Office of Continuing Professional Education - SUNY College of Optometry

Over the last three years, SUNY College of Optometry's Office of Continuing Professional Education has hosted a series of webinars to stimulate a national conversation on race and equity within the profession of optometry. This has served as a measure of accountability and reflection in our journey to becoming a more equitable profession. This year's webinar comes at a time when there has been significant anti-DEI legislation at the state level and challenges to racially conscious admissions at the level of the US Supreme Court. Our sixth "Race in Optometry" discussion will address the challenges, discuss the impact they have on our DEI initiatives and outline tools we can use to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion in the face of these headwinds.

Please join us for a Free Webinar!

Over the last two years, the SUNY College of Optometry’s Office of Continuing Professional Education has hosted a Webinar Series on Race in Optometry. This year, we will also hear directly from patients as to why increasing diversity within healthcare professionals is a vital step in resolving health inequities and providing the highest quality of care. It was our intent to foster a dialogue that would lead to needed changes in optometric education and in the eye care industry. This year’s webinar, scheduled in conjunction with the Juneteenth celebration, brings back many of the previous participants to discuss whether substantive improvements have been made and where additional efforts are needed.

Mr. Easy Anyama
President - American Optometric Student Association
Student - University of Houston, College of Optometry

Dr. Teri Geist
Chair- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force American Optometric Association

Dr. Joy Harewood
Director - Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging - SUNY College of Optometry

Dr. David Heath
President – SUNY College of Optometry

Dr. Cynthia Heard
Chair - Diversity Task Force - American Optometric Association

Dr. Edward “Larry” Jones
President – National Optometric Association

Dr. Edwin C. Marshall
Professor Emeritus - Optometry and Public Health
Past Vice President - Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs, Indiana University

Dr. Chinelo Onyeador
President – National Optometric Student Association
Incoming Ocular Disease Resident - Huntington VA

Dr. Ruth Shoge
Chair - ASCO’s Diversity and Cultural Competency Committee

Dr. Adam Ramsey
Co-founder - Black Eyecare Perspective

CAPACITY NOTICE: This webinar has a capacity of 1,000 attendees only! If you’re not able to join the Zoom stream visit our Facebook live stream Link: https://www.facebook.com/SUNYCPE/

The webinar will be recorded and made available afterward on the SUNY CPE website: www.sunyopt.edu/cpe

Join the conversation on Wednesday, June 22 from 7-9pm Race in Optometry: Where Are We Now?

Register: https://sunyopt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hCTzedR_RLCUKREoYKC2XA

Last year, the SUNY College of Optometry’s Office of Continuing Professional Education hosted a three-part Webinar Series on Race in Optometry. These webinars took a hard look at the experiences of Black optometrists as students, residents, faculty, and practitioners. It was our intent to foster a dialogue that would lead to needed changes in optometric education and in the eye care industry. This year’s webinar, scheduled in conjunction with the Juneteenth celebration, brings back many of last year’s panelists to discuss whether substantive improvements have been made and where additional efforts are needed.

Program Panel
John G. Flanagan PhD, DSc, FCOptom, FAAO, FARVO
Dean and Professor, School of Optometry
President, Association of School and Colleges of Optometry | University of California Berkeley

Joy Harewood, OD, FAAO, Dipl ABO
Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging | Associate Clinical Professor SUNY College of Optometry

Edwin C. Marshall, OD, MS, MPH​
Professor Emeritus, ​Optometry and Public Health ​| Past Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs, Indiana University​

Howard Purcell, OD, FAAO
President and CEO | New England College of Optometry

Adam Ramsey, OD​
Cofounder, Black Eyecare Perspective ​| CEO, Socialite Vision ​| Founder, ​Health Focus South Florida

Sherrol A. Reynolds, OD, FAAO President, National Optometric Association (NOA)​
Chief, Advanced Ophthalmic Care, NSU College of Optometry of Optometry

Ruth Y. Shoge, OD, MPH, FAAO
Associate Professor | Pediatric and Binocular Vision Services
The Eye Institute Pennsylvania College of Optometry | Salus University

Did you miss any of the Race in Optometry webinars or want to watch them again?
If so, visit our special series page
https://sunyopt.edu/academics/programs/continuing-education-ce/special-series/

Zoom CAPACITY NOTICE: This webinar has a capacity of 500 attendees only! You can join us here: https://www.facebook.com/SUNYCPE/