PHOENIX—The American Academy of Optometry (AAO) celebrated its 91st Annual Meeting from Oct. 24 to 27. Held at the Phoenix Convention Center, 2012 marked the Academy’s third largest meeting with over 5,000 registrants. At the President’s Banquet on Saturday, Oct. 27, 204 new Fellows were inducted and nine Fellows were awarded Diplomat status by sections of the AAO.

In the exhibit hall, optometrists, vision scientists, students and residents came together to take advantage of learning opportunities and products and technologies introduced throughout the weekend. A featured topic of several events was autism, panels for which included Ricki Robinson, MD, MPH and David G. Amaral, PhD as speakers to over 1,700 attendees.

Over $100,000 were raised throughout the meeting due to donations from approximately 270 supporters. Fundraising efforts included a luncheon and silent auction which raised over $12,000. Additionally, 13 new individuals and couples pledged or donated $10,000 each to join the Presidents Circle, which now has 100 members.

To become an AAO Fellow (FAAO), a candidacy process must be completed which includes written work, skill demonstration and an oral exam at the Annual Meeting. Once completed, inductee is able to use FAAO after their surname. Only 10 percent of practicing optometrists in the U.S. are Fellows; scientists, educations, librarians, administrators and editors are also eligible.

The next Annual Meeting of the Academy will be held on Oct. 23 to 26, 2013 at the Washing State Convention Center in Seattle, Wash. More information about the meeting can be found on the Academy website.

Following is a full list of the 204 Fellow inductees,:


2012 New Diplomats
Cornea, Contact Lenses & Refractive Technologies
Sheila Hickson-Curran ofJacksonville, Florida
Jeff Sonsino of Nashville, Tennessee
Rainer Bronner of Kirchzarten, Germany

Low Vision
Christopher Choat of Orlando, Florida

Public Health & Environmental Vision
Andrew M. Archila of Yuma, Arizona
Stephen J. Dain of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Lori L. Grover of Baltimore, Maryland
Sandra Wang-Harris of Dulles, Virginia
Patrick D. Yoshinaga of Whittier, California

