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Women who are team builders, developers of talent. Via example, education or training they successfully influence others to grow in their business or professional acumen.
 
Lori Archer
Senior Vice President, Account Management and
Product Development
UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits
Indianapolis, Ind.

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“Lori always looks for ways to grow and enrich her company, as well as her staff... her passion for our industry inspires others to be interested and learn on a daily basis; she also considers the advancement of her staff as a positive reflection on her and the company.”

Lori Archer has extensive experience in managed vision care, beginning with two years working for Vision Service Plan in the mid-1990s. After leaving VSP, she joined managed-vision player Spectera in 1997; Spectera was acquired by UnitedHealthcare in 2001.

By her own description, Archer has “worn a lot of hats” at the company during her tenure there, including responsibilities as senior vice president of sales operations and her current role as senior VP of account management and product development for UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits, a position she took on in January 2007.

Along the way, Archer has always felt it important to act as a mentor for up-and-coming employees, both formally and informally, encouraging them to develop new ideas and look for ways to improve company processes, themselves and the company. She has also participated in executive mentoring programs within UnitedHealthcare as well as in outside programs, both to improve her own management skills and to help others.

SHE SAYS...“I tend to instinctively be a mentor; I’m always appreciative of the career goals of my team and work with them to achieve those goals--it’s part of my management philosophy.”


Pam Benson-Gibson
Education Director, Western Region
Pech Optical
Sioux City, Iowa

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“She has been an inspiration to thousands of people in the retail and professional optical industry.”

While still in high school, Pam Benson-Gibson began working part-time for optometrist Dr. James Boucher in Laramie, Wyoming in 1970. After moving to California, she worked for Benson Optical for two years before joining Varilux as a customer service manager in 1984. She remained with Varilux for eight years, eventually working with many of the company’s lab customers.

“I was 1-800-BEST-PAL,” she joked, referring to the company’s toll-free customer service line.

Benson-Gibson joined wholesale lab Pech Optical in 1995. She took a two-year hiatus to dispense in Cody, Wyo., then returned to Pech. She got involved with optical education about seven years ago at the urging of lab owner Bob Pech, and she now spends much of her time giving seminars at various state optometric, ophthalmological and optician conventions.

For Benson-Gibson, learning is always a two-way process. “It thrills me to get information that I can use to help others,” she said, adding that she is always on the lookout for new avenues to share ideas.

“For example, more of our accounts are using webinars, which allows us to get information to them more quickly as well as have interaction with them. I find that exhilarating.”

SHE SAYS...“This is a wonderful industry. We actually make people’s daily lives better. I encourage people to not just treat it like job. It’s a gift.”

Judi Blondell
Regional Sales Manager--Central Region
Marchon Eyewear, Inc.
Nashville, Tenn.

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“She is the epitome of a mentor. For over 20 years, she has been proactive in developing the reps in her region. Her nurturing qualities and high expectations are some of the reasons that her reps and managers have been top performers for years.”

Longevity at a company is a rarity these days in corporate America but not for Judi Blondell. She’s spent the last 20 years at the same company--Marchon Eyewear, wearing many hats starting with director of market development when she joined Marchon in 1988. She became regional sales manager for the Mountain Region in ’93 and has since assumed responsibility for two additional regions--the Midwest and Southwest. Today, she manages and directs over $55 million in sales across all divisions of the company and counts some 90 reps and 3 district sales managers as direct reports.

“There is an entrepreneurial culture at the family-owned company that was there from the beginning and still exists today. There’s an energy here and a strong desire to succeed.”

Blondell takes her role as a mentor seriously using her influence at Marchon to help achieve company goals and develop win-win strategies. “I think I have a reputation for being fair, but also for raising the bar when it’s needed. I am not afraid to speak up or fight for what I believe in.”

SHE SAYS...“Ultimately, your personal circle of influence will be determined by your clarity and level of commitment to your goals: Know your purpose. Develop your strengths. Have clarity in your goals. Believe in yourself. Work hard. Play hard. Laugh a lot.”

Natasha D’Sa
Associate Vice President,
Sales-Government and Mid-Market Groups
EyeMed Vision Care
Mason, Ohio

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“Natasha has helped shape the organization into a leader in the industry while personally influencing countless current and former EyeMed associates...She is now devoted to passing her knowledge on to other associates so the company’s success continues for many years to come.”

