ANAHEIM, Calif.—Women In Optometry (WO) presented its first Theia Awards recognizing women ODs for excellence in the categories of leadership, mentorship and education, and innovation at the annual American Academy of Optometry (AAO) meeting held here last month.

More than 160 people nominated women ODs for these awards, and a WO professional advisory board vote determined the honorees. The Theia Awards for Excellence, presented Nov. 10, are named for the Greek goddess of vision or sight, Theia. And each of the individual awards is named for a trailblazing woman optometrist.

The winners of the respective awards are:

• Andrea P. Thau, OD, FAAO, FCOVD, DPNAP, of New York City, was honored with the Dr. D. Elva Cooper Award for Leadership and Advocacy. Dr. Thau serves as president of the American Optometric Association, and she’s only the second woman to hold this post. In addition, she has spent seven years on the board of the Optometric Society of the City of New York, 14 years on the board of the New York State Optometric Association and has served as president of the New York Academy of Optometry. She was the first woman president of all three of those organizations.

• The Dr. Mae Booth-Jones Award for Mentoring and Education was presented to two individuals. Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, FSLS, principal optometrist at the UC Davis Eye Center in Sacramento, Calif., received the Mentoring Award, and Stacy Ayn Lyons, OD, FAAO, a tenured professor and the current chair of the Specialty and Advanced Care Department at New England College of Optometry, received the Education Award.

Dr. Barnett is president of the Scleral Lens Education Society, serves on a number of industry boards, and lectures and publishes frequently on topics such as dry eye, anterior segment disease, contact lenses, and a home/life balance for women in optometry.

Dr. Lyons has served as director of the Framingham Public School Vision Center at the New England Eye Institute since 2005. She’s also been an investigator or consultant for numerous research grants and a frequent author and presenter on the subject of children’s vision.

• The Dr. Gertrude Stanton Award for Innovation was presented to Linda M. Chous, OD, of Minneapolis, and also to a Canadian initiative called Eyefoods. Dr. Chous serves as the chief eyecare officer for UnitedHealthcare and works on committees for AOA and National Association of Vision Care Plans. In these roles, she is outlining a path for optometry to become more involved in monitoring patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes.

Eyefoods, which is spearheaded by colleagues and foodies Barbara Pelletier, OD, and Laurie Capogna, OD, is focused on providing information about the nutritional value of food. The doctors wanted to bring the knowledge of foods that promote eye health beyond what was currently known. The result of their research is detailed in a whimsical, information-packed series of books: Eyefoods, Cooking with Eyefoods and Eyefoods for Kids.

Women in Optometry editor April Jasper, OD, (l) and Dr. Andrea Thau, OD, who was honored with the Dr. D. Elva Cooper Award for Leadership and Advocacy. Women in Optometry editor Katie Gilbert-Spear, OD, (r) and Melissa Barnett, OD, principal optometrist at the UC Davis Eye Center in Sacramento, Calif., who received the Mentoring Award. Stacy Ayn Lyons, OD, FAAO, a tenured professor and the current chair of the Specialty and Advanced Care Department at New England College of Optometry, received the Education Award.