AOA Officer Profiles

Kevin L. Alexander, O.D., Ph.D.

Kevin L. Alexander, O.D., Ph.D., was first elected to the American Optometric Association's Board of Trustees in June 1999. Dr. Alexander became AOA's 86^th President at the 110^th Annual AOA Congress & 37th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting™ in June 2007.

In addition to his duties as President, Dr. Alexander serves as chair of the AOA Executive Committee and member of the AOA Agenda Committee. Dr. Alexander also serves as liaison to the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), Great Western Council of Optometry, Mountain West Council of Optometrists, North Central States Optometric Council, OptoEast, OptoWest, Southern Council of Optometrists, and Southwest Council of Optometry.

Dr. Alexander has held a variety of volunteer appointments within the American Optometric Association. He is the principal author of the AOA Clinical Practice Guideline for Care of the Patient with Anterior Uveitis. In addition, he has served on the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education, which accredits schools and colleges of optometry.

Dr. Alexander is a past president of the Ohio Optometric Association. In 1989, the state association named him Ohio's Optometrist of the Year. Dr. Alexander is the Dean of the Michigan College of Optometry in Big Rapids, Michigan.

Peter H. Kehoe, O.D., F.A.A.O.

Peter H. Kehoe, O.D., F.A.A.O., was elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees in June 1999, re-elected in June 2002, and elected President-Elect at the 110^th Annual AOA Congress & 37^th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting™ in June 2007.

In addition to his responsibilities as President-Elect, Dr. Kehoe serves as a member of the AOA Agenda, Executive, Building, and Program Planning Committees. He is board liaison to the AOA Congress Committee. Dr. Kehoe also serves as liaison to affiliate associations in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Dr. Kehoe is a past president of the Illinois Optometric Association and the West Central Illinois Optometric Society. He continues to serve on the Illinois Optometric Association's Legislative Committee and was instrumental in achieving passage of legislation authorizing optometrists in the state to diagnose and treat eye diseases, including glaucoma. He was named Optometrist of the Year in 2001.

Dr. Kehoe is a graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry and served on its Alumni Council Board of Directors. A Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, he is in private practice in Galesburg, IL, and is a past president of the Galesburg Lions Club.

Randolph E. Brooks, O.D., F.A.A.O.

Randolph Brooks, O.D., F.A.A.O., was elected to the American Optometric Association's Board of Trustees in June 2000, re-elected to a three-year term in 2003, and elected Vice President at the 110th Annual AOA Congress & 37th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting™ in June 2007.

In addition to his responsibilities as Vice President, he serves as a member of the AOA Personnel, Executive, and Program Planning Committees. He is Speaker of the House Pro Tem and liaison to the AOA Industry Relations Committee. Dr. Brooks also serves as liaison to the Optical Laboratories Association (OLA), and affiliate associations in California, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Prior to his election to the board, Dr. Brooks held a variety of volunteer appointments within the American Optometric Association. He served several years on the Eye Care Benefits Center Executive Committee and was its chair for 1999-2000.

Dr. Brooks is a past president of the New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians. He is in private practice in Ledgewood, NJ.

In 1995 and 2000, the New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians named him Optometrist of the Year. Dr. Brooks is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany and the New England College of Optometry. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.

Joe E. Ellis, O.D.

Joe E. Ellis, O.D., was elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees at its 104th Annual AOA Congress in June 2001 and re-elected in 2004, and elected Secretary-Treasurer at the 110th Annual AOA Congress & 37th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting™ in June 2007.

In addition to his responsibilities as Secretary-Treasurer, he serves as chair of the AOA Constitution and Bylaws, Finance, Building, and Program Planning Committees, and is a member of the AOA Executive Committee. His AOA Board liaison assignments include Council on Research and the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA), as well as liaison to Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Prior to his election to the Board, Dr. Ellis held a variety of volunteer appointments within the American Optometric Association. Most recently, he served as chair of the AOA's State Health Care Legislation Committee.

Dr. Ellis served on the Board of the Kentucky Optometric Association from 1990-96 and as president in 1994-95.

In 1992, he was named Kentucky Young Optometrist of the Year; and in 1995, his colleagues honored him as Kentucky Optometrist of the Year. He has also received three President's Awards from the Kentucky Optometric Association.

Dr. Ellis was very instrumental in his efforts and relationship with Governor Paul Patton and the Kentucky General Assembly to help pass the first school entrance level eye examination in the United States in 2000.

Dr. Ellis' area of special interest is in the area of advocacy, especially as it pertains to patients' access to optometric care. He has been active in legislative and government relations at the state and national levels. Dr. Ellis was instrumental in the passage of numerous legislative efforts in Kentucky relating to access issues.

Dr. Ellis is a graduate of Southern College of Optometry and is in private practice in Benton, KY. He is a member and past president of the Benton Lions Club and a past chairman of the Marshall Chamber of Commerce.

C. Thomas Crooks, III, O.D.

Tommy Crooks, III, O.D., was elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees in June 1999, re-elected in 2002, and served as AOA's 2006-07 President.

In addition to his responsibilities as Immediate Past President, he serves as chair of the AOA Agenda Committee and AOA Personnel Committee, and is a member of the AOA Executive Committee. He is Speaker of the House of Delegates, and serves as liaison to the AOA Low Vision Rehabilitation Section, Armed Forces Optometric Society (AFOS), and College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD). Dr. Crooks also serves as liaison to the affiliate associations of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

Dr. Crooks is president and CEO of EyeCare Associates, Inc., in Birmingham, AL, a group professional practice consisting of 19 locations and 33 doctors. He is a past president of the Southern Council of Optometrists and the Alabama Optometric Association.

In 1985, the Alabama Optometric Association named Dr. Crooks the Alabama Optometrist of the Year; and in 1990 he was named UAB Alumnus of the Year.