – Vice Chair

Alvaro was born in Porto and qualified as an Optometrist in 2007 , studying in Portugal and Barcelona. In the UK, Alvaro has held several roles in community optometry and in directorship. Alvaro has a Professional Certificate in Glaucoma, and a Leadership skills obtained at Cardiff University.

He joined the LOC in 2016 and was Chair from 2019-2023. Alvaro is also the Optical Lead for LOCSU supporting LOCs in the South-West and West Midlands region.

alvaroborges@glosloc.co.uk

Nigel Harris – Treasurer

Nigel qualified as an optometrist with Boots Opticians in 1989, and has since worked for Boots in a variety of locations across the Midlands, currently based in Tewkesbury. He has managed practices of varying sizes since 1992 and combined this with ongoing pre-reg supervision, also assist in the clinical support and CET delivery for Boots Opticians at an Area level. Nigel is a keen cyclist.

Adrian Street – Secretary

My GOC number is quite low which means I qualified a long time ago!! I worked at Norville
Opticians as a DO and Practice Manager for many years, becoming a director in 1997. When Norville became part of The Hakim Group in 2020 I initially continued to work as a DO until 2023 when I took on a new role supporting new practices joining HG. I joined the LOC in 2010 and became Secretary in 2015, I am also a DO member of the GOC Hearing Panel and the Gloucestershire Local Lead for ABDO.

secretary@glosloc.co.uk

Ankur Trivedi

Following qualification in 2002 I have worked in both multiple and independent sector practices across Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. I joined the LOC in 2009 and also started working within a shared care glaucoma clinic at Stroud General Hospital working with Mr John Ferris. Since then I have completed the Professional Certificates in Glaucoma and Medical Retina and the Diploma in Independent Prescribing. I am currently working towards the Higher Certificate in Glaucoma. I was part of the LOC team that setup Primary Eyecare Gloucestershire (PEG) in 2016 and have been the Clinical Governance and Performance Lead (CGPL) since then. I now deliver the same role as part of the larger Primary Eyecare Services (PES) team in Gloucestershire as well as other areas as part of the PES Clinical Leads – Midlands Team. I am also the IP Lead for PES. Currently my working week is split between working as a Specialist Optometrist in Glaucoma Shared Care at the Trust and in Community Practice as well as my PES role. Since June 2023 I am the Association of Optometrists (AOP) Councillor representing IP Optometrists and in July 2024 I was appointed as a member of the AOP Board.

Ian Shapcott

Born and educated in Bristol. Having graduated in Optometry at Cardiff I came to Gloucestershire to complete my training at Cheltenham General Hospital. After qualifying in 1985 I was employed in independent practice in Cheltenham. I have been self-employed since 1998, working for several independent practices in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. I have served previously on the committee of the Three Counties Optometry Society and in 2003 I completed a degree in IT & Information Systems at the University of Gloucestershire. I joined the LOC in 2012 where my primary role is management of the website and IT administration.

Sid Maher

Sid is a Dispensing Optician with Low Vision accreditation and also holds a BA (Hons) in Marketing. Local to Cheltenham, Sid has experience across different optical platforms including hospital, regular low vision clinics, vision charities and various optical practices. On behalf of the LOC Sid is responsible for progressive communication to all our optical professionals in Gloucestershire via our dedicated social media channels.

Peter Greedy

Peter has extensive experience of professional and management roles from over 30 years in the optical profession. He has worked in independent practice medium and national chains as well a working for an industry supplier in professional services, training and IT roles. Peter is also an accredited coach and passionate about personal, professional and leadership development. At the LOC Peter supports the planning and development of CPD events for the county.

Dave Jeavons

Rizwan Choonara

Tom Gacek

Tom was born in Poland and after coming to UK in 2004 he qualified as Dispensing Optician in 2010 and as a Contact Lens Optician in 2022. Over the years Tom has gathered a lot of operational and managerial experience but his main passion is fitting complex contact lenses. Tom is local to Gloucestershire where he mainly works in the independent sector and on some occasions, he helps in contact lens clinics in local hospitals.