American Academy of Optometry Announces 2025 New Fellows and Diplomates
The American Academy of Optometry welcomed a record number of new fellows and recognized several diplomates during its annual meeting, Academy 2025 Boston.
During the meeting, 329 optometrists and vision scientists were inducted as new fellows, marking the largest class in the organization’s history. In addition, 11 current fellows earned the distinction of diplomate, demonstrating advanced expertise in specialized areas of optometry.
Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry represents a significant professional achievement within the field. Candidates for fellowship must complete a rigorous candidacy process that includes submitting written works for peer review demonstrating their clinical or scientific expertise. Candidates must also successfully complete an oral examination administered during the Academy’s annual meeting.
It is estimated that only about 10 percent of practicing optometrists in the United States hold fellowship in the Academy. Those who complete the demanding application and evaluation process earn the right to use the designation FAAO (Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry) in their professional credentials.
Eligibility for Fellowship extends beyond practicing optometrists and includes professionals who contribute to the advancement of vision science and eye care. Eligible candidates include scientists, educators, librarians, administrators, and editors working within the field of optometry and vision science.
In addition to welcoming new fellows, the Academy recognized 11 diplomates, Fellows who have pursued further distinction by demonstrating extensive expertise in a particular specialty area of optometry. Diplomate status requires advanced study, scholarly contributions, and rigorous evaluation within a specialized discipline.
Currently, 10 Academy Sections offer Diplomate programs, including:
Anterior Segment
Binocular Vision, Perception and Pediatric Optometry
Comprehensive Eye Care
Cornea, Contact Lenses & Refractive Technologies
Glaucoma
Low Vision
Neuro-ophthalmic Disorders in Optometry
Optometric Education
Public Health & Environmental Vision
Vision Science
A complete list of the new Fellows and Diplomates recognized at Academy 2025 Boston follows. Additional information about becoming a Fellow or Diplomate is available on the American Academy of Optometry website under the Membership section.
2025 Diplomates
Jacobi Cleaver, OD, FAAO, Dipl AAO
Diplomate, Anterior Segment
Jeannette Wong-Powell, OD, FAAO, Dipl AAO
Diplomate, Comprehensive Eye Care
Elaine Chen, OD, FAAO, Dipl AAO
Diplomate, Cornea, Contact Lenses & Refractive Technologies
Patrick Simard, OD, MSc, MBA, FAAO, Dipl AAO
Diplomate, Cornea, Contact Lenses & Refractive Technologies
Michael Kalloniatis, MScOptom, PhD, FAAO, Dipl AAO
Diplomate, Glaucoma
Ramanpal Deol, OD, FAAO, Dipl AAO
Diplomate, Low Vision
Jennifer Reilly, OD, MS, FAAO, Dipl AAO
Diplomate, Optometric Education
Fatima Iqbal, OD, PhD, FAAO, Dipl AAO
Diplomate, Optometric Education
Angelica Scanzera, OD, MPH, FAAO, Dipl AAO
Diplomate, Public Health & Environmental Vision
Yvonne Megbele, OD, MSc, FAAO, Dipl AAO
Diplomate, Public Health & Environmental Vision
Lisa Ostrin, OD, PhD, FAAO, Dipl AAO
Diplomate, Vision Science
2025 Fellows
Nouralison Abdella
Mohammed Abdul-Kabir
Fortuna Abebe
Emmanuel Adator
Ani Agabalian
Blessing Agenmonmen
Chika Agoha
Ahmad Ahmadzada
Eniola Ajayi
Amanda Aker
Oluchi Olivia Akor
Lucy Akua Afriyie Karikari
Wateen Alami
Bethany Army
Sunkanmi Arogbokun
Afua Asare
Jonathan Attiyah
Tea Avdic
Mary Joyce Avisado
Obinna Awiaka
Deborah Awisi-Gyau
Anna Bachmann
Jeff Banas
Sayak Banerjee
Rodnell Batac
Alyssa Batistine
Adam Bayer
Taylor Beaton
Aditi Bellur
Sydney Biette
Dominika Bizub
Chelsea Bray
Briza Brooks
Dominic Brown
Madi Brown
Lorcan Butler
Julia Campbell
Dariela Cardo
Yasmin Carter
Jazmine Casias
Jeremy Caylor
Nathan Cazmersen
Shoubhik Chakraborty
Hsuan Ariel Chao
Amy Chen
Jun Wing Chen
Shuyi Chen
Jennifer Cheng
Pallavi Cherekar
Pratik Chettry
Jeremy Chung Bo Chiang
Jessica Chung
Alexia Clark
Stefanie Clendaniel
Alexandria Cloud
Kristen Col
