Awards and Recognitions—April 2025

April 17, 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.

World Council of Optometry (WCO) International Award Winners
Dr. Susan Cooper	Susan Cooper, OD, FAAO, won the Distinguished Service Award in Memory of Dr. Uduak Udom.
Dr. Abraham Bromberg	Abraham Bromberg, OD, won the International Optometrist Award.
Dr. Sandra Wang-Harris	Sandra Wang-Harris, OD, MPH, FAAO, Dipl AAO, was chosen to deliver the Memorial Lecture in Honor of Ms. Karen Sparrow.

Tracy Matchinski, OD, FAAO, won the Dr. Jerry P. Davidoff Vision Care Award.

Birva Kadakia Shah, OD, was promoted to Director of Medical Affairs at Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Anisha Haji, OD, Chief Medical Officer at Atlanta Eye Group, was awarded Doctor of the Year at the LensCrafters SMM Summit.

Southern College of Optometry (SCO) Award Winners
SCO Award Recipients	Annedrea Morreale, OD, Amanda Smith, OD, and Jordan Hamric, OD, won the Hayes Center for Practice Excellence Award.
Dr. Jordan Hamric	Jordan Hamric, OD, won the Partnership Award for Spectrum Optical in Morgantown, WV.
Dr. Amanda Smith	Amanda Smith, OD, received the Practice Acquisition Award for Envision Eyecare and Eyewear in Lawrenceburg, TN.
Dr. Annedrea Morreale	Annedrea Morreale, OD, won the New Practice Award for Franklin Vision Card in Franklin, TN. Read Dr. Morreale’s recent WO story here!

National Academy of Opticianry (NAO) Award Winners
Edward De Gennaro	Edward De Gennaro, AAS, BS, M.Ed, ABOM, was inducted into the NAO Hall of Fame.
Thomas Neff	Thomas Neff, MA, LDO, ABO-AC, NCLE-AC, was awarded NAO Educator of the Year.
Michael Vitale	Michael Vitale, ABOM, LDO, NCLE, was awarded NAO Optician of the Year.
Ronnie Harbert, ABOC, South Carolina LDO	Ronnie Harbert, ABOC, South Carolina LDO, was awarded NAO Optician of the Year.

Maura Sweeney, COO Lighthouse Guild — Maura Sweeney

Maura Sweeney was appointed Chief Operating Officer at Lighthouse Guild.

Will Nguyen and Melinda Morvai, SUNY Optometry

Will Doan Nguyen and Melinda Morvai, two students at SUNY College of Optometry, were awarded $5,000 for their development of IrisAI.

Read their story here.

Mora Boatman, a third-year student at Ohio State University School of Optometry, was awarded the Dr. Frank D. Fontana Memorial Scholarship.

Alisa Molina, a fourth-year student at UC Berkeley School of Optometry, was awarded the 10th Annual Bill Mattingly Low Vision Scholarship.

American Optometric Association (AOA) Scholarship Recipients
Malia McDowell	Malia McDowell, a third-year student at University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry, was awarded the Larry J. Alexander Scholarship for Education.
Joel Cardenas	Joel Cardenas, a third-year student at Rocky Mountain University College of Optometry, was awarded the Dr. Seymour Galina Scholarship.
Elizabeth Pham	Elizabeth Pham, a third-year student at the University of Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry, was awarded the Dr. Stanley Pearle Scholarship.
Faye Nie	Faye Nie, a fourth-year student at Southern California College of Optometry, was awarded the Dr. Stanley Pearle Scholarship.

National Vision, Inc. (NVI) 10th Annual Scholarship Recipients
Victoria Cao	Victoria Cao, University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science Class of 2026.
Isabella Jenson	Isabella Jenson, Arizona College of Optometry Class of 2026.
Faye Nie	Faye Nie, Southern California College of Optometry Class of 2025.

New England College of Optometry (NECO) Scholarship Recipients
Michelle Shang and Nyah Miranda	Michelle Shang and Nyah Miranda won The President’s Leadership Team Leadership Scholarship.
Michelle Shang	Michelle Shang won the ASCO Student Award in Clinical Ethics.
Olivia Wynn	Olivia Wynn won the Dr. Robert A. and Eleanor Titelbaum OD Award.
Hannah Rubin	Hannah Rubin won the Wallace F. Molinari Scholarship.
Nivedhya Cheruvari	Nivedhya Cheruvari won the Harry and Sara Pildes Scholarship.
Juliet Sullivan	Juliet Sullivan won the American Optometric Foundation’s J. Pat Cummings Scholarship.
Xuan Cui	Xuan Cui won the Dr. John Carter Scholarship.
Yashvi Patel	Yashvi Patel won the Otto Hochstadt Scholarship.
Madison Thompson	Madison Thompson won the Klein Family Scholarship.
Shailja Shailja	Shailja Shailja and Dandan Wang (not pictured) won the Jean M. Lank Memorial Scholarship.
NECO Alumni Scholarship recipients	Nivedhya Cheruvari, Kara Chuang, Katarina DaSilva, Anna Lauren Dorius, Carissa Fleming, Shelby Laitipaya, Michael Pizzuto, Michelle Shang and Olivia Wynn won the Alumni Scholarship.