(PRESS RELEASE) NEWTON, MA — Blair Wong, Board President of international nonprofit GoodVision USA, accepted one of the optical profession’s highest international honors Saturday in Paris. Wong is fully blind—the first blind optician to receive the award in its history.
Wong was selected from six international finalists by the International Opticians Association (IOA) at the SILMO conference on September 27. SILMO Paris is the world’s leading optical and eyewear trade show, and the IOA award recognizes outstanding dedication, professional achievement, and contributions to advancing the profession globally.
The recognition comes as GoodVision celebrates a milestone of its own: delivering its one-millionth pair of eyeglasses to underserved communities worldwide.
The 2025 award honors Wong’s 45-year career spent helping others see clearly, despite complete vision loss from retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease diagnosed when he was just 26 years old.
“I am very humbled and overwhelmed by this amazing honor from the International Opticians Association,” said Wong. “I hope this moment helps elevate the awareness that not only is opticianry an exciting career choice but is also an opportunity to serve the most vulnerable and vision needy populations, locally and throughout the world.”
Wong was working as a practicing optician in Cambridge when doctors diagnosed him with retinitis pigmentosa—on the same day his older brother received the identical diagnosis. Instead of leaving the field, Wong earned a Master’s in Education and redirected his career toward teaching.
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For over 30 years, he taught optics to optometry students at New England College of Optometry—a rare honor for an optician that reflects his exceptional technical mastery. In 2007, he founded the opticianry program at Boston’s Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, building it to a 99.5% job placement rate while serving predominantly first-generation college students and students of color.
“Blair doesn’t just teach students to fit glasses—he teaches them they’re changing people’s lives,” said Jennifer Hyde, Associate Director of GoodVision USA and Wong’s former student (class of 2017). “That perspective transforms how they approach their work.”
As Board President of GoodVision USA, Wong applies the same philosophy he teaches: sustainable solutions must be community-led. The organization manufactures quality glasses locally for approximately $1 per pair, creating both vision care access and local jobs in 11 countries across Asia, Africa, and South America. To date, GoodVision has conducted 2.2 million free eye screenings and created more than 530 permanent positions.
“Blair reminds us regularly that we’re not just in the vision business, we’re in the business of human dignity,” said Matt Gianino, GoodVision USA’s Executive Director. “Everyone who works with and learns from Blair starts to see that every pair of glasses is a bridge to someone’s full potential.”
Wong was previously inducted into the Opticians Association of America Hall of Fame (2022) and serves as Executive Director of the Opticians Association of Massachusetts.
Wong is available for interviews this week.
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