NEW YORK—Christie Walker, editor of LabTalk magazine, has been selected as the Optical Women Association’s 2011 recipient of the prestigious Pleiades Award. The gala event and awards ceremony will be hosted here at the Javits Center by the OWA on Friday, March 18, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

The Pleiades Award spotlights an individual who has shown commitment to the mission of the OWA by fostering the growth of women in the industry. This award is named for the star cluster Pleiades in the Taurus constellation and is also known as the "Seven Sisters" referring to the seven brightest stars in the cluster. Walker will be the 12th recipient of the organization’s award.

In addition to writing about the optical industry since 1997, Walker’s other credits include writing a book on motherhood as well as a fiction writer, specializing in romantic comedies. But it is as editor of the trade magazine LabTalk, a Frames Data publication, where Walker’s optical industry star shines as she keeps the lab side of the industry up-to-date on the latest news, technology and equipment developments. She is responsible for all editorial content, photography and design concepts for the Jobson Optical magazine.

A team player, Walker also contributes to: 20/20 magazine with her Street Seen photography; Vision Monday with photography and stories for the Show Dailies; and the Review of Optometry with photography and stories for SECO Daily.
A "founding mother" of the Optical Women's Association, Walker was a member of the organization's original board and part of the team that created and named the Pleiades Award. She was a member of the publicity committee for several years and still contributes to that committee with her photography documenting OWA events. Currently a member of the program committee, Walker and her committee members are responsible for putting together the Professional Optical Women's Workshop program each year at Vision Expo West.

For more information or to RSVP to the event, go to the OWA website.