Serving on the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Board of Trustees is an honor and I am grateful to be nominated as a trustee-at-large. If elected to the Academy’s board, I will resolutely continue to serve the Academy and our members with loyalty and obedience to the mission and goals of the board.
I take my fiduciary responsibilities to the Academy and its board with great seriousness and hope to contribute to the continued success of our profession during my time on the board. I have served the Academy as a member of several committees over the last 20 years and feel that I have a good understanding of our goals and our mission. In addition, I feel that my 20 years as a solo practitioner in private practice will accord me a unique perspective to the board and allow me to speak with authority concerning issues that affect small non-academic practices.
I first became involved with the Academy early in my solo career through the Practicing Ophthalmologists Advisory Committee for Education (POACE) (2004-09) and the Lifelong Education for the Ophthalmologist Committee (2007-09). In 2010, I joined the Academy’s Ethics Committee and became the chair of the committee in 2016. I recently completed my service on the Committee for State Governmental Affairs (2013-19).
I am a graduate of the Leadership Development Program XI (2009) and a recipient of the Academy’s Achievement Award, Special Recognition Award, Secretariat Award and Senior Achievement Award. In addition to my Academy involvement, I have served as a board member and past president of the Colorado Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons (CSEPS), an Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Co. (OMIC) committee and board member, an American Eye Study Club member and as president and an examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology.
My clinical career started as a resident at Baylor College of Medicine and an American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery fellow at the University of Utah in oculoplastics (supported by a Heed Fellowship Award and AOS-Knapp Award). I began a solo private practice in oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgery in Colorado Springs, Colo. in 2000 and have remained so since starting. I have a passion for teaching and fulfill this need with overseas work with Orbis and the Hawaiian Eye Foundation.
I appreciate the opportunity to be nominated to serve you and the Academy in the role of trustee-at-large. If elected, I will strive to continue the great legacy of those who have served before me and honor this position by working with passion and diligence to serve the mission of our leadership and membership.