AOA Trustee Profiles

Hilary L. Hawthorne, O.D.

Hilary L. Hawthorne, O.D., was elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees at the 113^th Annual AOA Congress & 40^th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting® in June 2010.

As a member of the AOA Board, Dr. Hawthorne serves as liaison to the AOA Communications Group, Contact Lens and Cornea Section and affiliate associations in Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.  She is also the liaison to the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Optometry and the Southern College of Optometry.

Prior to her election to the AOA Board, Dr. Hawthorne served the AOA by volunteering her time to the Communications Advisory Group and the Hispanic Communications Project Team.

Dr. Hawthorne is a 1992 graduate of the Pacific University College of Optometry and a past president of the California Optometric Association.

Since graduating from optometry school, Dr. Hawthorne has maintained active memberships in the AOA, the California Optometric Association (COA) and the Los Angeles County Optometric Society (LACOS).  In 1999, she was the California Optometric Association's Young Optometrist of the Year; and she received the COA Keyperson of the Year award in 2000.  

Dr. Hawthorne has been a part-time staff doctor with the Student Medical Services of the Los Angeles Unified School District for more than 15 years.  She provides comprehensive eye examinations for school-aged children enrolled in the country's second largest school district. 

Dr. Hawthorne has been practicing optometry at Community Eye Center Optometry as a primary care provider since 1997.  She established her practice in a family-based community in south Los Angeles emphasizing primary care, contact lens fittings, ocular disease co-management and low vision rehabilitation. 

Barbara L. Horn, O.D.

Barbara L. Horn, O.D., was elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees at the 114^th Annual AOA Congress & 41^st Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting® in June 2011.

As a member of the AOA Board, Dr. Horn serves as liaison to the AOA Research and Information Center, Sports Vision Section and affiliate associations in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin. She is also the liaison to the University of Missouri, St. Louis College of Optometry.

Prior to her election to the Board, Dr. Horn served the AOA by volunteering her time as chair of the Clinical & Practice Advancement Executive Committee, Medical Eye Care Committee, and Membership Group. She has also participated in numerous other committees and project teams including the Program Planning Committee, Public Health Disease Prevention Committee, and the Needs/Technology Project Team.

Dr. Horn is a graduate of the Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University and a past president of the Michigan Optometric Association (MOA).

In 2011, she was the MOA's Optometrist of the Year. Dr. Horn also received the AOA's Young Optometrist of the Year award in 2006 and the MOA's Young Optometrist of the Year award in 2005.

Dr. Horn has a private practice, ExpertEyes, Family Eye Center & Optical, with two locations in Washington and Chesterfield, MI.

She has two children with her husband, Michael Weisgerber, O.D., Brooke and Mick, and two step children, Alexa and Drew.

Steven A. Loomis, O.D.

Steven A. Loomis, O.D., was first elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees in 2007 and re-elected at the 113th Annual AOA Congress & 40th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting® in June 2010.

As a member of the AOA Board, Dr. Loomis is a member of the Finance Committee. He is the board liaison to the AOA Advocacy Group and affiliate associations in Washington, D.C., Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia, the Illinois College of Optometry and Indiana University School of Optometry.

Prior to his election to the Board, Dr. Loomis served as chairman of the AOA State Government Relations Center. He has also chaired the AOA Health Care Legislation Committee, the AOA Legal Defense Fund Oversight Committee, and the Resolutions Committee. Prior to his involvement at AOA, Dr. Loomis was President of the Southwest Council of Optometry and the Colorado Optometric Association.

He and his wife, Kathy, have three grown children and twin granddaughters. They live in Littleton, Colorado.

Samuel D. Pierce, O.D.

Sam Pierce, O.D., was elected to the American Optometric Association Board in June 2009 and re-elected at the 114th Annual AOA Congress & 41st Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting® in June 2011.

As a member of the AOA Board, Dr. Pierce serves as a member of the AOA Constitution and Bylaws Committee and as liaison to the Clinical & Practice Advancement and Paraoptometric Groups. His liaison assignments also include affiliate associations in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, as well as New England College of Optometry and Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University.

