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Medical Director, Fundación Visión
After several years of working in Public Health with the Ministry of Health, Dr Alejandro Panotto joined the Fundacion Vision in Paraguay to coordinate the activities of one of the clinics in the interior of the country. At the same time, he was the director of the Eye Health Program for several years. At this moment he serves as Institutional Medical Director, where he collaborates with the other health programmes of Fundacion Vision.
Chief Executive Officer, The Vision Council
Ashley Mills leads The Vision Council in helping people achieve better lives through better vision. As Chief Executive Officer, Mills is the voice for the Vision Industry in Washington, DC. Globally, Mills represents The Vision Council within the United Nations Friends of Vision, a group that secured a United Nations General Resolution recognizing vision as a catalyst to achieving the Agenda 2030. Mills started her career working for global public affairs agencies, where she gained extensive experience in media relations, consumer marketing and coalition building.
Mills served on the Board of Directors for the Optical Women’s Association (OWA) for five years. In 2017 she was recognized as one of the Most Influential Women in Optical by 20/20 Magazine and was honoured by the OWA with their Pleiades award, which recognizes exceptional action in advancing the leadership role of women in the optical industry.
Ophthalmologist, Good Vision
Current head of ophthalmology at Good Vision International, Bruna is internationally awarded for her contributions to social ophthalmology. Bruna was awarded the Knights Templar Eye Foundation Award in ARVO 2019 (Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology) for the study “Ophthalmological Care and Eyeglasses Distribution in Brasil’s Countryside: Descriptive and Epidemiological Data of Nearly Five Thousand Patients”. This paper describes the largest ophthalmology social outreach known worldwide. For the same work, she was also awarded the 47 Varilux Prize in Brasil (the most important scientific prize in eye care in Brasil). It was presented in the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 2019.Bruna funded the Center of Population and Innovation Studies (CIEP), transforming Renovatio’s campaigns into research and public eye care policies in Brasil, identifying and addressing health issues in vulnerable groups. Key findings include a significant rate of toxoplasmosis in Tocantins, leading to increased health authority focus on the topic.
Currently, CIEP is analyzing the data of a large-scale project from Juntos pela Visão Alliance to provide comprehensive eye care to all children from public schools in São Paulo city (420,000 children), set to be the largest child eyecare study by ophthalmologists worldwide. This project underscores its vital role in shaping effective public health policies for school eyecare practices.Despite her social work, Bruna is the most prominent youth name in Retina Surgery in Brasil. Bruna had her post-graduation in Retina Surgery at the University of Montreal, where she performed more than 2.000 complex surgeries in a two-year program. Bruna had her medical retina fellowship, ophthalmology residence, and medical graduation at UNICAMP in São Paulo, Brasil.
President, Instituto Suel Abujamra
Caio Abujamra assumed the presidency of the Suel Institute in early 2019, succeeding his father, the visionary founder of the hospital. At that time, the Institute served an average of 7,000 patients monthly, performing around 350 surgeries. Under the leadership of Caio and his brother, the hospital underwent a remarkable transformation in its management. Currently, the Suel Abujamra Institute is the second-largest ophthalmological hospital collaborating with the SUS (Unified Health System), serving an average of 23,000 patients, and performing approximately 1,200 surgeries per month. Additionally, it has become a national reference in education and research, offering highly esteemed residency programmes and fellowships.
Under Caio Abujamra’s direction, the Institute has not only expanded its capacity for care but also reinforced its commitment to social impact. Initiatives such as the teleophthalmology project in villages and the distribution of glasses in Sao Paulo’s municipal schools demonstrate its dedication to providing essential ophthalmic care to underserved communities and contributing to equitable visual health.
Clinical Research Fellow, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Dr Covadonga Bascaran is a Clinical Research Fellow at the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She works in research and capacity strengthening in global eye health with a focus on improving eye health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Cova’s research focus is diabetic retinopathy in low and middle-income countries, including epidemiological research, evidence synthesis, implementation and health systems research.
She is the technical lead for the Diabetic Retinopathy Network (DR-NET) a network of 30 DR programmes in 17 LMICs. She co-chairs the DR Working Group at the International Agency for the Prevention of Ceguera (IAPB).
