Kate Coleman
Exec Chairman & Founder

Kate Coleman founded Right to Sight in January 2006, after many years of looking for ways to contribute to the elimination of preventable blindness. Kate was gripped by the solvability of the blindness crisis while attending a lecture about the Vision 2020-the Right to Sight campaign, given by one of the founders of the V2020 initiative, the inspirational Professor Allen Foster, in Dublin in 2000.

Kate is an eye surgeon and qualified as a doctor after six happy years at the multinational Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Following graduation and internship, Kate spent a year in University College Dublin completing a BSc(Hons) in Physiology, specialising in electrophysiology of the eye in Carotid Artery disease.

She commenced Ophthalmology in January 1988 and by January 1990 had both her Fellowships in Surgery (FRCSEd) and Ophthalmology (FRCOphth). She then went to Amsterdam to specialise in Orbital and Oculoplastic surgery, under the guidance of the late renowned Professor Leo Koornneef, at the Academisch Medisch Center of the University of Amsterdam. She became a staff member there in August 1990. Whilst there, she commenced a PhD in Quantitative Pathology of Uveal Melanoma, with Professor Jan Baak, at the Free University, Amsterdam and completed it with Professor Mary Leader in the Department of Pathology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Kate completed her consultancy training in Cork and Dublin before working as Lecturer in Ophthalmology for University College Dublin, at the Mater Hospital, Dublin. As Lecturer, she travelled to London weekly to train in clinical ophthalmic oncology with Mr John Hungerford, at St Bartholomew's and Moorfield’s eye hospital. She joined the newly formed European Ophthalmic Oncology group, serving as secretary for a brief phase. In 1995 she commenced working as Consultant Ophthalmologist in St Michaels Hospital Dun Laoghaire, Mt Carmel Hospital Dublin and the Blackrock Clinic, Dublin.

She continues her practice as an Eye Surgeon in Blackrock Clinic, specialising in Cataract surgery and Oculopastic surgery. In the mid 1990’s she became a world expert in Botulinum Toxin in Oculoplastic conditions and has written a textbook on the subject. She is frequently invited to travel lecturing in oculoplastic surgery and Botulinum toxin, with a special interest in facial palsy rehabilitation, but these days focuses most of her travel and spare time on Right to Sight.

Before the foundation of Right to Sight, Kate spent her spare time playing golf, tennis and sailing with family. Highlights included playing various golf competitions with Padraig Harrington, a vowed supporter of Right to Sight, Bradley Dredge, Ben Curtis and Greg Owen. She shares a Squib keelboat, Karma, with friends Jane and Marie, at the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dublin. She loves music of all sorts and is kept sane by her monthly book club with ‘the girls’. Most of her spare time is spent with her beloved family.