Educational Program

OD Sessions Grid

Paraoptometric Sessions Grid

Food for Thought Series

Exhibit Hall

Speakers

Welcome Reception

Speakers and Bios

The following is this year's list of conference speakers and their bios. Click on any name to read the bio.

Madhu Agarwal, MD
Benjamin S. Chudner, OD, FAAO
Ed De Gennaro
Steven Ferrucci, OD, FAAO
Jeffry Gerson, OD, FAAO
Jimmy Jackson, OD, MS, FAAO
David Kirschen, OD, PhD, FAAO
Steven Klein, OD
Millicent Knight, OD
Kelly Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO, Dipl PH
Bruce Onofrey, OD, RPh, FAAO
Phyllis Rakow, COMT, NCLE-AC, FCLSA(H)
Robert Rebello
Kevin S. Roe, OD, FAAO
Julie Schornack, OD, MEd
Leo Semes, OD, FAAO
Christine W. Sindt, OD, FAAO
Christopher Snyder, OD, MS

Madhu Agarwal, MD
Dr. Madhu Agarwal received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in biochemistry with honors, and her medical degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. She received her post-graduate training in ophthalmology at Doheny Eye Center at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. She continued at Doheny Eye Center with a clinical fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology and orbital surgery. Dr. Agarwal specializes in adult strabismus surgery, ocular plastic surgery, and neuro-ophthalmology. She has a special interest in thyroid eye disease and orbital tumors.

Benjamin S. Chudner, OD, FAAO
Dr. Benjamin Chudner currently practices in Bremerton, WA. He received his optometric training at UC Berkeley and residency training at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, FL. Dr. Chudner has lectured throughout the country on silicone hydrogel contact lenses and travels to the schools of optometry speaking to the third and fourth year students on the future of optometry.
SPONSORED BY:

Ed De Gennaro
Mr. Ed De Gennaro is a noted authority on practical optics, dispensing, sales, management and training. He lecturers extensively at national, state and local optical meetings and has presented in Europe, Canada and Puerto Rico. Formerly a professor and program head of the Opticianry Program, and the dean of the School of Health Sciences at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, VA, he is currently the director of professional content for First Vision Media Group, a consultant to the ophthalmic profession and the industry, and a member of the Vision Expo Advisory Committee.

Steven Ferrucci, OD, FAAO
Dr. Steven Ferrucci, a 1994 graduate of the New England College of Optometry, completed his residency in primary care/hospital-based/geriatric optometry at the Sepulveda VA Hospital in Sepulveda, CA. He is currently chief of optometry at the Sepulveda VA Ambulatory Care Center and Nursing Home. He is also the residency director at his site and an assistant professor at the Southern California College of Optometry. His emphasis includes therapeutic treatment of glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and posterior segment disease. Dr. Ferrucci has lectured in both the US and Canada with a special interest in diabetes, diabetic eye disease and fluorescein angiography.

Jeffry Gerson, OD, FAAO
Dr. Jeffry Gerson graduated from the Indiana University School of Optometry in 1997. His residency at the VA Medical Center in Kansas City concentrated on ocular disease and low vision. As faculty at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in the Department of Ophthalmology, Dr. Gerson was responsible for staffing clinics, resident education and the development of a low vision clinic. His experience includes 2 1⁄2 years in a retinal referral center where he had access to numerous diagnostic technologies, as well as participation in many clinical trials. His current practice, WestGlen Eyecare, provides full scope care and he continues to provide retinal consultations for colleagues. Dr. Gerson has authored several articles in journals such as Review of Optometry and Optometric Management.
SPONSORED BY:

Jimmy Jackson, OD, MS, FAAO
Dr. Jimmy Jackson received his optometry degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry in 1982. At Northeastern State University School of Optometry, he was assistant professor and taught in the ocular disease tract; he also served as chief of Adult Primary Care and Acute Care Clinics. During the last 17 years, Dr. Jackson has focused in surgical comanagement centers with emphasis on the preoperative and postoperative management of patients with cataracts, glaucoma, and those undergoing refractive surgery. Dr. Jackson founded InSight Lasik in 2001. He has published over 60 articles and book chapters in optometric and scientific journals concerning the diagnosis and treatment of ocular disease and the management of refractive surgery patients.