Prior to his election to the Board, Dr. Pierce served the AOA by volunteering his time to the Communications Advisory Group, Professional Relations Committee, Nominating Committee and the Student and New Graduate Committee. He is also past president of the Alabama Optometric Association and served as a member of the SECO Board of Trustees.

Dr. Pierce is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry (UABSO) and a past president of the UABSO Alumni Association. In 2010 Dr. Pierce received the UABSO 2010 Alumnus of the Year award.

Dr. Pierce has been in private practice in Trussville, Alabama, for over 20 years. He and his wife, Kim, have two daughters, Julianna and Emily.

Christopher J. Quinn, O.D., F.A.A.O.

Christopher J. Quinn, O.D., was elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees in June 2008 and re-elected in June 2009 at the 112th Annual AOA Congress & 39th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting®.

As a member of the AOA Board, Dr. Quinn serves as a member of the AOA Constitution and Bylaws Committee and as liaison to the AOA's Advocacy Group, Political Action Committee and Optometry Cares®- The AOA Foundation. He is also the liaison to affiliate associations in Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah, as well as State University of New York State College of Optometry (SUNY) and NOVA Southeastern University College of Optometry.

Dr. Quinn is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and is a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and participated in a residency in hospital-based optometry.

Prior to his election to the Board, Dr. Quinn served on the AOA Federal Relations Committee and State Government Relations Committee and was an AOA representative to the American Medical Association's Resource Based Relative Value Update Committee - Healthcare Professions Advisory Committee. Dr. Quinn has lectured extensively throughout the United States and internationally. He is a principal author of the AOA Clinical Practice Guidelines on Care of the Patient with Conjunctivitis and has published over 20 other articles.

Dr. Quinn serves as adjunct faculty at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, State University of New York, New England College of Optometry, University of California at Berkeley, and The Ohio State University.

He is a past president of the New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians.

Dr. Quinn is the owner and president of Omni Eye Services, an optometric referral center in New Jersey. He resides in Middletown, NJ, with his wife, Susan, and two children, Kelly and Billy.

Andrea Thau, O.D., F.A.A.O., F.C.O.V.D.

Andrea P. Thau, O.D., was first elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees in 2007 and re-elected at the 113th Annual AOA Congress & 40th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting® in June 2010.

As a member of the AOA Board, Dr. Thau is a member of the Finance Committee. She also serves as liaison to the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education, Clinical and Practice Advancement Group, and the Vision Rehabilitation Section. Additionally, Dr. Thau is the liaison for the affiliate associations in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri, as well as the American Optometric Student Association, The Ohio State University College of Optometry and
Ferris State University Michigan College of Optometry.

Dr. Thau is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and a Distinguished Practitioner on the National Academies of Science. A graduate of the SUNY College of Optometry, she has been on faculty since graduation and is an associate clinical professor and former chair of the Admissions Committee.

Prior to her election to the Board, Dr. Thau served as president of the New York State Optometric Association, the first woman president in its history. Dr. Thau is a past president of and the first woman president of the New York Academy of Optometry where she currently serves as membership chair. Dr. Thau is a past president of the Optometric Society of the City of New York where she too was the first woman president. In fact, Dr. Thau served concurrently as president of the New York Academy and president of the Optometric Society of the City of New York as well as an officer of the New York State Optometric Association.

She is a founding member of the AOA's InfantSEE® committee which developed the InfantSEE® program and was a member of multiple AOA committees including the AOA Pediatrics and Binocular Vision Committee, the Infants' Vision Project Team, and the Faculty Relations Committee.

She is a founding member and former vice president of the New York Children's Vision Coalition, a coalition dedicated to mandating eye examinations to children of the city of New York upon school entry. Dr. Thau is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2005 New York State Optometrist of the Year, SUNY Optometry Alumni of the Year, and Vision Monday's 20 Most Influential Women in Optical.

Dr. Thau is the owner of a 5-woman group private practice on Park Avenue in Manhattan, which expanded to include a satellite office. The practice is a full scope primary care practice with special emphasis on children's vision and vision therapy.