Team

CHAIR

Merete Smith

Merete Smith is the Secretary General of the Norwegian Bar Association. She has experience from the Ministry of Justice, as an associate lawyer and deputy judge, and has been a temporary court of appeal judge. She is a law graduate from the University of Oslo and has an LL.M. from Georgetown University in the USA. Contact: ms@advokatforeningen.no

CEO

Ingunn Lindborg

Ingunn Lindborg is a Cand. Philol from the University of Oslo with Nordic languages and literature as a major. She has worked in the book industry her entire professional life, among others as Head of Communication for the publishing house Cappelen Damm. She led a digital communications department at the publishing house until 2017, and was a digital advisor at the same place. She has been involved in Right to Sight since 2016, and was chairman of the board 2019-22. Contact: ingunnlindborg3@gmail.com

BOARD MEMBER

Ida Ihler

Ida S. Ihler graduated as an optician from Buskerud University College, Kongsberg in 2010. She also has a master’s degree in optometry from 2015, with specialization in ortho-optics (single vision) and pediatric optometry (children). Ida has broad experience from the optometric industry through many years of work at Interoptik, as well as teaching optometry at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Kenya in 2019. Ida has worked at Volvat-Orbita Ophthalmology Center since spring 2020, where she has, among other things, responsibility for checking patients, as well as planning and assisting during operations.

BOARD MEMBER

Alexander S. Thrane

Alexander S. Thrane graduated as a doctor from the University of Leicester (UK) in 2008. He has a doctorate in advanced optics from the University of Oslo and Rochester (NY), and completed specialization as an ophthalmologist at Haukeland University Hospital. Since 2019, Alexander has worked as a gray and green cataract surgeon for various private players in the Nordics, including Memira and Volvat, as well as at Glimt Eye Clinic. Together with his colleague and wife Vinita Rangroo Thrane, he has assisted Right To Sight in further developing sustainable eye health services in Kenya since 2022.

PROJECT MANAGER

Vinita Rangroo Thrane

Vinita is a consultant ophthalmic surgeon with a specialisation in childhood eye diseases and strabismology. With experience at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway, and her current position at Vestfold Regional Hospital near Oslo, Dr. Vinita brings a wealth of expertise to her work in global health. She holds a PhD from the Universities of Oslo, Bergen, and Rochester (New York), and was supported by a Fulbright scholarship for her work in advancing the field. Driven by a deep passion for reducing the global burden of childhood eye disease, Vinita is actively engaged in outreach and education, making vital resources freely accessible to underserved communities. She collaborates with ophthalmic foundations in India, and with Right to Sight in Kenya to bring quality eye care to children who would otherwise lack access, aligning closely with our charity’s mission to expand healthcare equity worldwide.

ADVISOR

Nils-Erik Boonstra

Dr. Nils-Erik Boonstra graduated from the University of Groningen (Netherlands) in 2000 and has been a consultant at Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway since 2004, where he currently leads the cataract department. With over 20 years of experience in intraocular surgery, he has been instrumental in training new surgeons and advancing surgical expertise within the field.Over the past decade, Dr. Boonstra has specialized as a vitreoretinal surgeon and overseen pediatric cataract surgeries. Since 2023, he has served as an advisory doctor for Right to Sight, actively contributing to the implementation of new surgical techniques in Kenya, including a groundbreaking approach to childhood cataract surgery. His dedication to improving surgical outcomes and training in underserved regions continues to make a lasting impact, and he remains deeply committed to advancing global eye care.

PROJECT MANAGER

Anne Norvik Jervell

Anne Norvik Jervell is a trained optician. She is a specialist in general optometry and contact lens fitting. Anne has a master’s in clinical optometry from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (now Salus University) and runs her own specialist lens clinic in Oslo. She was previously head of the Norwegian Opticians’ Association and is now chair of the Norwegian Opticians’ Association’s specialist and competence council. In addition, she is the leader of the Norwegian Opticians Association’s humanitarian committee and Optometry Giving Sight in Norway.

PROJECT ASSOCIATE

Kirsti Margrethe Dolva

Kirsti Margrethe Dolva graduated as a doctor from the University of Oslo in 1988 and became a specialist in general medicine in 1998. She worked at the medical department of Bærum hospital, Åsbråten medical center before establishing herself at the Myrerskogveien doctor’s office in 1995. In the period 2001 – 2014, she was a GP at the Frysja doctor’s office in Oslo.

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Ida Louise Rudolph

Ida Louise Rudolph holds a MA in Intercultural Conflict Management and a MSc in International Relations. She previously had an internship at Right to Sight. Now she works with web analysis and digital communication in Germany.