AOA Trustee Profiles

Hilary L. Hawthorne, O.D.

Hilary L. Hawthorne, O.D., was elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees in June 2010 and re-elected at the 115^th Annual AOA Congress & 42^nd Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting® in June 2012.

As a member of the AOA Board, Dr. Hawthorne is a member of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. She is also the liaison to the AOA Clinical Resources Group and Sports Vision Section and affiliate associations in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as Ferris State University Michigan College of Optometry, Illinois College of Optometry, and Indiana University School of Optometry.

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

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 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 Communications and Marketing Group and the AOA-ASCO Joint Project Team. Her affiliate associations include Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  She is also the liaison to the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University.

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, Michigan.

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

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 114^th Annual AOA Congress & 41^st Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting® in June 2011.

As a member of the AOA Board, Dr. Pierce serves as liaison to the Affiliate Relations & Membership Group, the Contact Lens and Cornea Section and the Workforce Study Expert Panel Project Team.  His liaison assignments also include affiliate associations in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

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 is in private practice in Trussville, Alabama.  He and his wife, Kim, have two daughters, Julianna and Emily.

Christopher J. Quinn, O.D.

Christopher J. Quinn, O.D., was first elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees in June 2008, re-elected in 2009, and again in June 2012 at the 115^th Annual AOA Congress & 42^nd 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 and Finance Committees, and as liaison to the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education, the AOA Advocacy Group, and to affiliate associations in Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, as well as University of Houston, College of Optometry, Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry and University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School 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, New Jersey, with his wife, Susan, and two children, Kelly and Billy.

William Reynolds, O.D.

William T. Reynolds, O.D., was elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees at the 115^th Annual AOA Congress & 42^nd Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry's Meeting^® in June 2012.

As a member of the AOA Board, Dr. Reynolds serves as liaison to the AOA Paraoptometric Group and Vision Rehabilitation Section. Dr. Reynolds is also the liaison to affiliate associations in Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington as well as Midwestern University Arizona College of Optometry.

Prior to his election to the Board, Dr. Reynolds served on the AOA Pediatrics and Binocular Vision Committee and spoke at the AOA's School Readiness Summit. He also has served on the AOA State Government Relations Center Executive Committee.

Dr. Reynolds has been active in the Kentucky Optometric Association (KOA) for more than 20 years. He served as president of the KOA in 2001-2002. Dr. Reynolds has a long history of service on the KOA Legislative Committee and served as Legislative Chair from 2005-2011.  He has been instrumental in the passage of access, children's vision and scope legislation.

He has also chaired the Kentucky Optometric Medicaid Technical Advisory Committee and served as president of the Kentucky Vision Project (VISION USA).

Dr. Reynolds is an adjunct faculty member at Southern College of Optometry and Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University.

Dr. Reynolds has been clinical director for Kentucky Special Olympics Opening Eyes program and the clinical co-director of the St. Pius X Vision Clinic in Kingston, Jamaica.

Dr. Reynolds, his wife Ann, and their sons, Will and Patrick, live in Richmond, Kentucky. He is president and chief executive officer of Eye Care Center Optometrists PSC.

ANDREA P. THAU, O.D., F.A.A.O., F.C.O.V.D., D.P.N.A.P.

Andrea P. Thau, O.D., was first elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees in 2007 and re-elected 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. Thau is a member of the Finance Committee.  She also serves as liaison to the AOA Research and Information Center and the AOA Political Action Committee. Additionally, Dr. Thau is the liaison for the affiliate associations in Washington, D.C., Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia as well as The Ohio State University College of Optometry.

Dr. Thau is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, a Distinguished Practitioner on the National Academies of Practice and a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry. 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 the first woman president of the New York State Optometric Association, the New York Academy of Optometry and the Optometric Society of the City of New York, Dr. Thau served concurrently as president of the New York Academy, president of the Optometric Society of the City of New York and as an officer of the New York State Optometric Association. Dr. Thau was a former member of the Executive Board of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development.

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.  A champion of children's vision, she has been called upon to advocate on their behalf at the state and national level including as a speaker at a Congressional staff briefing. Dr. Thau is a nationally recognized lecturer in the area of infant's and children's vision. As a spokesperson for the American Optometric Association, Dr. Thau has been featured on national television, radio, and print to educate the public about eye and vision care. Dr. Thau is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2005 New York State Optometrist of the Year, SUNY Optometry Alumna of the Year, and Vision Monday's 20 Most Influential Women in Optical.

Dr. Thau is the owner of a five-woman group private practice on Park Avenue in Manhattan. The practice is a full-scope primary care practice with special emphasis on children's vision and vision therapy.