Merseyside: Meet the members

Kelly Barton

Kelly is the Engagement Manager for the North West of England. She looks after Sight Loss Councils (SLC) in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Lancashire.

Kelly has been severely sight impaired since birth and is registered blind. She wants to ensure that SLC members have the opportunity to be the voice of change for other blind and partially sighted people by getting involved in local projects.

Prior to her work in the sight loss sector, Kelly’s early career was in journalism, PR, and marketing.

Outside of work, Kelly loves to spend time with her family. Sport is a big part of Kelly’s life. She is a keen runner and cyclist – often out and about on her bright pink tandem. Recently, Kelly joined the UK’s first blind baseball team.

David Parfett

David is the Sight Loss Council Coordinator for the North West of England.

He was born with Congenital Nystagmus and grew up in the Derbyshire countryside before transitioning to The Royal College for the Blind in Hereford. Following this David moved to Liverpool to study Disability Studies in Education at Liverpool Hope University.

Growing up with sight loss and having lived experience both within mainstream and specialist educational settings, gave David the drive and passion to advocate for equal opportunities and increase societies understanding of sight loss.

After completing his degree, David moved to Liverpool. For those football supporters, his preferred colour is red!

David was previously a member of Merseyside Sight Loss Council, and worked as the Sports and Physical Activities Coordinator at Bradbury Fields – a local sight loss charity.

David is passionate about sports and getting more people involved. His main sports are Blind Baseball, Cricket, and Goalball. David became a Silver Medallist for Great Britain at the Inaugural Blind Baseball World Cup in 2022.

Naomi Ditchfield

Naomi has been visually impaired since birth and has a Guide Dog called Dixie. She is a volunteer & Trustee at Bradbury Fields Rehabilitation Centre for Blind and Partially Sighted people in Liverpool. Naomi enjoys supporting Liverpool FC as a season ticket holder, even taking her Guide Dog to all of the home games. Her other hobbies include walking and hiking, tandem riding and visiting various places of interest. Naomi feels it is important to raise awareness of the issues facing blind and partially sighted people in their local areas.

Mick Spriggs

Michael is originally  from Birmingham and moved to Liverpool 28 years ago. I have a condition called Stargardt disease meaning he lost his sight at the age of 11. He joined the Merseyside Sight Loss council to help all working age people with sight loss to find a way into employment, hoping that their experiences are more positive than his own. He believes that there are so many experienced and talented people out there who have a lot to offer. In his spare time Mick enjoys supporting Aston Villa FC.

Laura Kennedy

Laura has worked for the NHS for 15 years so brings a wealth of public sector experience to the sight loss council. She lost her sight overnight at the age of 31 so has a lot of insight into the barriers that people blind and partially sighted people can face. Laura is very passionate about making a difference due to the excellent support she received following her diagnosis.

Laura continues to work full time and in her spare time she enjoys reading, running, travelling and shopping.

MIke Wright

I have been totally blind since birth. I frequently use public transport while carrying out work as a piano tuner. I would describe myself as a confident traveller with an ability to both plan and execute various routes.

In 1997, I became one of the first people to cross the English Channel in a dragon boat. This is a sport I continue to pursue. A particular aspect of dragon boat racing that gives me some personal fulfilment is that I am able to compete with and against able-bodied paddlers.

I have a good working knowledge of various types of technical devices such as smart phones and computers. I am sufficiently confident when it comes to setting a number of these from new out of the box.

I have a reasonable knowledge of politics – both at national and local level.

James Connell

James lost his sight in his right eye at age three due to an accident where he fell 20 feet from a children’s slide onto concrete.

After studying Criminology in 2001, James moved from Scotland to Southport. It was there where James worked for a charity dealing with offenders on probation.  In January 2011, James lost sight in his left eye completely, was later diagnosed with Degenerative Myopia, and unfortunately never returned.

Deep depression followed for months, with James deciding to return to work after coming to terms with his sight loss.

In 2017, James was introduced to Parkrun by a visually impaired friend and loved it.  He also took up performing standup comedy to increase awareness of sight loss challenges and show others losing your sight is not the end of the world, it’s a case of viewing the world differently.

James said: “Having joined Merseyside Sight Loss Council in July 2023, I enjoyed the proactive attitude and positivity of the volunteers and got involved with several projects within SLC. Now that I have rejoined, being an SLC member has become a big part of my life; the new challenges and future events are increasing the awareness of sight loss and making accessibly for all a reality, not just a hope.”

Carolyn Conroy

Carolyn is an art historian and former postdoctoral lecturer and researcher at the University of York. She has a condition called Pathological Myopia and became registered sight impaired in 2020 after many years of deteriorating sight. Since her registration she has been learning how to use a long cane and records her experiences of this and her sight loss journey in an online blog.

Carolyn says “I am looking forward to joining Merseyside Sight Loss Council. I am particularly keen to promote better accessibility and engagement for people with sight loss in art galleries, museums and the wider cultural sector.”