Independent Social Entepreneur
Civil Engineer and independent social entreprenuer with more than 10 years experience in eye health expeditions in remote indigenous and riverside communities in Brasil. Coordinator on the Social Impact of Eye Health Symposium and also actively involved in implementing high-impact ophthalmology programs in NGOs. Also collaborates in community empowerment for sustainable projects.
Professionally works as independent consultant in Project Management in the filed of healthcare engineering and management.
Procuración de Fondos y Alianzas Estratégicas, APEC Hospital de la Ceguera
Isabel studied Political Science at the National Autonomous University of México. She has a Diploma in Institutional Strengthening and Fundraising taught by Procura in conjunction with Indiana University; a Diploma in Social Leaders: Management Programme for Non-Profit Organizations from the TEC of Monterrey, México City Campus and a Diploma in Public Policies from the UNAM. From 2002 to 2014 Isabel worked at the Association to Prevent Ceguera in México, I.A.P. in the area of Institutional Development.
In 2004 she joined the Association of Fundraising Professionals México City Chapter. Isabel held the Presidency of this association from 2008-2009 and 2021-2022. She was also the Director of Assistance Programs of the Private Assistance Board of México City from June 2014 to February 2020. Since March 2021, he has held the position of Head of Fundraising and Strategic Alliances at the Association to Prevent Ceguera in México, IAP.
Chief Retina Department-APEC, APEC – Hospital de la Ceguera
Ophthalmologist specialized in Retina. Dr Fromow-Guerra holds a Master and Doctor Degree in Medical Sciences. Chief of Retina Department at the Association for The Prevention of Ceguera in México. Professor of Ophthalmology and Mentor in the Master and PhD Degree Program at the National Autonomous University of México UNAM. Dr Fromow-Guerra has published more than 80 original scientific papers. His main topics of interest and research are focused on the clinical and surgical aspects of retina diseases especially in the fields of molecular biology, clinical epidemiology, nutrition and imaging.
He co-chair the first population probabilistic study of prevalence of ocular diseases and a study of validation of Telemedicine for the early diagnosis of blinding diseases in México. Vice President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW- Nobel Peace Prize 1985) NGO founding member of the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN- Nobel Peace Prize 2017)
Associate Professor, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo
Associate Professor at the Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Brasil. Certified RAAB trainer, and member of the Vision Loss Expert Group and The Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health. Awardee of the inaugural ARVO Achievements in Eye and Vision Advocacy Award in 2020.
Chief Executive Officer, Visualiza
Arq. Juan Francisco Yee, an Architect, is the CEO of Visualiza, an NGO devoted to the prevention and cure of blindness, established in 2002. Visualiza was recognized as a regional demonstration centre by the International Eye Foundation in 2006. Arq. Yee has spent a substantial amount of time observing first-hand the operations of the Aravind Eye Care System in India.
In addition to his role as part of the board of AGEXPORT a private non-profit institution with more than 30 years of being an engine for the growth of Guatemalan exports and plays an important role as a mentor for the global sight initiative programme.
Head of Ocular Community Health Department (Fundación Oftalmológica del Caribe) Clinical Bioethics, Clínica Oftalmológica del Caribe
Specialist in ophthalmology with 30 years of experience, with surgical and clinical skills. Supraspecialist in Cataratas Surgery, Ocular Plastic Surgery, Teaching in Medical-Surgical Specialties and Diplomate in Clinical Bioethics. National and international speaker at various conferences and publications in journals and book chapters. Responsible, proactive professional, with a high sense of commitment, respect, human quality and social sensitivity.
Ability to interact at all levels, ability to work in teams and leadership. Constant scientific interest and updating in my working areas with emphasis on teaching, prevention of blindness and research. Inclination towards communications with domain of English and knowledge of French. Lover of the arts, especially dance, sports and pets.
Optometry & Primary Care Adviser, The Fred Hollows Foundation
Dr May Ho is an Australian optometrist working in public health and international eye health. She is currently an Optometry and Primary Care Adviser at the Fred Hollows Foundation where she supports the development of sustainable eye care, error refractivo, and cataract quality improvement programs. May has worked extensively in the development and implementation of eye care and education programs in the Asia Pacific and Africa regions. She developed and delivered refraction, low vision, primary eye care, training of trainers‚ and advocacy courses for mid-level eye care personnel, optometrists, nurses, and ophthalmologists.