David Kirschen, OD, PhD, FAAO
Dr. David Kirschen has been the team optometrist for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox for the last 14 seasons. He is currently the chief of binocular vision and orthoptic services at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA. He also serves as full professor of basic and visual science and optometry at the Southern California College of Optometry. In addition to lecturing extensively, Dr. Kirschen has a private practice of 35 years, where he specializes in pediatric optometry, the treatment of binocular vision anomalies, computer related vision problems, strabismus and amblyopia, contact lenses and sports vision. Dr. Kirschen received his OD and PhD degrees from the University of California, Berkeley.

Steven Klein, OD
Dr. Steven Klein is clinical director of a four-doctor, two-location private practice in San Diego, CA. He has lectured on new technology in contacts and ophthalmic materials as well as participating in many panel discussions for a variety of topics. Dr. Klein received the TLC Dennis Kennedy award for excellence in eye care. He also was recognized by Ophthonix as a wavefront pioneer. Dr. Klein has done studies for many types of contacts including silicone hydrogel, hybrid, multifocal and other specialty lenses. He is currently a preceptor for the Pennsylvania College Optometry. Dr. Klein graduated from UCLA and the Southern California College of Optometry. He is also in the Bonzai Consortium, Vision Source and was in the Cleinman performance network for seven years.
SPONSORED BY:

Millicent Knight, OD
Dr. Millicent Knight has been active in the National Optometric Association (NOA), the American Optometric Association (AOA) and the Illinois Optometric Association (IOA). Dr. Knight served as a national board examiner and assistant chief board examiner for candidates seeking licensure to practice optometry in Illinois. She served on the Illinois Licensing and Disciplinary Committee for the State Board of Optometry, and was very active with lobbying efforts throughout Illinois to allow properly trained optometrists to employ therapeutic as well as diagnostic pharmaceutical agents in their practices. Dr. Knight was selected “Young Optometrist of the Year” in 1997 by the IOA and “Optometrist of the Year” in 1999 by the NOA. She was appointed to the National Advisory Eye Council of the National Eye Institutes, for which she reviewed eye-related research grants and made recommendations on their funding.
SPONSORED BY:

Kelly Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO, Dipl PH
Dr. Kelly Nichols is an associate professor at The Ohio State University College of Optometry. She received her doctor of optometry degree from the University of California, Berkeley, followed by a residency in ocular disease at Omni Eye Specialists of Colorado. She completed a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in physiological optics at Ohio State University. She has received NIH funding to study dry eye in postmenopausal women in addition to many public health and industry research projects. Dr. Nichols lectures and writes on dry eye, contact lenses, diabetes and public health, and women’s health issues.

Bruce Onofrey, OD, RPh, FAAO
Dr. Bruce Onofrey is a founding member of the Optometric Glaucoma Society and an internationally recognized lecturer on the management of ocular disease and the use of pharmaceutical agents. He is currently chief of optometry services and vice-chairman of eye services at Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, NM. Current faculty appointments include adjunct status at the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry, Pacific University and University of Houston. Dr. Onofrey is the current editor of Clinical Optometric Pharmacology and Therapeutics and the author of (i>The Ocular Therapeutics Handbook — A Clinical Manual. Dr. Onofrey is a 1982 graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry and completed a residency at the Albuquerque Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Phyllis Rakow, COMT, NCLE-AC, FCLSA(H)
Ms. Phyllis Rakow is director of Contact Lens Services for The Princeton Eye Group — a multi-specialty eye care practice with three offices in central New Jersey. She is a JCAHPO-certified ophthalmic medical technologist, a NCLE advanced-level contact lens technician, and an Honored Fellow of the Contact Lens Society of America. She has lectured throughout the United States and Canada, writes for numerous trade and professional publications, served a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the Contact Lens Society of America, is serving a third term on the Board of Directors of the National Contact Lens Examiners, and is now on the RGPLI Advisory Committee.

