EyecareForum USA 2022

How to navigate flattening labor supply, increasing demand & PE consolidation

Dr. Edlow was, most recently, Senior Advisor to EyeCare Services Partners, a consolidator of vertically integrated eye care platforms including Katzen Eye Group, encompassing 150+ Providers and 50+ locations throughout the US Mid-Atlantic Region, California, Illinois and Colorado. He recently retired from clinical care and his partnership in Catonsville Eye Group in the Baltimore market.

Dr. Edlow frequently writes and lectures on EYECONOMICS: business and market issues surrounding the eye care profession, market trends and workforce issues. He previously served as Chair of the AOA’s Information & Data Committee for over 15 years compiling the American Optometric Association’s State of the Profession Report. He has served on a variety of boards & committees including the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Integrated Ophthalmic-Managed Eyecare Delivery (IOMED) Committee. He was one of the early developers of comprehensive managed eye care programs in the United States.

Dr. Edlow currently serves as a board member for Building STEPs, a non-profit Baltimore based organization that equips the City’s brightest students with the tools to propel them to college and career success in science, technology and education. He received his degree in Economics from the University of Maryland and his Optometry degree from Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He is past-president of the Maryland Optometric Association and the Association’s Optometrist of the Year in 1992.

Panel Discussion: Tele-Optometry

Jim Muñiz is the National Director of Training and Development at DigitalOptometrics, LLC, an optical software technology company based in Lake Success, N.Y. The company has developed a comprehensive eye health and vision analysis system that is operated remotely by licensed Optometrists. The system remotely replicates a comprehensive eye exam performed by an in-person Optometrist but with added benefits to the patient, optical provider and licensed Optometrist.

Jim will be moderating the panel discussion on telehealth in optometry.

Panel Discussion: Tele-Optometry

Howard Fried has more than 20 years experience in the optical industry experience, including a career as a licensed Doctor of Optometry and as a business executive focusing on vision care and eye health services. Fried has owned and operated optical retail stores and a commercial optical manufacturing laboratory.

Currently Founder and President of DigitalOptometrics LLC, an optical software technology company based in Lake Success, N.Y. The company has developed a comprehensive eye health and vision analysis system that is operated remotely by licensed Optometrists. The system remotely replicates a comprehensive eye exam performed by an in-person Optometrist but with added benefits to the patient, optical provider and licensed Optometrist.

Howard Fried has an undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and a degree in Optometry from the State University of New York, State College of Optometry. He is a member of the American Optometric Association and the New York State Optometric Association.

Panel discussion: Tele-Optometry

Artis Beatty, OD, MS has been the Chief Medical Officer for MyEyeDr. since January 2017. Dr. Beatty sets both current and future clinical direction for the MyEyeDr. practices and leads a team of doctors, clinical directors and clinical support staff in delivering the finest vision care and in-office experience for patients.

Dr. Beatty joined MyEyeDr. in 2014 after being part of a regional practice in North Carolina for nearly 10 years. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Nova Southeastern College of Optometry, and the Wayne Huizenga School of Business at NSU where he earned his M.S. in Health Services Administration. He has previously served as President of the North Carolina Optometric Society’s Eastern District, as the state society’s 3rd party committee co-chair, and as a member of state society’s legislative committee. He has also contributed to the industry via membership in several speaker’s bureaus, advisory panels, and has published articles in Review of Optometry and Optometry Times among other professional and industry publications.

Panel Discussion: Tele-Optometry

Benjamin S Chudner, OD, FAAO is the Chief Medical Officer for AEG Vision, a private equity backed company based in Dallas, Texas with over 280 locations throughout the US. A 1997 graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Optometry, Dr. Chudner completed a residency in ocular disease at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Florida.

He practiced for over 13 years in the Pacific Northwest, owning his own private practice for 10 years before joining Bausch + Lomb to manage their learning and development department. After moving to professional strategy for B+L, he joined LensCrafters in 2015 and managed eyecare operations for approximately 180 locations in the US and Canada.

He was promoted to Senior Clinical Director for Luxottica in 2016, overseeing eyecare for over 2300 locations across LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Target Optical and Sears Optical. In June of 2018, he joined AEG Vision as the Vice President, Eyecare, and in 2020 Dr. Chudner was named Chief Medical Officer. He currently manages over 500 doctors and oversees clinical strategy and operations.

Redefining the color of the eyecare industry

Dr. Essence Johnson is an “HBCU made,” residency trained, community and correctional health optometrist in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Johnson received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Prairie View A&M University, followed by her Bachelor of Science in Vision Science and Doctor of Optometry from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University. She is also a Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry and a Diplomate in the American Board of Optometry. She is also a diversity, equity and inclusion champion, receiving certificates from Cornell University and the University of South Florida Muma College of Business.  Dr. Johnson:

• was the 2021 recipient of the National Optometric Association’s Dr. Edwin C. Marshall Emerging Leader Award
• was recognized as Vision Monday’s 2021 Most Influential Women in Optical honoree in the Rising Star Category
• was a 2021 Women in Optometry Theia Award nominee and awarded a Theia Award in 2022 in the mentoring category
• and a 2022 recipient of the President’s Medal at her alma mater Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University.

Dr. Johnson is a life member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and a Regional Trustee for the National Optometric Association.  She serves on the Transitions Optical Diversity Advisory Board, is a consultant for Johnson and Johnson Vision Care, Inc. and has been featured in video and in print on various outlets including Defocus Media, Review of Optometry, CL Spectrum, Eyecare Business Magazine and as a guest on a segment called Fit! Live! Win! on Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Dr. Johnson is also the Chief Visionary Officer of Black EyeCare Perspective and co-founder and co-advisor to the Black EyeCare Perspective Pre-Optometry Club where they are redefining the color of the eyecare industry 1% at a time by creating a pipeline for Black students into optometry and cultivating and fostering lifelong relationship between Black eye care professionals, the industry, and their communities.

Redefining the color of the eyecare industry

Dr. Jacobi Cleaver received his Bachelor of Science in Biology along with a minor in Psychology from the University of Houston, followed by a Bachelor of Science in Vision Science and Doctor of Optometry from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University. Dr. Cleaver completed a residency in primary care and ocular disease at the Thomas E. Creek VA Hospital in Amarillo, Texas. Currently, Dr. Cleaver serves as the staff optometrist for the Baylor College of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology, practicing at the Martin Luther King Jr. Health Clinic (Harris Health System), providing eyecare to the patients of Harris County.

Dr. Cleaver is a Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry and an active member of the Anterior Segment Section as well as the Academic Medical Center Optometrist Special Interest Group. Further involvement with the American Academy of Optometry includes being a part of the “See It. Believe It. Be It.” Initiative committee, participation in the Fellows’ Talk series and the Flom Leadership Course. Dr. Cleaver  was a  2022 recipient of the President’s Medal of Honor from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University.

Dr. Cleaver is also the Chief of Program Management of Black EyeCare Perspective and the co-founder and co-advisor of the Black EyeCare Perspective Pre-Optometry Club where they are redefining the color of the eyecare industry 1% at a time by creating a pipeline for Black students into optometry and cultivating and fostering lifelong relationship between Black eyecare professionals, the industry and their communities.

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