Terri Gossard, OD, accepting a plaque from Thomas Quinn, OD, after being named Optometrist of the Year by the Ohio Optometric Association.

CINCINNATI—Terri Gossard, OD, executive director of ABB Optical Group’s Primary Eyecare Network, has been named the Ohio Optometric Association’s 2017 Optometrist of the Year. She was honored for her outstanding service to the optometric profession and her dedication to the local community.

“Dr. Gossard is an invaluable asset to our team,” said Nan Meehan, vice president of eyewear, ABB Optical Group. “Her dedication, passion and enthusiasm are contagious and her work in the optical industry focusing on the growth of education in the community sets her apart from her peers.”

A past president of the Ohio Optometric Association, Dr. Gossard served on the organization’s board of directors from 2007 to 2016. She also served on the American Optometric Association’s (AOA) Health Center Committee, where she advocated for eye and vision care services at community health centers across the country.

Community health centers are multidisciplinary health care facilities that deliver comprehensive health services, address health disparities and improve access to care for underserved populations. Currently, Dr. Gossard serves on the AOA’s Third Party Committee, advocating for optometry in a rapidly changing health care delivery system.

During her tenure as chair of the Ohio Optometric Association and the Ohio Optometric Foundation’s Children’s Vision Task Force, Dr. Gossard helped develop the nation’s first self-sustaining, school-based vision center at Oyler School, a community learning center in a poverty-stricken neighborhood of Cincinnati. Since October 2012, more than 15,800 comprehensive eye exams have been provided for at-risk students at Cincinnati Public Schools, including the Oyler School, with nearly 70 percent needing and receiving corrective eyewear.