New Fellows Class of 2012
Carmen Abesamis-Dichoso - Makati City, Philippines
A. Philip Aitsebaomo - Houston, TX
Megan Alberts - Kerrville, TX
Marie M. Alzi - Brooklyn, NY
Jacqueline R. Anderson - Yuma, AZ
Jeremy W. Anderson - Manchester, TN
Shannon G. Ardaiolo - Gallup, NM
Brian A. Arvidson - Olympia, WA
Sherry Audycki - Dartmouth, MA
Yin-Yin Aung - Fremont, CA
Raman Bhakhri - Orange, CA
Saysha Blazier - Jersey City, NJ
Christopher J. Borgman - Pleasant Hill, IA
Michael Buyske - FPO, AP
Aaron W. Case - Fort Wayne, IN
Alvaro Castillo - Fresno, CA
Ka Yin Chan - Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tiffany Lauren Chan - Baltimore, MD
Amy Chang - Vass, NC
Tina Ting-Li Chang - San Diego, CA
Lisa W. Christian - Waterloo, Canada
Marlena A. Chu - El Cerrito, CA
Jacobi T. Cleaver - Houston, TX
Brian M. Colander - Ashland, KY
Emily Rhetta Conn - Senatobia, MS
Nyssa Connell - Middleboro, MA
Stephanie Cooper - Broken Arrow, OK
Alissa M. Coyne - Philadelphia, PA
Benjamin D. Crowell - Renton, WA
Kimberly Cunningham - Polacca, AZ
Debra C. Currie - Houston, TX
Brandon Dahl - Fort Irwin, CA
Kelley Dasinger - Memphis, TN
Michael Craig Dasinger - Memphis, TN
Pablo De Gracia Pacheco - Madrid, Spain
Karen DeLoss - Ann Arbor, MI
Kimberly May Dillivan - Columbia, SC
Eric Drey - Chicago, IL
Janette D. Dumas - Memphis, TN
James A Eddis III- Columbia, SC
Meghan Elkins - Bridgeport, WV
Marta C Fabrykowski - New York City, NY
Nataly M. Fahim - Westminster, CA
Fred Farias, III - McAllan, TX
Sandra Farnham - Gastonia, NC
Charles A. Faron - Downers Grove, IL
Ronald R. Ferrucci - Milford, MA
Chadwin L. Fleming - Wichita, KS
Elissa Bunick Fleming - Knoxville, TN
Dennis W. Fong - Berkeley, CA
Melanie J. Frogozo - Iowa City, IA
Jessica Fulmer - Rocky Point, NY
Nadine Maria Furtado - Toronto, Canada
Joseph W. Gallagher - Grantham, NH
Joanna Bomkamp Gebhardt - Chicago, IL
Alexander Gentle - Waurn Ponds, Australia
Angella Gentry - Columbia, MO
Carla Gilbertson - Portage, MI
Mary Gilman - Northborough, MA
Ragna Godtland - Sartell, MN
Carly Goldberg - New York, NY
Lauren G. Goldsmith - Goodlettsville, TN
Marcus B. Gonzales - Carrollton, TX
Frankie F Goolsby - Antioch, TN
Piper G. Groppel - Greenwood, IN
Steven P. Gutierrez - Columbus, GA
Vadim Guy - Rochester, NY
Andreas Hartwig - Heikendorf, Germany
Shirin E. Hassan - Bloomington, IN
Gina Heck - Rhinelander, WI
David M. Hicks - San Jose, CA
Caren A Hirata - Torrance, CA
Erin Noel Hitzelburger - Macomb, MI
Lauren Hoffman - Charlotte, NC
James O. Holt - Sugar Land, TX
Cheyenne Huber - Martinez, CA
Li-Fang Hung - Sugar Land, TX
Peter Im - Fleming Island, FL
Erica Ittner - Chicago, IL
Katherine B. Jensen - Oakland Park, FL
Jennifer Larkin Johnson - Boerne, TX
Lee Michael Johnson - San Antonio, TX
Michael L. Johnson - Phoenix, AZ
Pauline Kang - Sydney, Australia
Muhammad Kashif - Peshawar, Pakistan
Jennifer Keiser - Riverton, UT
Thomas A Keith - Birmingham, AL
Micah Kinney - Virginia Beach, VA
Scott D. Klemens - Phoenix, AZ
Elizabeth A. Knighton - Houston, TX
Nikki S. Kokel - Houston, TX
Nicole M. Kosciuk - Arlington Heights, IL
William D. Kress - Bartlett, TN
Zanna Kruoch - Carrollton, TX
Frank Kuchera - Colorado Springs, CO
Jane Kuo - Atwater, CA
Ruhee Dhalla Kurji - Edmonton, Canada
Justin Kwan - Orange, CA
Delia G Landy - Jamestown, NY
Briana Michelle Larson - Austin, TX
Tressa Lee Larson - Springfield, VA