Karine Combe
Ellie Crossman
Tyler D’Agostino
Albert Dadzie
Cindy Dang
Michelle Dang Allotta
Demetra Danos
Samuel Danso-Debrah
Samson Darrah
Sourav Datta
Amber Dawson
Zachary Day
Roland Del Mundo
Stivia Demiri
Emily Deng
Derrick Randall
Augustine Dery
Riya Desai
Rohit Dhakal
David Dinh
Sarah Dohrman
Kevin Donohue
Richard Duong
Victoria Duque-Ferreira
Mark Eaves
Adel Ebraheem
Roshni Echharam
Angelica Echiverri
Brenda Eckenrode
Victoria Edeh
Maythita Eiampikul
Pia Victoria Haugum Ekker
Ekene Sharon Enemuoh
Maria Ennamorati
Chimezie Enwere
Kelechukwu Enyinnaya Ahaiwe
Tania Escobar Eguizabal
Emmanuel Essien
Caitlynn Estevez
Joy Ngozi Eze
MaryJane Chinelo Ezeagwuna
Raymond Farmer
Margaret Fernicola
Melanie Fleyshmakher
Thomas Ford
Taylor Fronczak
Ethan Gerstein
Jorge Giraldo
Emily Gobran
Guadalupe Gomez
Natalia Gorski
Kinsley Gossard
Jordan Gott
Joshua Griffith
Madison Gross
Sydney Gross
Karly Gruett
Lauren Guajardo
Alexandra Hac
Jessica Shengyu He
Rebecca Heath
Brianna Herring
Sharon Sze Wing Ho
Jenna Hoiland
Laura Holtz
Katherine Homa
Kirstyn Horsley
Jodie Houng
Austin Hoy
Rebecca Hung
Jiawen Huo
April Hurley
Jeremy Hutchinson
Kelvin Imasua
Megan Ingalls
Haley Italia
Carissa Janczak
Monica Jezior
Charlyne Jiang
Leah Jipping
Alicia Jones
Kelsi Jones
Tiffany Jones
Edem Jongue
Irene Joseph
Prasannasai K
Mark Kahrhoff
Lusine Kalamdjian
Jessica Kaplan
Kayla Katsadouros
Beth Katz
Erin Keim
Bert Ketchum
Minyoung Kim
Jonathan King
Jonathan Klunk
Charles Koduah
Macy Koepke
Uloaku Kola-Olalere
Melissa Kontos
Donnie Koonce
Clarissa Kum
Pavan Kumar Verkicharla
Michael Kwarteng
Jennifer Lam
Calisandra Larson
Jolie LeGate
Arianna LeMay
Sara LeMay
Kalie Leone
Alexander Leong
Anushka Lewkebandara
Bethany Li
Vivien Li
Courtney Liang
Guang Lim
Vanessa Lin
Crystal Liu
Anastasia Logotheti
Bonnie Loh
Tiffany Lu
Jacqueline MacCallum
Gabrielle Magee
Mary Braden Mallory
Leah Margolis
Caroline Marhefka
Diana Masolak
Mahsa Masoudi
Sydney Masters
Allan McCleary
Megan McCrory Turner
Cole McDougall
Allison McKamey
Ann McLean
Valery Medina
Sarah Mendonca
Melissa Mendoza
Claire Michel
Thomas Welbeck Mills
Rabia Mobeen
Esther Moller
Sanbrita Mondal
Laura Morel
Rahufa Abdul Gani Mulla
Kate Muramoto
Alisha Musau
Maryam Nadeem
Judy Nam
Frederick Neher
Brandee Nelson
Amy Nguyen
Nathan Tuan Nguyen
Thi Xuan Ca Nguyen
Elizabeth Nickell
Jacqueline O’Brien
Christopher Obi
Jacqueline Obioma-Elemba
Ike Oforbuike
Chizoba Ogoke
Christian Ojoh
Stephen Okefi
Obiageli Oketta
Gloria Okoekhian
Joshua Oliver
Chika Onuoha
Precious Chinonso Onyenobi
Godsway Osei
Yaw Osei Akoto
Gideon Owusu
Daniela Oyola Pacheco
Dallin Page
Poonam Panda
Thanuja Panicker
Monica Papinski
Vamsi Parimi
Tiffany Park
Kevin Patrizio
Aundrea Pelakatiyage
Alberta Pengo
Angelea Perez
Katelyn Perez
Daniella Perlstein
Ashley Peters
Morgan Peters
Ryan Peterson
Trevor Phillips
Xiaona Ping
Maggie Pohlmeier
Muhammad Qasim
Amelia Rafael
Caitlyn Raia
Philip Rainey
Rachel Reed
Rachel Ressler
Victor Rodriguez-Lopez
Madison Roth
Maitreyee Roy
Celina Ann Ruiz
Adriana Saenz
Ismail Salma Mukhtar
Payal Sangani
Kaitlyn Sapoznik
Micah Isabel Sarmiento
Shin Sawai
Elisabeth Schaffer
Laura Schnepf
Laura Segraves
Emily Selenow
Haley Sessions
Rachel Shackelford
Aysha Shafi
Ria Shah
Shaily Sheth
Alexis Showalter D’Arsie
Ayishetu Shuaibu
Victoria Shust
Ambika Singh
Ekaterina Smuglova
Victoria Spence
Neha Srinivasan
Nicholas Steinshouer
McKenzie Stewart
Kevin Struble
Daniel Strybos
Meghan Sue
Kathryn Surdovel
Gretchen Suter
Sarah Sutnick
Kresta Ria Tabaranza
Aubry Tackett
Nazia Tahia
Shihij Takoo
Jacqueline Tan
Monica Tarnawski Iriza
Vivat Taylor
Heidi Tedrick
Kathleen Thai
Michelle Thai
Swapnil Thakur
Lauren Thamel
Morgan Thomsen
Vincent Thoren
Sierra Tisdelle
Ani Tokhmakhian
Austin Toresdahl
Breanna Tran Padron
Darian Travis
Joseph Trinh
Dac-Nha Truong
Jenny Truong
Frances Tsai
Lydie Tubene
Zachary Turple
Eryka Uehling
Rachel Velez
Nithya Vemula
Lindsey Walsh
Jessica Walter
Ariel Wang
Allison Ward
Karen Watson
Rebecca Wenig
Christina Wentz
Kendra Willhoite
Walter Williams
Abigail Witmer
Melissa Wong
Natalie Wong
Roseanne Work
Michelle Yan
Jay Yoon
Ashleigh Young
Han Yu Zhang
Originally published online on Eyewire.