It is my honor to be nominated for a position on the Academy’s Board of Trustees as a trustee-at-large. I look forward to the opportunity to use my experience in academic medicine, private practice and the veterans administration in service of the interests of my ophthalmology colleagues and the needs of their patients. In addition, it has been my privilege to serve in leadership roles at both the Academy and the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO).
I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated with honors from Harvard College. I graduated from Harvard medical school and then completed my ophthalmology residency under the mentorship of Michael Marmor at the Stanford University Medical Center. While at Stanford, I was awarded the McCormick prize for outstanding ophthalmology resident. Following residency, I completed a cornea fellowship as a Heed scholar at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary under the mentorship of Drs. Claes Dohlman and Deborah Pavan Langston.
After fellowship, I started my professional career at Stanford Medical School, where I was director of the Stanford University cornea service and chief of ophthalmology at the Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital. Ten years later, I moved to Annapolis, Md., where I joined the adjunct faculty of the University of Maryland and started a successful solo private practice. I spent a gratifying decade of my career in private practice, so I have firsthand knowledge of the joys and challenges of managing a private ophthalmology practice.
Currently, I am a professor and hold the Taylor Asbury Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine; I am also the medical director of the University of Cincinnati Clinics and director of medical student education. For 12 years, I served as an examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology. In 2018, I earned a master's degree in health professions education from the Johns Hopkins School of Education. I have received local and national teaching recognition and successfully mentored more than 50 medical students into ophthalmology residency positions.
In 2019, I was elected by peers to AUPO’s six-member Directors of Medical Students Council and currently serve as secretary of the DMSE Council. In this position, I have enjoyed a leadership role in designing medical student educator programs for the annual Educating the Educators sessions and the annual AUPO meeting.
My appreciation for the Academy’s outstanding work began when I became a member during my first year of residency, and the Academy has been an essential element of my professional life throughout my career. I have been an honor award recipient, given numerous presentations and courses at annual meetings and avidly participated in the Academy’s committee work. My most recent leadership roles have been with the Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program. From the planning phase, I served on the program’s metrics committee (2017 to present), the support committee (2019), and most recently, the executive committee (2021 to present).
I look forward to the privilege of serving.