Deaf Society (NDS) has welcomed a new Chief Executive, who hopes to grow the reach of the charity’s work following the pandemic. 

Will Burchell has joined Nottinghamshire Deaf Society (NDS) as it begins to resume its vital services across the local community, after the ending of Covid-19 restrictions.

He joins the organisation after a range of previous roles in the charity sector, most recently at Autism East Midlands. 

Will said:

“In 2019 my teenage son completed a British Sign Language (BSL) Level One course with Nottinghamshire Deaf Society, and it is a privilege to now be joining them as Chief Executive.

“Since 1890, NDS has delivered invaluable work to improve the social inclusion and wellbeing of deaf people across the East Midlands. I am excited to build on the good work of my predecessors, and working to further increase the charity’s reach and impact.”

Nottinghamshire Deaf Society is a registered charity based in Nottingham. Formed in 1890 by a group of philanthropic church and community leaders, the charity has a vision of a society in which all deaf people can fully participate.

Each year, NDS supports more than 5,000 deaf, deafened and hard-of-hearing people across the county and region with a range of services, including BSL interpreting, welfare rights advice and by supporting deaf community groups.

Tim Hastings, Chair of Trustees at NDS, said:

“NDS is delighted to welcome Will Burchell as CEO as we enter an exciting new chapter as we phase our return to normal service delivery (post-Covid restrictions) and as we implement the next stages of our strategic plan.

“We feel really fortunate to have secured a candidate with such extensive senior experience in the charity sector and we’re looking forward to him leading us from strength to strength.” 

For more information about Nottinghamshire Deaf Society, please visit: www.nottsdeaf.org.uk.