After working with EyeMed Vision Care and its predecessor company, LensCrafters Managed Vision Care, since the late 1980s, today Natasha D’Sa takes pleasure in sharing her experience in the managed vision field with others.

D’Sa first joined the LensCrafters retail chain 22 years ago, starting as a temp in the company’s accounting department. After two years in finance and accounting, she switched to the chain’s business development segment, then helped launch LensCrafters Managed Vision Care, which became EyeMed in 1998 following Luxottica Group’s acquisition of LensCrafters in 1995. D’Sa rose through the organization in positions such as senior director of account management; she was also involved in the integration of managed vision firms acquired by Luxottica during that period.

In her current role, D’Sa works with state and other government groups as well as companies to craft a managed vision plan that will best suit their employees’ needs.


SHE SAYS...“Acting as a mentor is one of the best parts of coming to work every day. I think other people can benefit from my knowledge to enhance their own creative thinking. I love to work with fresh talent--they’ve got places to go.”

Jerry Ann Himes
Key Account Manager
Carl Zeiss Vision
Helena, Ark.

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“She has a tremendous amount of knowledge and is willing to take any opportunity to help and educate opticians.”

An optical industry veteran with five decades of experience, Jerry Ann began her optical career as a teenager working in her parents’ surface lab. After becoming an optician, she turned her attention to opticianry education. Certified by the American Board of Opticianry Masters program and the National Contact Lens Examiners, she is a member of the Commission on Opticianry Accreditation and serves as chairman of the National Commission on State Optician Regulatory Boards.

Himes has served on the Arkansas State Board of Dispensing Opticians for over 25 years, and is active in the Opticians Association of Arkansas. “My forte is education. I like helping people,” she said.

Himes joined SOLA 18 years ago as a lens consultant, working her way up to become key account manager in the company, which merged with Carl Zeiss several years ago and is now known as Carl Zeiss Vision. One of her primary responsibilities is conducting seminars.

“I want to elevate opticians,” she said. “They take care of one of the most precious gifts people have. The optician is the most important person in the eyecare delivery chain. If they don’t properly fill an Rx, the whole chain falls back. That’s very often overlooked.”

SHE SAYS...“Opticianry is a very rewarding profession. You help give people a better quality of life.”


Debra Lang
District Sales Manager
21st Century Optics
Long Island City, N.Y.

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“Debra Lang is the definition of class and professionalism. Her inexhaustible efforts include leading strategic teams to conduct large scale corporate events for hundreds of ECPs in the New York area. Her in-office staff trainings help ECPs deal with the realities of the optical business.”

Debra Lang has called the optical industry home for more than 20 years starting out in the mid ‘80s as a local sales rep with Optyl, a frame company. In 1990, she landed a sales consultant position with Varilux, where for 11 years she managed and grew a Manhattan territory responsible for more than 5,000 pairs of Varilux lenses. While at Varilux, she laid the foundation for her future at 21st Century Optics by getting involved with the company’s training programs. “I was quite good at standing up in front of a group and in a casual, conversational way, explored ways to help ECPs move beyond where they are to position premium products in their practice, teaching them the verbiage to use with patients, and to understand the dollars and cents that go along with it.”

In 2001, she decided to step out of her comfort zone and challenge herself by learning the lab side of the business when she joined 21St Century Optics.

Today, in addition to her responsibilities as sales manager for the Tri-State area, she has written and presented dozens of training programs for ECPs, guiding them through business building seminars that go beyond technical expertise with an emphasis on growing their business through product technology and sound business practices.

SHE SAYS...“The most important thing I can say about this side of the business is that the relationships are as important. To help an ECP grow their practice requires strong listening skills and it is my responsibility to become their business advisor and help them get beyond simply asking about the cost of a pair of lenses.”

Sue Larson
General Manager
National City Lab
Costco Optical
San Diego, Calif.

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“In the male-dominated field of optical lens manufacturing laboratories, Larson has worked her way up the ladder to where she is held in very high regard in the lens manufacturing world.”

Sue Larson is that industry rarity, a female top executive of a major optical-laboratory.

Shortly after graduating from high school, Larson went to work at the Opticraft lab in Portland, Ore., spending 18 years there before joining Costco Optical in 1992, at the warehouse giant’s lab in Tukwila, Wash. “I’ve been a lab rat my entire career,” she said proudly.