Robert Rebello
Mr. Robert Rebello has been involved in medical records for over 25 years. His medical records involvement began as a senior consultant to hospitals across the country. He has also been involved in ophthalmic systems for over 20 years. He was the original designer and developer of several ophthalmic systems including a patient reporting system, a co-management reporting system and an electronic medical records system. Because of his extensive background in ophthalmic medical records and coding, doctors around the country requested that he develop a process that would easily show them how to code and bill properly, especially for medical issues. The result was the EyeCOR suite. Mr. Rebello provides coding seminars across the country that show optometrists and their staff how to code and bill properly.

Kevin S. Roe, OD, FAAO
Dr. Kevin Roe is a 1981 honors graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry, where he also served on the clinic faculty through 1984. Dr. Roe practiced optometry for 23 years, the last 16 at Dreyer Medical Clinic in Aurora, IL, where he served as Head of the Department of Optometry and Contact Lenses. Dr. Roe left optometric practice in October of 2003 to join CIBA Vision, where he currently serves as director of professional relations, North America. Dr. Roe is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a frequent lecturer at the national level on numerous topics relating to contact lenses and lens care, contact lens related complications, and practice management.
SPONSORED BY:

Julie Schornack, OD, MEd
Dr. Julie Schornack received her optometry degree from the Illinois College of Optometry in 1984. She then completed a masters of education at the Pacific University College of Optometry. Dr. Schornack has been at Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) since 1986. She serves as the associate dean of clinical education at SCCO and oversees the progress of students in the Eye Care Center and the Outreach Clinical Programs. She is an assistant professor in the Cornea and Contact Lens Service where she has responsibilities in lecture, laboratory and clinic. She has participated in the Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Keratoconus (CLEK) Study as a co-investigator at SCCO. Dr. Schornack has also been involved in contact lens research and has lectured extensively on contact lens related topics.

Leo Semes, OD, FAAO
Dr. Leo Semes, professor of optometry and the director of continuing education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, earned his doctor of optometry degree from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) in Philadelphia and completed his residency at The Eye Institute of PCO. Dr. Semes has authored or coauthored numerous articles and abstracts in major optometry publications including Optometry: Journal of the American Optometry Association and Optometry and Vision Science, and is the author of several book chapters. Dr. Semes has authored over 125 scientific articles and posters. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, as well as an active member of the American Optometric Association and the Southern Council of Optometrists.

Christine W. Sindt, OD, FAAO
Dr. Christine Sindt is a 1994 graduate of the Ohio State University College of Optometry. She completed a disease-based residency at the Cleveland VA Medical Center where she also did subspecialty rotations in low vision and advanced contact lens fitting. Dr. Sindt joined the faculty of the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences in 1995, where she is an assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology and director of the Contact Lens Service. Dr. Sindt is a fellow of the Academy of Optometry. She is on the Medical Advisory Board and on the Council of the AOA contact lens and cornea section, and also serves as consultant for the Center for Keratoconus. Dr. Sindt writes the monthly contact lens solutions editorial for Review of Contact Lens. Her current clinical interests include pediatric, keratoconus and post surgical contact lens fits.

Christopher Snyder, OD, MS
Dr. Chris Snyder earned a doctorate in optometry, a graduate degree and a residency certificate in contact lens practice from the Ohio State University. He was an optometrist in the U.S. Navy and was a professor of optometry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Optometry for more than 24 years, as well as the director and chief of the Cornea and Contact Lens Service of UAB EyeCare. Currently director of professional relations for Bausch & Lomb, he still has a clinical practice in the Birmingham area and continues as a UAB Adjunct Professor. Dr. Snyder has authored numerous scientific papers, clinical articles and book chapters, and is a co-author of the textbook, Contact Lenses — Procedures and Techniques. He is also contributing editor for Contact Lens Spectrum, co-editor of the International Contact Lens Clinic Journal and US regional editor of the UK-based (British Contact Lens Association) Contact Lens and Anterior Eye.
SPONSORED BY: