Ron Walker.
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BELLEVUE, Wash.—Innovega Inc. has added longtime eyecare publisher Ron Walker to its team. He joins the many ophthalmic and consumer electronics industry veterans who serve on the Innovega communications team and its scientific and business advisory boards. “Ron brings much needed experience and talent to Innovega,” said Steve Willey, Innovega co-founder, president and CEO. “His expertise in publishing, social media management, digital media and public relations outreach to consumers and eyecare practitioners will strengthen our ability to communicate our value in the emerging field of extended reality.”

In 1999, Walker co-founded AllAboutVision.com, a website educating consumers about eye health and vision correction, and served as its publisher for 18 years. From 1985 to 1992, he was publisher of the clinical magazine Contact Lens Spectrum and a partner in Viscom Publications, which also published Eyecare Business. In 1997, Walker co-founded Contact Lenses Today, the first email newsletter for eyecare professionals, in partnership with Joseph Barr, OD, FAAO and Contact Lens Spectrum. He began his career in 1977 with an advertising and PR firm specializing in retail optical, and also held editorial and sales positions with Optometric Management, Ophthalmology Management and Contact Lens Forum magazines.

Walker serves on the U.S. advisory committee of Optometry Giving Sight and assists the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association with various online educational efforts.

Willey added, “Ron joins us at an important time in our company history as we launch our SeedInvest crowdfunding campaign to raise the funding needed to complete the required FDA clinical investigations for our eMacula and iOptik contact lenses.”

Innovega is developing the world’s first human-friendly, panoramic-field-of-view system for augmented reality and virtual reality. Its eMacula combination of stylish glasses and smart contact lenses provides the user with a discreet, high performance entertainment and information experience.

The company was co-founded by prominent inventor and optometrist Jerome A. Legerton, OD and Stephen Willey, former CEO of augmented reality pioneer MicroVision. Innovega has been funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Institutes of Health National Eye Institute and from private investment.

Willey introduced Innovega to the optical industry at the 2012 Vision Monday Global Leadership Summit.