(PRESS RELEASE) CHICAGO,IL — Prevent Blindness, has issued the call for nominations for the “2021 Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health,” and the second annual “Rising Visionary Award.” Both the awards will be formally presented at the Tenth Annual Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health National Summit, to be held virtually, on July 14-15, 2021.
The Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health recognizes an individual, team, or organization that has made significant contributions to the advancement of public health related to vision and eye health at the community, state, national, and/or international level. The award serves as a living memorial to Jenny Pomeroy, who was the CEO of Prevent Blindness Georgia from 1996 until 2013, and brought a passionate understanding of public health to her work and the Prevent Blindness mission.
The 2021 award recipient or representative (if a team or organization) must be available to present at the 2021 Focus on Eye Health National Summit.
The 2020 Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health was presented to the Children’s Vision Rehabilitation Program (CVRP) at West Virginia University. Other past recipients of this award include Cynthia Owsley, PhD, MSPH, Nathan E. Miles Chair of Ophthalmology and Director of the Clinical Research Unit at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (2019); the Johns Hopkins University School-Based Eye Care Team (2018); John E. Crews, DPA, retired from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017); Bruce Moore, OD, retired from the New England College of Optometry (2016); and Richard T. Bunner, retired from the Ohio Department of Public Health (2015).
The second annual Prevent Blindness Rising Visionary Award will be presented to an optometry student or resident, ophthalmology resident, primary health care, nursing, or other health professional student or resident in the U.S. who has the best essay based on a question related to the 2021 Focus on Eye Health National Summit theme, “Our Changing Vision.” The awardee must be available to present at the Summit to receive the award. Last year’s recipient was Araba Otoo, a third-year optometry student at The Ohio State University.
A subcommittee of the all-volunteer committee will review all nominations and select the award recipients.
“The Jenny Pomeroy Award and the Rising Visionary Award allow Prevent Blindness the opportunity to recognize excellence in the field of vision and eye health,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “We invite nominations from across America for those who share in our mission and commitment to sight-saving efforts.”
For more information on the Prevent Blindness Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health, click here. Information on the Prevent Blindness Rising Visionary Award may be found here. Or contact Nita Sinha, director of Public Health, at (800) 331-2020 or npatelsinha@preventblindness.org.
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