Her biggest achievement is the introduction of optometry education in Vietnam. More recently she was part of the team that delivered the Scaling Up of Refractive Error Services project in Camboya funded by ATScale. May is also part of a research team at the Foundation working on the Quality of Refractive Error Care (QREC) and financing of spectacles.
Master es Gerencia Hospitalaria y Salud Publica, Fundación Visión
Directora del Programa Vision en Fundación Vision, Paraguay y Vicepresidente del CONAVIP, Comité Nacional de la Vision en Paraguay. Desde el rol en el que me encuentro actualmente creo con firmeza que la colaboración de experiencias entre Instituciones y el trabajo en equipo nos ayudan a reducir el tiempo y hacer más provechoso el camino hacia la mejora de la salud ocular en nuestros países.
Chief Executive Officer, MATIZart
CEO of MATIZart, Energy Coach, Consciousness training for companies international Speaker, trainer and academic teacher in System Theory and System thinking with integral concepts. International Facilitator for multi-stakeholder processes for strategy- and politics building with systemic and integral approaches. The former Regional Director for the German International Cooperation in the Andean Countries.
Since 1998 career in the international cooperation and diplomatic sector. From 2012 on, the private and academic sectors. German nationality, with more than 30 years’ experience in several countries of Latin America, currently living in Colombia.
Chief Executive Officer, Fundación Visión
Currently the CEO of Fundación Vision Paraguay. Previously Ryan Toews have served as member of the council of Fundación Vision, for the last 5 years prior being appointed as Board Representative and supervising the companies related to the institution.
For 7 years he was CEO of Meister, an Optic Store Chain, Pharmacy and Laboratory and before he was involved in different companies/businesses from different sectors as i.e. hardware/construction import, grains and charcoal export, organization of an international event related to church and as consulter for different institutions.
Head of LCM for Myopia Management, CooperVision
Stuart has been in the contact lens industry for over 30 years and is one of the early commercial pioneers in the need to manage the myopia pandemic. He was instrumental in establishing the longest continuous contact lens study for the control of myopia in children which is now in its tenth year which has shown that it can slow myopia to reduce the future risk of sight loss from high myopia.
He is passionate about the wider adoption of vision screening for the early detection of error refractivo issues.
Lecturer, Queen’s University, Belfast
Dr. Ving Fai Chan, a Lecturer in Global Eye Health at Queen’s University Belfast, passionately advocates for global eye health through his MAD4VISION research group. With 17 years of experience in error refractivo program design across África subsahariana, he has established optometry education programs, spearheaded eye health initiatives, and influenced policies locally and internationally.
Dr. Chan’s dedication to data-driven decision-making is evident in his development of innovative tools for health data monitoring and intervention evaluation. His research focuses on integrated school eye health programs, women’s empowerment through eye health, and arts-based eye health education initiatives. Presently, he is exploring the use of behavioral economics to develop a cross-subsidization spectacle scheme to tackle delivery challenges related to refractive errors. Dr. Chan’s work underscores ethics, equity, and sustainability, prioritizing the needs of vulnerable populations and advocating for gender and diversity balance within research teams
Chief Executive Officer, India Vision Institute
Vinod Daniel is the CEO and Managing Trustee of the India Vision Institute (IVI) not-for-profit, established in 2012. IVI‚ Äôs initiatives have benefited one million Indians across 22 states. IVI works through two flagship programs: Eye See & amp; I Learn for school children and Eye See & amp; I Work for adults. IVI also works in creating awareness, advocacy, and helps develop and build the Optometry sector, vital for India which has a shortfall in human resources to take on the challenge of public eye health.
He is also a leader in heritage and museums and has worked with partners in over 55 countries on museum related projects. He was on the board of the global museum peak body ICOM and has worked in key museum roles at the Getty (Los Angeles) and the Australian Museum (Sydney). He has won several awards and recognitions including the Order of Australia Medal.
