- Committee spotlight: AOA’s Meetings & Member Experiences Committee
- 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’
- Putting the spotlight on optometry’s stars
- Tennessee Welcomes You to Optometry’s Meeting
- Member in Focus - Dr. Thuy Tran
- Intentional leadership
- Congratulations to the AOA’s 2024 award winners
- 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
- Optometry’s Meeting 2022 is in the books
- 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
- annual award winners
- 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
Making her dream a reality
June 4, 2025
What do you do when opportunity knocks? Alyssa Putman, O.D., opened the door—and on the other side was the practice she dreamed of.
Tag(s): Inside Optometry, Member Spotlight
Key Takeaways
- In 2024, The AOA Foundation partnered with PERC to launch the Golden Opportunity Award, an initiative honoring the legacy of PERC co-founder David Golden, O.D.
- The prestigious award empowers three deserving optometrists each with a $50,000 scholarship to help them establish their first independent practice.
- Winners of the 2025 Golden Opportunity Award will be announced at Optometry’s Meeting® in June. Applications for the 2026 awards will open in fall 2025.
Excerpted from page 48 of the Spring 2025 edition of AOA Focus.
As one of three inaugural recipients of the 2024 Golden Opportunity Awards, Alyssa Putman, O.D., was awarded a $50,000 scholarship to support an independent practice. The award, which honors the legacy of PERC co-founder David Golden, O.D., provides both financial assistance and mentorship to early career optometrists.
Dr. Putman is a 2012 graduate of Salus University dedicated to providing exceptional patient care and creating a supportive, educational work environment. In 2024, she acquired a practice in Elmira, New York, envisioning a place where patients feel the passion and commitment of her entire team. She plans to use the award to acquire new technology for diagnosing and treating patients and to fund biannual free clinics for referred patients needing care.
“This award is such an honor to continue Dr. Golden’s legacy of elevating those around him and helping others to climb the ladder of success,” Dr. Putman says.
In a Q&A with AOA Focus, Dr. Putman shares her independent practice journey.
What inspired you to want to open your own practice?
After working in many optometric modalities, I found private practice gave the best patient-doctor relationship. I also loved that I had more control over staff to be able to provide better appreciation for their efforts.
What is your vision for your practice?
I have had this vision over the past few years of an office where the environment is relaxing and comfortable for both patients and staff with new technologies to provide the best patient care. I want and strive to always keep my customer service at its best. I work every day to continue to make that better.
How has the Golden Opportunity Award helped you in achieving your vision?
It showed me that others believe in my vision and passions. Having others behind you, supporting you, gives you even more confidence—knowing someone else can see and feel your passion to make this work! The financial reward helped me obtain a few pieces of technology sooner than I had thought I could just starting out. Another great aspect of the award is that I was matched with a mentor to help guide me through any issues, and Susan Keene, O.D., has been great to work with.
With the experience of opening your own practice, what advice can you share with doctors who want to do the same? Any valuable lessons learned?
I learned that there are more accounts to be transferred and simple IT and EMR configurations that take place, which consumed more time than anticipated. There are constant challenges, but overall I love coming to work every day. If it’s a dream you have, keep working on your vision, and do it!