Women In Optometry regularly recognizes your accomplishments in the profession and in your communities. Have you stepped into a new leadership role or recently won an award? Send us a note.
The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) recently announced the recipients of the 2021 Special Recognition Awards.
| Linda Casser, OD, FAAO, FNAP, of Salus University, was one of two recipients of the Dr. Jack Bennett Innovation in Optometric Education Award. This award was established in March 2000 to recognize an ASCO volunteer for an outstanding innovation to optometric education. |  |
| The ASCO Rising Star Award, sponsored by Oculus, was given to Katherine Green, OD, FAAO, of Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry. This award is given to an outstanding faculty member or administrator with less than seven years of service who has made noteworthy contributions to fulfilling the mission, strategic objections or programs of ASCO. |  |
| Elena Z. Biffi, OD, MS, FAAO, of New England College of Optometry, was the recipient of the Dr. Lester Janoff Award for Writing Excellence. This award recognizes the outstanding writing of a research article published in the ASCO Journal Optometric Education. |  |
| Jacqueline Bowen, OD, FAAO, of Greeley, Colorado, was re-elected to the American Optometric Association (AOA) Board of Trustees. |  |
| Belinda Starkey, OD, of Rogers, Arkansas, was elected to the AOA Board of Trustees. She was also honored as OD of the Year. |  |
| Teri K. Geist, OD, of Omaha, Nebraska, was re-elected to the AOA Board of Trustees as well. |  |
| The American Association of Corporate Optometrists is proud to announce Barbara L. Horn, OD, has been named the 2021 recipient of the prestigious Larry J. Alexander Award. Dr. Horn also was recently honored as the Michigan College of Optometry Alumna of the Year. |  |
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Lisa V. Gontarek, OD, was named 2021 Keyperson of the Year by the Virginia Optometric Association.
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Betty Harville, OD, was honored as Educator of the Year by the National Optometric Association.
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At the SECO meeting, two women were installed as members of the executive committee:
| Christine Cook, OD, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, became vice president, and |  |
| Michelle Cooper, OD, of Greenville, South Carolina, became treasurer. |  |
The American Academy of Optometry Foundation (AAOF) is pleased to announce the twelve recipients of the 2021 William C. Ezell Fellowships. The Ezell Fellowship program is named after the founding President of the AAOF, William C. Ezell, OD. It was established to provide recognition and support to talented post-doctoral students in pursuit of an advanced degree in optometric research and education.
AAO Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses, and Refractive Technologies (CCLRT) Ezell Fellow
Young Hyun Kim
University of California at Berkeley School of Optometry
American Academy of Optometry (AAO) Ezell Fellow
Jennyffer D. Smith, OD
University of Houston College of Optometry
American Academy of Optometry Foundation (AAOF) Ezell Fellow
Yiyi (Charlotte) Wang, OD, FAAO
University of California at Berkeley School of Optometry
Danne Ventura / Essilor Ezell Fellow
Maureen D. Plaumann, OD, FAAO
The Ohio State University College of Optometry
Facebook Ezell Fellow
Rebecca Deffler, OD, MS, FAAO
The Ohio State University College of Optometry
Irvin M. Borish / Essilor Ezell Fellow
Neeraj Singh, BSOptom, MPhil
Indiana University School of Optometry
John N. Schoen Ezell Fellow
Erin Sayoko Tomiyama, OD, MS, FAAO
University of Houston College of Optometry
Merton C. Flom Leadership Ezell Fellow
Breanne McGhee, OD, MEd, FAAO
Pacific University College of Optometry
Michael G. Harris Ezell Fellow
Erica R. Shelton, OD, MS, FAAO
The Ohio State University College of Optometry
Mike Daley / Essilor Ezell Fellow
Rabia Mobeen
University of New South Wales School of Optometry and Vision Science
Optometric Glaucoma Society (OGS) Ezell Fellow
Janelle Tong, BOptom
University of New South Wales School of Optometry and Vision Science
Rod Tahran / Essilor Ezell Fellow
Amy Hiu Yan Chow, OD
University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science
Two key pillars of CooperVision’s industry leadership, its myopia management and 1 Day brand teams, have recently expanded following the hiring of Kamela Bearlin as Senior Global Brand Director, 1 Day Brands, and Jennifer Lambert as Senior Global Brand Director, Myopia Management, and the promotion of Elizabeth Lumb, BSc (Hons) MCOptom, FBCLA, to Director of Global Professional Affairs, Myopia Management.
