Committees

Graeme Shears is the Chief Executive Officer of the Epilepsy Foundation. He is passionate about improving the lives of people living with epilepsy. The Epilepsy Foundation vision is that no one with epilepsy should go it alone.
Graeme had a successful career in manufacturing and management consulting prior to joining the Epilepsy Foundation in 2008. Graeme has a brother living with epilepsy.
He holds a Batchelor of Business degree and has completed an executive leadership program, Strategic Perspectives in Non Profit Management, at Harvard.
He is a co-author of “The social context of anxiety and depression: Exploring the role of anxiety and depression in the lives of Australian adults with epilepsy”, “Management of Post-Traumatic Epilepsy (PTE): an evidence review over the last 5 years and future directions”, and “A Fair Go for People Living with Epilepsy in Australia”.

Founding President of EDYCS Epilepsy Group Mauritius, Youssouf Noormamode has served as Chair and Vice-Chair of the IBE African Regional Committee for over a decade. Notable accomplishments include championing the ratification of IGAP in Africa, engaging in impactful policy dialogues, and contributing to the recognition of epilepsy in the African Union African Disability Protocol. As Chairperson of the Africa Disability Alliance Youssouf advocates for the adoption and domestication of the Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities under the ARADI continental project, supported by EU/CBM.

Elvira Vacas Montero has a criminology degree and an inquiring mind. She is finishing a degree in International Political Science and is passionate about social phenomena and people. In 2018, her son was diagnosed with an epileptic encephalopathy after encephalitis. It was the diagnostic delay, loneliness, lack of information and the idea that she would never give in to conformism and resignation that led her to chair the Spanish Epilepsy Federation (FEDE) and the Spanish Epileptic Encephalopathy Association POCS. She leads projects such as Epiforward and EpiAlliance and advocates for a European integration project that can face greater global challenges.

Deirdre Floyd will serve her second term as Vice President of North America. Diagnosed with epilepsy at 14, has been an advocate both locally and nationally, serving as the local association’s Vice Chair and President, the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance’s President, and chairing the Purple Day for Epilepsy campaign. She has won many awards for her volunteer service over the years, including the Nova Scotia ‘Women of Excellence’ award, which recognizes women who have helped people within their community achieve successful outcomes for charity work.

Dr Anchor Tak Fung Hung is a registered social worker in Hong Kong SAR, China, with Masters’ degrees in Public Health and Disability Studies in Hong Kong and the UK respectively. In addition, she earned a doctorate in business administration focusing on Hong Kong’s private elderly homes. She is the Assistant Project Director of the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy at The University of Hong Kong for an innovative community pharmacy project.

Anchor was named an IBE/ILAE Epilepsy Ambassador in 2023. For more than 20 years, she has worked with persons with epilepsy, medical and social care professionals, policymakers, and other stakeholders on psychological support, self-management, empowerment, self-help groups, stigma, employment, advocacy, public awareness, school education, policy changes, and evidence-based research. She served as an honorary advisor to the Hong Kong Epilepsy Association and Epilepsy Foundation of Hong Kong, and co-founded and directed Health and Social Exchange of Hong Kong.

Anchor has witnessed many breakthroughs and transformations in the lives of persons with epilepsy over decades of service. However, she is saddened by social exclusion, sudden death, and epilepsy related injuries. It explains her passion for addressing the treatment gap of epilepsy, improving awareness, and providing support to persons with epilepsy. Anchor has also successfully worked with medical professionals and patient groups to rename the Chinese terminology of epilepsy HK to enhance a more proper understanding of epilepsy.