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Governance Structure
Retina International has an elected Chair drawn from its Board of Directors, chosen by the global membership. This structure ensures that the organisation’s leadership remains accountable to, and representative of, its member organisations.
Role of the CEO
The CEO works closely with RI’s governing bodies to shape, develop, and implement the organisation’s strategic goals. This includes aligning global priorities, supporting long‑term planning, and ensuring that RI’s mission is reflected across all programmes and partnerships.
Role of the Secretariat
The Secretariat provides communications to member organisations and collaborates with them to design advocacy tools and strategies grounded in shared objectives. The team ensures that members have timely, accurate information and coordinated support across policy, research, and community engagement.
A central function of the RI Team is to produce education and capacity‑building toolkits developed through consensus. These resources support member organisations in strengthening their national advocacy efforts and deepen RI’s relationships with stakeholders across the scientific, medical, and health‑policy communities. The team also works continuously to expand these partnerships and ensure that patient perspectives remain central to global retinal research and policy discussions.
Our Structure
The Chair and the CEO carry out the affairs of the organisation in conjunction with three governing bodies as follows
- Membership – Annual General Meeting
- The Board of Directors – The work of the Board is divided into four subcommittees; Governance and Risk, Staff and Finance, Research and Innovation, and, Communications and Outreach
- The Scientific Medical Advisory Board – SMAB
RI is an organisation run by people living with retinal dystrophies for people living with retinal dystrophies and all those affected, either family members or those who provide care. We want to deliver the best information to you and your organisation on the development of retinal research, on access to diagnosis, care pathways, clinical trials and existing and emerging therapies.
We will continue to utilise every opportunity to develop useful communications tools to reach patients living with retinal dystrophies and work with a multi-stakeholder group of internationally based advocates to ensure our collective voice is heard in all matters that affect our community.