For the past three years, Larson has been general manager of Costco Optical’s second U.S. lab, in the San Diego suburb of National City, Calif., with full responsibility for that lab’s product and profitability.

The lab, one of the country’s largest lens manufacturing facilities, currently does 18,000 to 20,000 jobs per week for Costco’s more than 360 U.S. in-store vision centers. “There are very few labs of our size in the country, doing what we do,” she said.

SHE SAYS...“I love what I do and the role I play with my crew, and I really enjoy seeing them succeed. As a mentor, I let less-experienced team members think through a challenge on their own, then I share my knowledge--and I keep learning, too, from listening to them.”

Debbie Roney
Director of Logistics/Customer Support
Aearo Technologies
Chickasha, Okla.

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“Debbie Roney provides excellent leadership and mentoring within our company and is a strong role model for many of our female employees and managers. Roney is widely recognized by lens manufacturers as a strong, yet fair, buyer of lens blanks and often provides feedback that improves the lens manufacturer’s procedures and processes.”

Coming up on her 10-year anniversary with Aearo Technologies, Debbie Roney has been in the optical industry for over 26 years with 14 years at Triconic Laboratories and three years with the Nassau Lens Company. She started her career working part time for an optical lab with plans to obtain her real estate license and move into sales. She found the optical industry fascinating and soon recognized that optical was a good career choice.

Today, Roney is responsible for leading the customer support team at Aearo. She is heavily engaged in their systems architecture and works tirelessly on process controls and improvements.

While considered a mentor by her employees, Roney points to two mentors in her own life that have guided and influenced the way she works with her staff--Jeff Zeidner, one of the “smartest optical professionals that I have ever had the pleasure to work with” and Larry Headlund, an optical/mathematician/systems guru who was (and still is) an inspiration to her. Her personal philosophy of leadership is to help her team achieve success. “When folks can see and feel your passion, feel your appreciation for their efforts, the results you are looking for from them follows,” said Roney.

SHE SAYS...“Success is gained if you can positively influence others to achieve their best. This is something that I work hard on each and every day and it never disappoints me. I tell other women to work hard, albeit smart. Don’t be afraid to be a turtle....in order to get somewhere you need to stick your neck out.”

Josephine Shallo-Hoffmann, PhD, FAAO
College of Optometry
Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“She is respected as an educator by her peers and students and deserves to be recognized for her contributions to the profession.”

Bringing new understanding to the field of vision science is Dr. Josephine Shallo-Hoffmann’s profession and her passion. An experienced educator, Dr. Shallo-Hoffmann, who holds a PhD in psychology, has for the past decade served on the faculty of the College of Optometry at Nova Southeasten University (NSU) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She currently chairs NSU’s Research and Graduate Studies and Institutional Review Board.

Dr. Shallo-Hoffmann developed and instructs in the Masters in Clinical Vision Research course at NSU and works closely with the students to maximize their learning potential. She has been selected as professor of the year three times and has received the NSU professor of the year, Student Life Achievement Award. She continues to contribute to the profession with her mentoring, publications and research.

“My inspiration is to build a program of excellence,” she said. “The goal of our program is for our students to make a meaningful contribution to vision science and to the literature. We’re teaching them to provide better patient care, diagnosis and treatment of eye conditions and diseases.”

SHE SAYS...“Advancing the academic knowledge in our field and helping our students become better physicians is what’s most important to me as a teacher.”

Vicky Sheppard
Contact Lens Program Manager
Vision Essentials by Kaiser Permanente Southern Calif.
Los Angeles, Calif.

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“In her current role at Kaiser Permanente, Vicky Sheppard trains and provides technical support to 26 clinics in Southern California that fit contact lenses. Sheppard has helped expand and advance the contact lens program while training and supporting ODs, fitters, technicians, and clerks across the region.”

Vicky Sheppard’s career in the optical industry started when she answered an ad for a receptionist position at Benson Optical in Minnesota in 1979. After training as an optician and then as a contact lens fitter, Sheppard discovered she liked the medical aspect of the job and the relationships she developed with her patients. Moving to California for the warmer weather, Sheppard spent 10 years working at private practices as a pediatric CL fitter before moving over to Kaiser five years ago.

A Fellow in the Contact Lens Society of America and on their board of directors, Sheppard was recently appointed to the board of the National Contact Lens Examiners. Her mission at Kaiser Permanente is to increase knowledge, awareness and promote usage of contact lenses at the 26 clinics she manages.

