The Commitment to Advocacy Award annually recognizes an ophthalmology training department and its leadership for outstanding support of the Academy's Ambassador Program. The Advocacy Ambassador Program is a collaboration with state and subspecialty societies, along with training programs, to support attendance by members in training at the Mid-Year Forum.
Russell W. Read, MD, PhD, Ophthalmology Residency Program Director at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, celebrates with his residents as the Academy’s Commitment to Advocacy Award recipient.
Pictured from L to R: Russell W. Read, MD, PhD, Program Director, Austin L. Nave, MD (PGY-2), Max M. Musharoff, MD (PGY-2), Nathan A. Fischer, MD (PGY-2), Cole N. Gross, MD (PGY-4), Catherine B. Gasper, MD (PGY-4), Samuel R. Feldman, MD (PGY-3), Allison L. McAlpine, MD (PGY-4), Emilee M. Dailey, MD (PGY-3), Lauren E. Williams, MD (PGY-2), Robert Foster, MD (PGY-3), John Paul Luckett III, MD (PGY-3), Brent B. Hoffman II, MD (PGY-3), Jonathan S. Fuerst, MD (PGY-4), P. Barrett Paulk, MD (PGY-4). Not pictured: Ophthalmology Dept. Chair Christopher A. Girkin, MD.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences is the recipient of the Academy's 2020 Commitment to Advocacy award. The award was presented to UAB by the Academy and the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) leaders in February 2021 during AUPO's virtual annual meeting.
The Academy’s Secretariat for State Affairs created the award to recognize a training program and its leadership for demonstrating a commitment to the Academy’s Advocacy Ambassador Program. The Advocacy Ambassador Program gives residents and fellows hands-on training in advocacy and policy development and supports their attendance at the Academy’s annual Mid-Year Forum and Congressional Advocacy Day. The UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to engaging and educating members in training about the importance of advocating for their patients and their profession, fostering Advocacy Ambassadors' engagement with the Alabama Academy of Ophthalmology (ALAO), and collaborating closely with the ALAO.