L to R: Erinn Morgan, Laura Dorris, Jennifer Stewart, OD and Katie Lauver. 
DALLAS—The Optical Women’s Association (OWA) has announced the group's 2022 OWA annual award honorees. Erinn Morgan, editor-in-chief and editorial director of Eyecare Business magazine, will receive the Pleiades Award, recognizing her exceptional dedication and support in advancing the leadership role of women in the optical industry. Laura Dorris, executive vice president and general manager of strategic sales for HEA+PECAA, is the Pyxis Award honoree, acknowledging nearly a decade of service and commitment to growing the OWA and promoting it throughout the optical industry.

Dr. Jennifer Stewart, co-founder and chief vision officer for Performance 20/20, and Katie Lauver, vice president of business relations for GPN Technologies, will both receive the Emerging Leader Award, identifying them as rising stars within the optical industry who display exemplary leadership qualities, the organization said.
 
“The OWA board of directors is proud to present the 2022 honorees—we have seen their commitment to excellence in everything they do. These women have impacted OWA members and non-members alike, and we’ve all benefited greatly from their leadership, mentorship, and the personal investments they’ve made to ensure that we continue to grow as an organization and encourage successful leaders for the future," said Deb Bulken, OWA president. She added, "My deepest gratitude to Erinn, Laura, Jennifer, and Katie for all of their contributions."
 
The 2022 OWA award recipients will be honored at the OWA’s annual Champagne Breakfast on Thursday, March 31, 2022 during Vision Expo East. Sponsored by EssilorLuxottica and the OWA, this event will be held at Gotham Hall in New York City. Details will be posted soon.  The Optical Women's Association is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2022.
 
About the honorees:
 
Morgan, editor-in-chief and editorial director of the award-winning Eyecare Business magazine, a PentaVision publication, has been covering the business and fashion trends of the optical industry for over 20 years. Eyecare Business recently received the Folio Award for the Best Magazine issue in Healthcare in 2020 for its coverage and reader support during the Covid-19 pandemic. She is also the director of social media for PentaVision LLC, parent company of EB and 10 other publications and was recently named the editorial director of Contact Lens Spectrum.  
 
She has been deeply involved in the vision care industry and the OWA, having been a member of the OWA’s board of directors and chair of the OWA Communications Committee, as well as serving on The Vision Council’s Marketing & Communications Committee. Her background includes numerous additional editorial positions, such as editor-in-chief of 20/20 Magazine, editor-in-chief of FrameBuyer, and editor-in-chief of SoHo Style magazine. Morgan is the author of the book “Picture Yourself Going Green.” the founder of the fitness- and health-focused blog WomensMovement.com.
 
Dorris currently serves as the executive vice president and general manager of strategic sales for HEA+PECAA, where she works with the Solutions team, state optometric associations, and other industry partners. With more than 25 years in the eyecare industry, Dorris brings a background of optical sales, practice management, human resources, event planning, and customer service to her role.

Prior to her 18 years in the buying group/GPO business, she got her start in the industry in 1989 working with one of the leading corneal surgeons and pioneers of refractive surgery. She later went on to manage a very successful multi-location optometry practice in San Diego. As an active member of the OWA, Dorris has served the last 5 years as a member of their board of directors and as co-chair of the Events Committee, where she has helped create some highly memorable OWA events. She previously served on both the OWA Digital Marketing and the Website Design Committees. In 2013, Vision Monday named Dorris as one of the Most Influential Women in Optical in the Mentor category.
 
Dr. Stewart is an optometrist, speaker, writer, consultant, and entrepreneur. She is a partner at Norwalk Eye Care and has been involved in the optometric community for almost 20 years. She is a nationally recognized speaker, with a passion for helping optometrists and organizations with operations, optical success, contact lens sales, and practice management through her company OD Perspectives. 
 
She is an established writer and has been featured in most optometric publications. She is also an adjunct assistant professor at the New England College of Optometry and a consultant for Coopervision, Zyloware, and GPN.  With a deep interest in sports vision, Dr. Stewart is the co-founder and chief vision officer for Performance 20/20, which provides services for sports and performance vision training.
 
She is a recipient of the Theia Award for Innovation by Women In Optometry and serves on the executive board for the International Sports Vision Association. She is a member of the OWA Membership and Schools Initiative Committees, and is dedicated to increasing awareness and membership in the optometric community.
 
Lauver has worked in the optical industry for 10 years, including her current tenure at GPN Technologies. In 2012, she started her career as an optician for a downtown optometry practice in Asheville, N.C. With zero experience in optical aside from being a patient herself and an eyewear lover, she dove in and learned everything she could about opticianry. She worked her way up to the position of business manager for a high-volume optical practice, then shifted her focus to opening her own business, which blended her love of herbalism and eyecare. 
 
With The Herbal Spectacle, she sold eco-friendly eyewear and herbal medicine geared toward eye health and overall wellness to the local community, while also continuing her optical career.  After leaving the practice to go full time with her own business,  Lauver was offered the opportunity to move to the vendor side of the industry with GPN Technologies in 2016. First starting in sales at GPN, she is now the vice president of business relations for the company, and works to educate both practice owners and partners on the importance of utilizing data analytics in their business. Lauver joined the OWA in 2018 and is now serving on the Professional Development Fund Committee, managing the “sponsor ambassador” program. 
 
OWA has honored many women throughout the optical field over the years. Past awards and recipients are posted here on the OWA's website.
 
The Optical Women's Association is a non-profit organization committed to supporting and promoting the professional development of women involved in all facets of the optical industry. As the vision of the OWA evolves and expands, it maintains the focus of the OWA’s founding principles and core mission: to enhance and promote the leadership role of women in the optical industry through networking, education and peer support.