As a mentor to others, Sheppard acknowledges the mentors and organizations in her life that have had a positive impact on her career. “Oakley Waite taught me the basics of contact lens fitting and gave me a great foundation. I am also extremely grateful for educational societies like Minnesota Contact Lens Society and Contact Lens Society of America.”

SHE SAYS...“I love helping people see better, especially kids. I am able to work with a lot of different people and whether it is a patient who hasn’t been able to wear contacts successfully in the past or helping a practitioner be successful, I find it’s fun to get others excited about contact lenses.”

Jean Simone
Director of Special Sales
Charmant USA
Morris Plains, N.J.

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“Jean is a strong, results-oriented woman who is kind and influential. She motivates everyone around her, leading by example. Jean is truly deserving of recognition for the fantastic career she has had and the way she has met and surpassed everyone’s expectations.”

Jean Simone started in the optical industry 31 years ago and has held a number of significant positions, including national sales manager for Tura and B. Robinson. She came to Charmant USA three years ago as director of special sales where she oversees retail department sales, sales to corporate and regional chains, export into Latin America and all of Charmant USA’s customer service and sales support efforts, as well as continuing to travel globally. A laundry list of responsibilities she meets with a level of professionalism, energy and good humor that raises the bar for everyone.

Believing the optical industry is more of a family than any other industry she has known, the close knit nature of the industry and the relationships she has formed over the years have helped cement her reputation for honesty and fairness. Her personal philosophy includes a desire to contribute to a greater good and to help her company, or an individual, grow and succeed. As someone who admits to having had many mentors in her own life and who believes everyone you come into contact with has the ability to give some sort of direction, she strives to be a positive influence on all those around her.

SHE SAYS...“I have always felt that doing my job is about helping others do the job they need to do. If I can help them do it better or get the things they need faster then I am here to help them. I know that to be successful we all have to get behind the ship to push it.”

Pat Stiles
National Accounts Manager
Essilor
Union, Ky.

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“She brings a comprehensive understanding of products and processes to her customers.”

Having been in the optical industry for over 30 years, Patty Stiles is widely respected for her knowledge and professionalism. She began her career in 1967, working in the accounting department at Onondaga Optical, a Syracuse, N.Y. wholesale lab run by brothers Victor and Lionel Gilels. She rose through the organization to become general manager, remaining with the lab for 20 years.

“There were very few women managing labs at that time,” she recalled. “I owe a lot to the Gilels brothers. They didn’t care if you were a male or female, as long as you were good at what you did.”

Next, Stiles was recruited by Essilor’s Silor division to be a detail sales rep in upstate New York. She soon took on greater responsibilities, eventually managing detail sales east of the Mississippi and then became wholesale manager in upstate New York and New England.

As Essilor’s national accounts manager, she has called on Empire Vision, Davis Vision, National Vision and Luxottica, which is currently her sole focus. “It’s great because I get involved with a little bit of everything, from new products and technologies to IT issues.”

SHE SAYS...“Learn everything you can, have a can-do attitude, and find good mentors.”



Danne Ventura
Director of Professional Relations
Essilor of America
Dallas, Texas

CHOSEN BECAUSE...“Danne has received the highest award from the Joint Commission of Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO), is well known and respected for her education and leadership in opticianry, optometry, and ophthalmology and annually directs the Varilux Optometry Super Bowl.”

After 25 years in the optical industry, Danne Ventura could wallpaper a room with all the awards and honors she has received. In fact, in 2007 she was even named a Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry, an uncommon distinction for someone who isn’t an optometrist.

In addition to her honors, she also sits on a number of boards including the National Academy of Opticianry, the JCAHPO Education and Research Foundation, the Vision Council Education Task Force and the Commission on Opticianry Education.

If these qualifications alone didn’t make her exactly the kind of person students entering the optical industry turn to for guidance and advice, her role as director of professional relations at Essilor of America certainly would. As part of her job, she works with schools, associations and students, administers and runs Essilor’s student grant program.

Ventura also believes that the newer generations of women in optical are definitely making a place for themselves. Since the sheer number of women in optometry schools has already out-paced men, as they graduate and start to practice, women will become even more influential in associations and shaping the industry, she said. Ventura was honored by VM in the First “Influential Women” issue in 2003.

SHE SAYS...“Balance is the key. Women just starting out today really need to keep a balance and not sacrifice their real lives for their work.” ■