A CHARITY boss from Hatch End has been made CBE in The Queen's Birthday Honours.
Lesley-Anne Alexander, of Grimsdyke Road, was appointed chief executive of the Royal National Institute of Blind People eight years ago and is chairwoman of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations.
The married mother-of-one, who grew up in Wembley, used to attend Alperton High School and once worked in local government for Brent, Ealing and Enfield Councils, is collecting her gong for services to the voluntary sector.
Mrs Alexander, whose parents live in Hatch End, said: "I was so proud and amazed when I found out, and I'm a bit embarrassed by it all.
"You never think what you do is so special. It's nice to be recognised.
"The RNIB works to get the best life for blind people and getting people properly recognised in the benefits system."
Mrs Alexander, who is fully sighted, added: "We help them become more independent, we distributed 40,000 talking books and CDs last year and produced 12million pages of Braille, and campaigned to make this year's Olympic Games the most accessible yet."
RNIB is a royal charity and Mrs Alexander said she gets to meet The Queen once a year on average so is no stranger to being in Her Majesty's presence.
n Do you or someone you know feature in this year's The Queen's Birthday Honours List? Contact ianproctor@trinitysouth.co.uk
