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SAN RAFAEL, Calif.—RestoringVision, the largest global nonprofit provider of new reading glasses to people living in impoverished communities around the world, announced the appointment of Kevin Hassey to its board of directors. Hassey will serve along a list of optical industry leaders and business influencers to guide RestoringVision into a successful future, the organization said. “We are thrilled to welcome Kevin as a new director to the RestoringVision board,” said David Chute, chairman. “Kevin has served as an important advisor to RestoringVision since 2015. His extensive optical industry and philanthropic experience will be extremely beneficial in helping the organization continue to thrive and meet its rapidly growing distribution capacity.”

Hassey’s career spans three decades in the optical industry. He is currently senior vice president, managed care and philanthropic programs at National Vision, Inc. (NVI). During the early part of his career, Hassey also held several positions at Luxottica Group, including chief marketing officer of LensCrafters and founding general manager of EyeMed Vision Care. Following his time with Luxottica Group, Hassey shared his talents with National Vision, Inc. and became actively involved in optical philanthropy.

“Helping guide RestoringVision's impactful work for the last five years as an advisor has been incredibly rewarding,” said Kevin Hassey. “I'm honored to now be joining the board of this unique organization that has tremendous potential to improve many more millions of lives worldwide.”

“Our board of directors is comprised of dedicated and passionate leaders driven and committed to empowering lives by restoring vision for millions of people in need,” said Pelin Munis, executive director. “We are excited to welcome Kevin to our board and channel his expertise and passion into advancing our organization to its next level.”

The RestoringVision board consists of David Chute, chairman and president of i2C Ventures; Mark Sachs, chairman emeritus and founder of RestoringVision; John Becker, treasurer and president of Fort Docs; Erwin Cho, secretary and senior director of service strategy and innovation of Kaiser Permanente; Reade Fahs, CEO of National Vision, Inc.; Chris Harris, partner of FFL Partners; Myles Lewis, CEO of General Vision Services; and Jennifer Negrin, founder of JJN Consulting.

One-third of the global population, 2.5 billion people, suffer from vision impairment and its consequences. Of those, 500 million people only need reading glasses to restore their vision but live in impoverished communities with no access to available, affordable glasses. RestoringVision has helped over 16 million people see clearly in more than 130 countries, and it continues to impact millions of lives each year. RestoringVision has a goal of reaching 20 million people by the end of 2020.