Kelley Lynn Lawrence - Chandler, AZ
Nicole Le - Oxnard, CA
Lindsey K. Lear - Pittsburgh, PA
Benjamin H. Leishman - Salt Lake City, UT
Candace Lipshy - Amarillo, TX
Haixia Liu - Irvine, CA
Yue Liu - Union City, CA
Holly I. Lorentz - Hamilton, Canada
Laura Ashley E. Lossing - Columbus, OH
Josh T. Lotoczky - Stanwood, MI
Gayle E. Lowe - Baltimore, MD
Edward Lum - Epping, Australia
Derek R. MacDonald - Waterloo, Canada
Sara T.S. Mach - Saint Louis, MO
Richard L Maharaj - Brampton, Canada
Carolyn E Majcher - Johnstown, PA
Natalka Manastersky - Chicago, IL
Karina Cecile Marcovitch - Toronto, Canada
Rebecca Marinoff - New York, NY
Kristin McDougall - Hilliard, OH
Paula S. McDowell - Big Rapids, MI
Hilari McFarland - Purvis, MS
Jennifer L. McGrath - Gibsonia, PA
Ryan O. McKinnis - Brecksville, OH
Michael Merry - Wattsburg, PA
Lernik Mesropian - Tujunga, CA
Heather R. Miller - Holland, PA
Lauren Miller - Houston, TX
Alejandro Molina - Finleyville, PA
Andrew S. Morgenstern - Rockville, MD
Andrea L. Murphy - West Lebanon, NH
Esther Nakagawara - Raleigh, NC
Ellen Nguyen - Metairie, LA
Madeline Diep Nguyen - Houston, TX
Thanh Binh Nguyen - Pomona, CA
Samantha L. C. Nogales - Tuscon, AZ
Ivana Obradovic - Miami, FL
Aghafekokhian B. Osaiyuwu - Benin City, Nigeria
Kaila Osmotherly - Glendale, AZ
Sonal R. Pandya - Streamwood, IL
Ann Anjuley Patel - Coral Springs, FL
Bhavini Manharlal Patel - Carrollton, TX
Hina N. Patel - Bartlett, IL
Nisha Patel - Arlington, VA
Shephali Patel - Lodi, NJ
Amy L. Pedersen - Redlands, CA
Tuyet-Suong Pham - Lake Worth, FL
Laroushna Pierre - Glendale, AZ
Stacy A. Potwin - Beckley, WV
Adam Preston - Quantico, VA
Vandana Rajaram - Big Rapids, MI
Scott A. Read - Brisbane, Australia
Kimberly Riordan - Jacksonville, FL
Mark W. Roark - Fishers, IN
Essence N. Robinson - Beaumont, TX
Nicole C. Ross - Towson, MD
Monica Roy - Fort Worth, TX
Diane Russo - Staten Island, NY
Hadassa Rutman - New York, NY
Christopher C. Schnelle - Woodbury, MN
Jayasree Seshadri - Mansfield, MA
Nahrain M. Shasteen - Columbus, OH
Sara Shkalm - Elkins Park, PA
Lindsay A. Sicks - Peoria, AZ
Frances M. Silva - Fort Bragg, NC
Kyla Smith - Bangor, ME
Kelvin So - Vancouver, Canada
Ashley Scheurer Speilburg - Chicago, IL
Elesha R. Starkey - Litchfield Park, AZ
Magdalena Stec - South Barrington, IL
Glen T. Steele - Memphis, TN
Ira Strenger - Springfield, NJ
Sandra Su - Virginia Beach, VA
Erin Frances Swift - San Diego, CA
Jeremiah Tampoya - Temecula, CA
Kyle Tate - Bixly, OK
Azzrah Thobani - New York, NY
Jack C. Thomas - Amarillo, TX
Christian J. Thompson - Chinle, AZ
Anita Ticak - Houston, TX
Candice Bernice Tolud - Pscataway, NJ
Yi Tong - Hong Kong, China
Zulmaris Torres Cruz - San German, PR
Lynn Hong Trieu - Philadelphia, PA
Anthony J. Turin - Raeford, NC
Christina Maria Twardowski – Kansas City, MO
Snehali Upadhyay - Schaumburg, IL
Tara Vacharkulksemsuk - Chino Hills, CA
Jose A. Vega - Pleasanton, CA
Fuensanta A. Vera-Diaz - Cambridge, MA
Ryan Vida - Rochester, NY
Shalini Vilsack - Murrysville, PA
Melissa A. Vitek - Huntington Valley, PA
Alison G. Webb - Jacksonville, FL
Jeannette Aidee Wong-Powell - New Braunfels, TX
Stephanie Woo - Lake Havasu, AZ
Kristy B. Wooler - Bridgewater, MA
Bradley Alan Wruble - Belmont, NC
Shirin Yousefi - Houston, TX
Deyue Yu - Columbus, OH
Xiao X. Yu - Hollywood, FL
Elena Zaharova Biffi - Cambridge, MA
Richard Zimbalist - Columbia, MO