The new directors are (from left): Andy Davis, Dr. Theodore Gillette, Charles Garcia, Dr. Stephanie Marioneaux and Patrick McDermott.
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CHICAGO—Prevent Blindness, the nation’s oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, has announced that five new members have been elected to its national board of directors.

The five new directors are: Andy Davis, chief operating officer of Bouchard Insurance; Charles Garcia, EVP and director of treasury management, Associated Bank, N.A.; Dr. Theodore Gillette, president and chief executive officer, I2 LLC; Dr. Stephanie Marioneaux, assistant professor in ophthalmology at the Eastern Virginia Medical School and Patrick McDermott, president and chief innovation officer, Transitions Optical.

The vote was held March 10 at the 2017 Prevent Blindness Spring Board Meeting in St. Petersburg, Fla.

“The Prevent Blindness board of directors consists of accomplished and highly esteemed professionals who have come together to use their many talents and expertise to help us with our mission to save sight,” Hugh R. Parry, president and chief executive officer of Prevent Blindness, said in a statement. “We welcome Mr. Davis, Mr. Garcia, Dr. Gillette, Dr. Marioneaux and Mr. McDermott to this distinguished group and look forward to their leadership in protecting vision and eye health for all.”

At Bouchard Insurance, Davis’s responsibilities include oversight of the property and casualty, personal lines and employee benefit client service teams, client marketing, carrier relations and geographic expansion initiatives.

In his position at Associate Bank, N.A., Garcia is responsible for strategic leadership and customer relationships with competitive treasury management solutions. He is a longtime Prevent Blindness volunteer, serving on the Prevent Blindness Texas Board of Directors for more than 15 years.

Dr. Gillette is an eyecare industry veteran who has been the senior executive of public and private companies and currently heads the regional eyecare management group I2. However, the primary focus of his recent work has been on education, pediatric cognitive development and pedagogical innovation.

Dr. Marioneaux is a board certified ophthalmologist and is in solo private practice, specializing in cornea and external diseases and general ophthalmology. She specializes in cataract surgery, laser procedures and corneal transplants. She is currently an assistant professor in ophthalmology at the Eastern Virginia Medical School.

At Transitions Optical, McDermott’s responsibilities include building excellence and ensuring a strong innovation pipeline. He has been with Transitions Optical since 1993 and was responsible for the start-up of Transitions Optical’s Ireland facility.

The new board members joined a distinguished group of current directors on the Prevent Blindness board. The names of other board members are available on the association's website here.

Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is focused on promoting a continuum of vision care and touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research.