Home News Awards and Recognitions—January 2025

Awards and Recognitions—January 2025

Women In Optometry regularly recognizes the awards and accomplishments of those in the profession and in their communities in the “Awards and Recognitions” series.

Have you received an award or acknowledgment for your contributions to optometry or your community? Send us a note.

Congratulations to all honorees.

Priti Patel
Dr. Priti Patel
Priti Patel, OD, is now the general manager at National Vision Inc. She previously served as chief medical officer.

 

San Diego County Optometric Society

Simona Grosu
Dr. Simona Grosu
Simona Grosu, OD, of San Diego, was named Optometrist of the Year.

Justin Nguyen
Dr. Justin Nguyen
Justin Nguyen, OD, ABOC, of EyeCare at the Cove, was named Young Optometrist of the Year.

John Pack
Dr. John Pack
John Pack, OD, of Pack & Bianes Vision Care, was named the 2025 SDCOS President.

 

Southern College of Optometry

Scott Ensor
Dr. Scott Ensor
Scott Ensor, OD, was named Vice President for Clinical Programs.

Aaron Kerr
Dr. Aaron Kerr
Aaron Kerr, OD, was named Chair of Clinical Education.

 

Elise Kramer
Elise Kramer
Elise Kramer, OD, of Miami, Florida, was named President of Women In Eyecare.

 

Kelsy Steele
Dr. Kelsy Steele
Kelsy Steele, OD, PhD, FAAO, of Columbus, Ohio, was named Medical Science Liaison at Alcon.

 

American Optometric Student Association Executive Council 2025-2026

James Chung
James Chung
James Chung, President-Elect, from The Ohio State University College of Optometry.

Emily Gibson
Emily Gibson
Emily Gibson, Vice President-Elect and Trustee of the Year, from Southern College of Optometry.

Natalie Nell
Natalie Nell
Natalie Nell, Secretary-Elect, from Southern California College of Optometry.

Tom Pham
Tom Pham
Tom Pham, Treasurer-Elect, from Western University College of Optometry.

 

ABB Optical Group 10th ABB Optometry Student Challenge Winners

Colleen Furey
Colleen Furey
Colleen Furey, Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry

Mariana Garcia
Mariana Garcia
Mariana Garcia, Salus at Drexel University Pennsylvania College of Optometry

Suzanna Hui
Suzanna Hui
Suzanna Hui, New England College of Optometry
Honorable Mentions

Brandon Cohenmehr
Brandon Cohenmehr
Brandon Cohenmehr, State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry

Claire Chu
Claire Chu
Claire Chu, Salus at Drexel University Pennsylvania College of Optometry

 

See previous Awards & Recognitions (previously Women in the News) from December, November, and October 2024.

To view more newsmaker stories from WOclick here.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.

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