(Sydney, Australia)- Optometry Giving Sight has announced the consolidation of its Global Board and Global Development Board, creating a new Board structure with 11 members. The new members are:
- Dr. Glenn Ellisor – Executive Chairman, Vision Source
- Marc Ferrara – CEO Information Services, Jobson Medical Information
- Pat McNeil – Chief Communications Officer, VSP Global
- Dr. Howard Purcell – Senior Vice President, Customer Development Group, Essilor of America
- Dr. Alan Ulsifer – President and Chair, FYidoctors
- Dr. Rick Weisbarth – VP Professional Affairs, Alcon
They join:
- Dr. Juan Carlos Aragon (Chairperson) – Senior Vice President, Southern & Central Eastern Europe, CooperVision
- Peter Ackland – CEO, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
- Dr. Susan Cooper – Immediate Past President, World Council of Optometry
- Amanda Davis – COO, Brien Holden Vision Institute – Public Health
- Yvette Waddell – COO, Brien Holden Vision Institute
“I am delighted to welcome these esteemed leaders of our profession and industry as members of the Global Board of Optometry Giving Sight, and to thank them for their efforts over recent years as members of our Development Board,” said Dr. Aragon. “In this new role they will join me and the founding members in helping to ensure that Optometry Giving Sight continues to play a leadership role in mobilizing resources for sustainable eye and vision care services to benefit people in need.”
Dr. Aragon also thanked outgoing Board members, Professor Kovin Naidoo, CEO – Brien Holden Vision Institute, Bob McMullan, President – International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, and UK practitioner Robert (Bob) Chappell, for their service over recent years.
The announcement follows the first meeting of the new Board which was held on February 4th and which approved $1.5 million of funding for 39 Projects in 24 countries. These include support for Schools of Optometry in Haiti, Nicaragua, Mexico, Vietnam, Malawi, Eritrea, Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda.
Other funded projects include training programs for optometrists, optometric technicians and ophthalmologists; child eye health programs; community education and advocacy.
“We continued to receive outstanding support from our donors and sponsors throughout the world, and especially in the USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Ireland and Norway,” said Dr. Aragon. “This enables us to support the many high impact projects being undertaken by our project partners and which are transforming the lives of tens of thousands of people each year.”
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