Natalie Briggs

LONDON—The World Council of Optometry (WCO) has announced the appointment of Natalie Briggs as its new chief executive. Briggs has worked at the executive level in education and management, most recently serving as chief executive of Vision Aid Overseas and prior as head of the Raven Department of Education at The Royal College of Surgeons of England, WCO said.

Susan Cooper, WCO president, said, “We are delighted that Natalie will be joining The World Council of Optometry as chief executive at this very exciting time for the organization. WCO’s mission is to promote eye health and vision care as a human right through advocacy, education and policy development and during 2014/5 we will be working closely with our global optometry partners to campaign for increased access for high quality eye health and vision care.”

Briggs has served as a trustee on the Vision 2020: Right to Sight board, is currently a trustee with The Steel Charitable Trust and is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, according to WCO.

Said Briggs, “I think that WCO has an extremely important global agenda that will have a huge impact on the eradication of avoidable visual impairment. I am delighted to be joining WCO and I look forward to working with colleagues to develop our strategy.”

The World Council of Optometry (WCO) is an international organization dedicated to the enhancement and development of eye and vision care worldwide, through education, policy development and humanitarian outreach. The Council, collectively representing more than 200,000 optometrists around the world, includes 90 member associations from over 45 countries in Africa, North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Eastern Mediterranean.