(L to R) Pleiades honoree: Ashley Mills, CEO, The Vision Council; Pyxis Award: Deb Bulken, sales director, Luxottica and Emerging Leader Honoree: Janelle Pauli, marketing manager, Vision Web.
DALLAS—The Optical Women’s Association (OWA) will host two events in New York City to celebrate and promote the achievements of women in the optical industry during Vision Expo East. The events are: a champagne breakfast awards ceremony and “star awards” cocktail and networking celebration. Both events enable members and guests to hear from this year’s leadership honorees: Pleiades honoree Ashley Mills, chief executive officer of The Vision Council; Pyxis honoree Deb Bulken, a regional sales director at Luxottica Group; and Emerging Leader honoree Janelle Pauli, a marketing manager for VisionWeb. The Emerging Leader award is a new award in 2018, to honor an up-and-coming executive who exemplifies emerging talent.

The Champagne Breakfast event begins at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, March 15, and runs until 9 a.m. at the trendy Espace, 635 W. 42nd St., New York. Guests will hear from the honorees about their own personal experiences and achievements throughout their career. In addition, there will be a keynote breakfast speaker.

The Champagne Breakfast is open to members as well as non-members. Seating will be limited and reservations are a must. Tickets are priced at $55 per person for members and $65 for non-members. The event is sponsored by OWA and Platinum Sponsor, Luxottica. Reservations may be made online by March 16 at opticalwomen.com.

The OWA also will host its OWA Annual Star Award Cocktail & Networking Event from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 16, at the Eventi Hotel, 2nd Floor, 104 W. 30th Street. The three honorees will be celebrated at this very special event, sponsored by OWA Professional Development Fund.

Mills leads The Vision Council and works to elevate awareness of the importance of vision to the public. She is deeply committed to cultivating strong, effective partnerships throughout the optical arena and in adjacent sectors and brings more than 20 years of progressive communications, philanthropy and leadership experience to The Vision Council after working at agencies such as Weber Shandwick and Hill & Knowlton. She will be honored with the Pleaides Award, which celebrates an individual for showing exceptional support in advancing the leadership role of women.

Bulken is a regional sales director at Luxottica Group, where she is a strong, dynamic leader of the Eastern Region. She is well known for her abilities to mentor, inspire, build and nurture sales teams, and develop meaningful, long-lasting business relationships. She has been a member of the OWA since 2011, and holds the director position of co-chair, membership committee and secretary/treasurer, executive committee. Under her leadership, the OWA has seen its membership grow exponentially in the last two years. She will receive the Pyxis Award, which honors a member who contributes to the OWA’s growth by actively participating in the organization and promoting it throughout the industry.

Pauli is the marketing manager for VisionWeb, a software technology company in Austin, Texas, and for the past six years she has been a valued member of VisionWeb’s marketing team, implementing digital content strategies that fuel business growth for each of the company’s product lines. An active OWA member for five years, Pauli has served on the digital marketing committee and contributed to the foundation of the organization’s digital marketing strategy. Most recently, she was named a co-chair of the website committee. She will receive the Emerging Leader Award, a new award given to a rising star who exemplifies leadership qualities as a new distinctive talent within the optical industry.

For event reservations and information, contact office@opticalwomen.com or www.opticalwomen.com.