- 5 things pediatricians should know about eye health
- Advocating for optometry’s littlest patients
- Dry eye treatment creates growth potential for optometrists
- Honoring longtime AOA member and dedicated volunteer Heather Tibbetts
- Paraoptometric associates create caring first impressions for eye care
- Honoring an optometry trailblazer: Richard Hopping, O.D.
- She’s going FAR
- Community outreach creates avenues for vision care access
- What it takes to work on a comprehensive care team
- Honoring optometry’s best and brightest
- Committee spotlight: AOA’s Meetings & Member Experiences Committee
- Making her dream a reality
- Student-centered initiatives promote optometry careers
- 1 year strong, Myopia Collective advancing a new standard of care
- Elevating optometry by advocating for dry eye patients
- Congratulations to the AOA’s 2025 award winners
- Inspiring optometry’s next generation
- A passion for grassroots
- Bringing the optometric community together
- Optometry finds voice in influential society
- Remembering Debbie Hettler
- Part of the solution
- ‘Changing the face of how we practice’
- On the radar: Emerging technologies
- Lessons in staff retention from a 50-year-practicing paraoptometric
- Remembering Virgil Deering
- Understanding the past to inform a better future
- 5 ways to center patient care
- AOA members help Olympians gain an edge
- ‘Advocacy is our history and our future’
- Tennessee Welcomes You to Optometry’s Meeting
- Member in Focus - Dr. Thuy Tran
- Intentional leadership
- 115 years of family eye care
- Optometric foundation’s track record leads to $2.5 million grant for children’s eye care in Ohio
- Honoring Charlotte Ferris’ dedication to optometry
- Representation matters in optometry
- Remembering a true friend of optometry: Patricia Hopping
- AOA’s prestigious leadership program graduates another class
- Inspiring the next gen of contact lens leaders
- Seeing potential
- Taking eye care advocacy to a global scale
- Embracing the journey
- Born to serve: Active duty paraoptometric professionals provide critical care
- ‘Raising the ceiling’
- Honoring the profession’s finest at Optometry’s Meeting 2023
- Why proper documentation is vital
- Change agent
- The power of ‘yes’
- AOA immediate past president: Our biggest challenges
- Optometry through Bubba’s eyes
- Congratulations to the AOAs 2023 award winners
- Andrew Kemp AOA’s 2022 Educator of the Year transitions students from talking in question marks to talking in period
- Distinguishing service
- Successes in diabetes care
- Shantia-Hinderlider-humanitarian-heart
- Glen Steele honored in retirement
- Art Epstein
- Next-level-Loretta-Eriks-CPOT
- Davidoff award
- Leader to leader
- Chicago things to do
- The next generation of optometrys leaders
- 2022 Hall of Fame
- Sullins Award Winner
- A great fit
- Ukrainian refugees find succor in AOA doctor executive director
- Candidates announce bids for Board of Trustees elections
- women in optometry
- Care close to home
- Emerging leader
- How one doctor lives a life of service
- Jerald Combs Obit
- Connecting with patients as paraoptometrics
- Building relationships
- Persistence pays off
- Advocacy from academia
- Women make giant strides
- AOA Board of Trustee Resolutions 2020
- C Clayton Powell O.D. Obit
- James A Boucher Obit
- Irving Bennett O.D. leaves legacy
- Janet Millis finding her place
- Changing of the guard 2020
- AOA 2020-21 election
- AOA doctors frontline care
- 2020 hall of fame inductees
- members carry the message 2020EyeExam into the future
- When student becomes teacher
- Jeni Kohn Vision Quest Young Optometrist Year
- AOA Board resolves advocacy public awareness in New Year
- nominate Hall of Fame
- AOA honors active-duty sacrifice of Army doctor of optometry
- From small-town to big deal
- AOA Board of Trustee Resolutions 2019
- How doctors of optometry contribute to Air Force mission
- Kneib longtime AOA leader leaves legacy
- Morrow Optometric Family
- AOA member has a super role for NFL team
- Taking pride in what you do
- Longtime AOA volunteer member Frank Fontana OD dies
- a profession of their own
- Doctor of optometry on MasterChef
- Hawaii doctor takes volcano in stride
- A patient person
- Pick Up the Pieces
- Removing the barriers
- Another New Year happily practicing optometry
- 101 years all in the family
- Doctor Levin Obit
- Family tree blooms with doctors of optometry
- Reaping what we sow
- AOA offers condolences to family of Richard L Wallingford Jr OD
- Hollywoods eye experts
- Black History Month AOA doctors rise to occasions
- Longtime AOA California optometric leader and educator dies
- Civil rights leader remembered as heroic and selfless by one doctor of optometry
- All in the family The Castellanos
- All in the Family The Botwins
- War stories Retired doctor receives Frances highest military honor
- All in the family Three generations of eye care
- Opening doors
- Optometrys Family Portrait
- Optometrys eyewitness
- Teachable moments
- doctor of optomtery stays focused in Ferguson Missouri
- Opticals green makeover hits primetime TV
Congratulations to AOA’s 2022 award winners
April 6, 2022
The winners will be honored at a ceremony during the 2022 Optometry’s Meeting®.
Tag(s): Inside Optometry, Member Spotlight
The AOA is proud to honor seven members with its prestigious awards and thanks its longstanding Visionary Supporter Johnson & Johnson Vision for their recognition of these exemplary individuals. The generous support of AOA's industry partners makes it possible to honor its outstanding members.
The Distinguished Service Award recognizes Capt. Dawn Clary, O.D., for her unusually significant contributions to the profession of optometry.
The Optometrist of the Year Award recognizes Jeffrey Michaels, O.D., for his outstanding service on behalf of the profession and the visual welfare of the public.
The Young Optometrist of the Year Award recognizes Saysha Blazier, O.D., who has been in practice less than 10 years and demonstrates remarkable leadership when serving the profession, patients and her community.
The Optometric Educator Award recognizes Andrew Kemp, O.D., for outstanding service on behalf of the profession, optometric education and the visual welfare of the public.
The Student of the Year Award recognizes Araba Otoo, MPH, for her leadership skills in serving the profession, patients and her community.
The Paraoptometric of the Year Award recognizes Loretta Eriks, CPOT, for her significant contributions to the profession of paraoptometry.
The Paraoptometric Community Service Award recognizes Shantia Hinderlider, CPO, for generously donating her time and talents to the profession of optometry, patients and the public.
The AOA congratulates all 2022 award nominees.
The Optometrist of the Year and Young Optometrist of the Year were selected from a robust field of nominees from 26 state associations and the Armed Forces Optometric Society. Each of these AOA-member doctors of optometry and paraoptometric professionals have distinguished themselves, and the profession, and are deserving of recognition and appreciation.