ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The organizers of Vision Expo, The Vision Council and Reed Exhibitions, today announced that the Career Zone will return to Vision Expo East 2021 on Saturday, June 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT. The hub for students and young professionals will be hosted in The Seen (#TP1251), a dynamic new main stage destination offering collaborative learning. Vision Expo East 2021 will also offer students exclusive registration benefits including free Exhibit Hall admission and unlimited access to education.

Vision Expo East 2021 will take place at the Orange County Convention Center from June 2-5, 2021. The Show’s educational program, together with OptiCon@Vision Expo, will open Wednesday, June 2 and exhibits will open Thursday, June 3.  To register for Vision Expo East’s Exhibit Hall and Education, click here.

“To move our industry forward, Vision Expo understands the importance of focusing on the next generation of leaders—especially following the challenges of the past year. It is vital that young vision community members feel supported and prepared as they head into a workforce that is dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic,” said Suzanne Krauss, Vision Expo’s Career Zone manager. “Through the Career Zone, students and young professionals will have the chance to present themselves professionally to hiring companies and explore the vibrant options available to them in the vision community.”

The Career Zone will serve as a central hub where students and young professionals can connect with optical companies and explore career resources.
Participating companies include:

• Bixby Eye Center
• Luxottica
• Shopko Optical
• National Optometric Association (NOA)
• Young ODs of America
• Family HealthCare Network
• Keplr Vision
• National Vision, Inc.

The Career Zone is located in The Seen, which will offer programming all day, including two panel discussions targeted to young ODs and students, one hosted by the National Optometric Association of America (NOA) and one hosted by the Young ODs of America. The panels include:

• Saturday, June 5 at 11:00 am EST: The Young ODs of America will host “The View with Young ODs of America,” a panel moderated by Dr. Justin Bazan with a focus on modes of practice and practice management.
• Saturday, June 5 at 1:00 pm EST: The National Optometric Association of America will host “Excellence: Overcoming Obstacles to Optometric Success,” a panel featuring NOA doctors sharing their experience and tools for successfully navigating within the optometric profession.

The Passport Program will also return to encourage participants to meet and receive a stamp from vendors for a chance to win prizes.

This year’s education offerings provide students a diverse selection of courses with topics ranging from glaucoma to leadership. All students are invited to audit any education session at Vision Expo East, if seats are available. Students are asked to arrive 10 minutes prior to the session start time and if there are seats available at the beginning of the session, students are welcome to sit in. Sessions suggested for students include:

Thursday, June 3, 2021
A Roadmap for Making the Diagnosis in Glaucoma
• 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
• Speaker: Eric Schmidt, OD; Michael Chaglasian, OD

How I Built This: Building a New Practice from the Ground Up
• 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
• Speaker: Kurt Steele, OD

Friday, June 4, 2021
Practical Myopia Management for the Primary Care OD
• 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
• Speaker: Christopher Wolfe, OD

Cold Start, Warm Start, Hot Start: Opening your first successful private practice in the world of private equity and consolidation
• 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• Speaker: Eric Baas, OD; Robert Steinmetz, OD

Saturday, June 5, 2021
The Lean Machine: A Systematic Approach to an Efficient and Cost Effective Practice
• 7:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m.
• Speaker: Aaron Neufeld, OD

MGD: New Technologies for Diagnosis and Management
• 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
• Speaker: Mark Schaeffer, OD; Milton Hom, OD; Douglas Devries, OD

Companies interested in participating in or sponsoring a future Career Zone event should contact Suzanne Krauss at skrauss@reedexpo.com.