Interview: Ed Mallen, president of the College of Optometrists

Mike Hale You are now in the second and final year of your stint as president. How did you first get involved with the College of Optometrists?

Ed Mallen I owe a lot to this institution because the College funded my PhD when I was a research scholar. Without that funding, I wouldn’t be where I am now. After completing the PhD, I presented at Optometry Tomorrow, this was around 2007, and I just got chatting to a few people and then vacancies came up on the council. So, I stood as a councillor for the West Midlands because I was still locuming in that area at the time. I applied and I was successfully elected to the council.