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The Transitions Diversity Advisory Board was originally formed in 2010 to help guide the company’s multicultural initiatives and further strengthen its ability to help eyecare professionals provide culturally and linguistically appropriate vision care to a diverse patient base.





Cultural and language barriers can make it hard to communicate with patients—and can stand in the way of the patient receiving the best possible vision care. Even patients who speak fluent English may feel more comfortable communicating in another language.

Now, the Diversity Advisory Board is focused on making an impact on the multicultural representation of eyecare professionals. The Board, now welcoming volunteers, helps identify new programs and tools to support eyecare professionals in their efforts to provide the best possible experience for all patients.

In 2023, The Transitions Diversity Advisory Board (DAB) has conducted year-round multicultural initiatives that are in alignment with EssilorLuxottica’s sustainability efforts and designed to empower eyecare professionals and the industry to provide culturally appropriate vision care to a diverse patient base.

This year’s initiatives included DE&I education and resource development for eyecare professionals, community and patient outreach as well as optical industry recruitment efforts.

The Transitions DAB developed and presented both in-person and virtual COPE- and ABO-approved workshops as well as Leonardo courses on how to recognize and overcome bias to better serve diverse patients and meet their unique health needs. Digital resources that underscore the need for vision care were also created for eyecare professionals to share with their diverse patients.

Collaborations with nonprofits including Latinos en Optometry (LEO) as well as the continued Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Light Intelligent Tour in partnership with Black EyeCare Perspective (BECP) focused on introducing the world of eyecare to help increase diversity among the next generation of optometrists, ophthalmologists and opticians.

Also, at this year’s Transitions Academy, the DAB participated in the company’s annual mobile vision clinic event with the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation in Orlando, Florida. Over 80-plus unhoused patients were seen who may have otherwise lacked access to eye exams and glasses.

The HBCU Light Intelligent Tour, which was conceived and launched in 2022 by the Transitions DAB and executed in partnership with BECP, continued to create awareness of optical careers among diverse populations by connecting with 350 students from 12 schools through school visits and student activation at NAAAHP (National Association of African American Honors Programs).

Latinos en Optometry successfully launched a virtual Road to Optometry webinar series and visited two schools with high Hispanic student attendance connecting with 150 Hispanic students.

In addition to student outreach, Transitions is creating lasting partnerships with university presidents, faculty and pre-health advisors to provide HBCUs with continued support to recruit students into the optometric profession. Students reached at tour stops also receive ongoing communications like the Future Optometrist e-newsletter designed to share industry updates and trends as well as information regarding the Optometry Admission Test.

Demonstrating the impact of Transitions and BECP’s efforts, the tour was recognized as a finalist in the category of Education/Scholarship Program in Ragan Communications and PR Daily’s 2023 CSR & Diversity Awards.

A spokesperson for Transitions DAB told VM, “While the Transitions DAB has continued to make great strides in developing resources, participation in community events and encouraging diverse students to join the optical industry, continued efforts to increase DE&I in eyecare are still needed. Multicultural representation among Black and Hispanic communities continues to be disproportionate in comparison to their counterparts.” (Sources: US Census Bureau and Zippia)

As such, the Transitions DAB plans to continue its mission to impact diversity fundamentally by continuing to recruit additional DAB members as well as volunteers who have a passion for DE&I and innovative ideas for programs and tools to help guide the company’s multicultural initiatives. Additionally, Transitions recognizes the need for continued educational and community outreach to help patients feel trust and comfort that their eyecare professional understands their health needs, that they receive equal access to care and understand that vision problems can have long-term impact on their overall health and well-being.

In 2024, the Transitions DAB aspires to continue to create new programs and initiatives to support eyecare professionals in their efforts to provide the best possible experience for all patients as well as making an impact on the multicultural representation of eyecare professionals and providing equitable access to eyecare.

The Transitions Diversity Advisory Board and OneSight are partnering for the third year in a row, days before Transitions Academy in February 2024, to create a community event where the companies will provide free eye exams, lenses and frames to multicultural and low-income individuals in Orlando, Florida.

Transitions plans to continue the outreach to students through the HBCU Light Intelligent Tour and expand outreach to Hispanic students with a Latinos en Optometry Road to Optometry Tour. A digital and printed roadmap will give guidance from undergrads to the Optometry Admission Test and beyond for students who are interested in optical careers but are unsure where to start their journey.

For interested ECPs, more details on the DAB and a large suite of multicultural resources and learning essentials are posted here on the Transitions Pro site.