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.
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WO’s editor-in-chief Marjolijn Bijlefeld was promoted to Editorial Director of Practice Advancement Associates (including Women In Optometry, Review of Myopia Management, Review of Optometry Business, AI in Eye Care and Independent Strong). |
| American Academy of Optometry (AOA) 2025 Award Recipients | |
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James Hardie, OD, of Ironwood, Michigan, was named Optometrist of the Year. |
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Annabelle Storch, OD, MA, of Irvine, California, was named Young Optometrist of the Year. |
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Aaron Zimmerman, OD, MS, FAAO, of The Ohio State University College of Optometry, was named Optometric Educator of the Year. |
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Richard Soden, OD, FAAO, CPC, of New York, New York, won the Distinguished Service award. |
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Napua Rich, of Portland, Oregon, won the Apollo award for her work with the Oregon Health Authority. |
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Cori Dorrell, a fourth-year optometry student at Northeastern State University College of Optometry (NSUOCO), won the AOSA Student of the Year Award. |
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John Tassinari, OD, of Pasadena, California, won the Dr. W. David Sullins, Jr., InfantSEE Award. |
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Jennifer Stroupe, CPO, of Mississippi, was named Paraoptometric of the Year. |
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Kimberly Pickle, CPOA, of Mississippi, won the Paraoptometric Community Service Award. |
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Tamara Franklin, CPOT, ABOC, of Bridgeport, Nebraska, won the Paraoptometric Lifetime Achievement Award. |
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Tracy Matchinski, OD, FAOO, of Illinois College of Optometry, won the Dr. Jerry P. Davidoff Vision Care Award. |
| AOA National Optometry Hall of Fame Inductees | |
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Christopher Quinn, OD, FAAO, of Iselin, New Jersey |
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Timothy Wingert, OD, retired Dean and Professor at the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry |
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Diana Ho, OD, was named a 40 under 40 honoree by the Wichita Business Journal. |
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Joe DeLoach, OD, FAAO, Chief Compliance Officer of Practice Compliance Solutions, was awarded the William D. Pittman Award at the 125th Texas Optometric Association Annual Summit. |
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Jim Sandefur, OD, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern Caucus at SECO. |
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Michelle Valella, OD, was named Best of the Best eye doctor in Battle Creek, Michigan, by Battle Creek Shopper News. |
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Dominic Brown, OD, was appointed as secretary to the Maryland Department of Health Board of Examiners. |
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Kaleb Abbott, OD, MS, FAAO, FOWNS, joined Modern Optometry’s Editorial Advisory Board. |
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Aimee Mesenburg, OD, was promoted to Senior Medical Science Liaison at Thea Pharma US. |
| National Vision, Inc. appointed two new members to its Board of Directors | |
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Jim McGrann |
| Michael Nicholson | |
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Carol Kearney was appointed as Chief Commercial Officer of Tenpoint Therapeutics. |
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A team of UC-Berkeley School of Optometry students won two awards at the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG) Winter Study Group Meeting: the 2024 Top Recruiter Award for ATS22, “A Randomized Trial to Evaluate Sequential vs Simultaneous Spectacles plus Patching for Amblyopia in Children 3 to <13 Years Old,” and the 2024 Top Recruiter Award for ATS23, “A Randomized Trial of Virtual Reality Video Treatment for Amblyopia in Children 4 to 7 Years of Age.” |
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Al Greco, Vice President of New Business at Jobson Optical, is retiring at the end of March 2025 after 17 years.
He was instrumental in conceiving, launching, selling and implementing the business model that underpins Review of Optometric Business, Review of Myopia Management, Women In Optometry and AI in Eyecare. We’ll miss you, Al! |
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Michael Vitale, Vice President of Membership, Government Relations & Technical Affairs at The Vision Council, was named as the recipient of the 2025 Goodfellow Award. |
See previous Awards & Recognitions (previously Women in the News) from February 2025, January 2025 and December 2024.
To view more newsmaker stories from WO, click here.
