When did you first join the OWA?
August 2011
What inspired you to become a member?
Ed Iwinski — an industry veteran, co-worker and friend, suggested it would be a great organization for me to get involved with. He was right!
What is the most valuable thing you have learned or experienced during your membership?
Mostly having an extended network of people in the industry to learn from! But also, I personally feel that it's like anything else in life . . . that you get back as much as you put into it. There is a great value of being an OWA member in general, but when you take that next step to get involved, attend events, reach out to mentors, volunteer your time, etc. . . . you truly get an experience. It's an opportunity to grow your knowledge, career and connections. It also helps when you have another member that you can lean on & ask questions. That person for me was Amy Spiezio. Amy is a delightful person and was wonderful about answering all my questions and helping me maximize my experience as a member. Today, I couldn't be prouder to be a part of the OWA and serve as a resource for other members too.
Tell us about your background in the industry . . . .
I've spent the last 12 years of my career in the optical industry focusing on supporting the growth of regional multi-office eye care practices.
This unique experience through various roles at Opti-Port, the leading alliance of multi-office eye care providers, allowed me to gain insight and perspective from both the provider and supplier sides of our industry. At Opti-Port, I have handled many aspects of the business, most notably working with supplier and customer relations, product development, billing, member recruitment, managed care provider network recruitment & partnership negotiations. The majority of my time at Opti-Port is currently spent managing the marketing & event coordination efforts of the company.
Now time for some fun . . . tell us about a funny story where "grace under fire" was the best sidekick you could have?
This was a tough question! But I think maybe a good example would be from last fall. My company hosts a full day conference the day before the Vision Expo exhibit hall opens. About 30 large boxes were supposed to arrive at my conference space at 7 am for setup. These boxes had EVERYTHING I needed in them . . . name badges, attendee packets, prizes, décor, signage, you name it! Due to a couple of hiccups the venue was experiencing, they didn't arrive until almost 8:30 AM and people were arriving for our 9 AM start time. Thankfully, I work with the best team that a girl could ask for! We dove in to the boxes (thankfully, we had written on the outside what was enclosed in each so we could prioritize them and set up quickly) and the registration/welcome process for our attendees went without a hitch.
Although I was NOT a happy camper, (haha) we greeted everyone with the same smiles we always would, made sure all of our immediate bases were covered and even though we were still feverishly setting things up in the background, it was all transparent to our guests and our conference started on time. I had updated a board member with what was happening upon his arrival that morning. A while later, after seeing me "all smiles" chatting with another attendee, this board member walked by my team, laughed & said to them "She's like a deodorant commercial . . . never let 'em see you sweat!" I guess you can plan things to the smallest detail and quadruple-check things off your list, but it's rare that anything in life goes according to plan, so it's how you handle those situations that really matter at the end of the day.
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