2009 PIO Regional Conference Speakers

Joyce Ardrey, C.P.C.

Joyce D. Ardrey, CPC, is a Practice Management Consultant specializing in Optometry with over 20 years of experience in the medical coding and consulting field. Mrs. Ardrey worked as the Business Administrator at a surgical co-management clinic, as well as a consultant for a practice management consulting group with clients in general medicine, ophthalmology, and dentistry, prior to starting her consulting company, Consultation and Implementation (C&I), in 1992. Her areas of expertise include compliance and risk management, CPT©, ICD-9 and HCPCS coding, DME MAC supplier requirements on Refractive Lenses, E/M documentation requirements and chart reviews.  She has served as a representative of optometry on the Medicare Advisory Committee (CAC) with Pinnacle Business Solutions and currently serves on TrailBlazer Health Enterprises CAC.  She is also an advisor for Cigna Government Services Provider Outreach and Education Advisory Group (POE-AG) and TrailBlazer Health Enterprises POE-AG.  She has contracted her services to the OAOP since 1996.

Leland Carr, O.D.

Dr. Leland Carr is Assistant Dean and Professor of Optometry at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Muskogee, and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He has been affiliated with the institution since 2006. Dr. Carr’s academic career began in 1982 when he began working as a part-time clinical faculty member at Ferris State. In 1984 he accepted a full time appointment as an assistant professor at NSU-College of Optometry. There he became Director of Residencies, Director of Clinical Programs, and advanced to associate professor with tenure in 1988. He was named full professor in 1992. In July 1993, Dr. joined the faculty at Pacific University, where he was directed the Southeast Family Vision Center, and also as director of the program’s Glaucoma Center. He was named Associate Dean for Clinical Program in 1995, interim dean in July of 1997, and was appointed Dean on December 1, 1997. He has taught courses in anterior segment ocular pathology, posterior segment ocular pathology, pediatric optometry, general pharmacology, ocular pharmacology, neuro-optometry, advanced clinical methods, and advanced diagnosis and treatment of ocular disease. Dr. Carr was named Oregon Optometrist of the Year in 2000, and received the Oregon Optometric Physicians Association Award of Special Merit in 2001. He has served as consultant to the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education, and he became president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) in June 2003.

Dawn DeCarlo, O.D., M.S.

Dr. DeCarlo attended St. Mary’s College of Maryland for her undergraduate studies in biology. She graduated cum laude from their Honor’s Program. After working as a research technician for 2 years in the Cell Biology and Anatomy Department of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she decided to pursue a degree in optometry. She entered the dual Doctor of Optometry and Master of Science in Physiological Optics program at UAB in 1988 and graduated with both degrees in 1992. Dr. DeCarlo then completed residency training in Rehabilitative and Hospital Based Optometry at the Hines Central Blind Rehabilitation Center and the Chicago West Side Veterans Administration Medical Center. She served on the faculty of the UAB School of Optometry for 8 years, followed by 4 years on the faculty of Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry. During that time she earned Diplomate status in the Low Vision Section of the American Academy of Optometry, the highest clinical honor available in her field. She returned to UAB in 2005 as a faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology and serves as Director of the UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation.

Dr. DeCarlo is nationally known for her expertise in Low Vision Rehabilitation and serves on the Executive Council of the American Optometric Association’s Low Vision Rehabilitation Section, the Diplomate Executive Committee of the Low Vision Section of the American Academy of Optometry, the journal review board for Optometry, Journal of the AOA and is the Chair of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry Patient Assessment and Management Exam Committee as well as a member of the Part III Exam Council. Dr. DeCarlo is the immediate past-chair of the Low Vision Research Group.

Jeffry Gerson, O.D.

Dr. Gerson graduated from the Indiana University School or Optometry. He then completed a residency at the Kansas City VA Medical Center, concentrating on ocular disease and low vision rehabilitation. Before entering into his current comprehensive eye care practice, Dr. Gerson has served as a faculty member at the Kansas University Medical Center department of ophthalmology, and as a staff optometrist at Mid-America Retina Consultants which specializes in the care of patients with retinal disease. Dr. Gerson has lectured nationally and internationally, specifically on retina and systemic disease. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a member of the AOA, Optometric Retina Society and other professional organizations.

James Grue, O.D.

Dr. Grue is a consultant on health care reform to a number of companies and committees. As a practicing Optometrist from 1979 until recently, he has been involved in the development of new technologies including satellite frame tracing, telemedicine for eye care, Active EHR technology, and Active CE. He monitors the activities of many health care related committees in Washington and advises companies how their products must adapt to incorporate and meet the requirements of health care reform.

Dr. Monte Harrel, O.D.

Dr. Harrel is clinical coordinator of The Oklahoma Vision Development Center. They serve children and adults and conduct over 150 therapy sessions per week. It has been the focus of the full service clinic since opening in September 2000.  He has served on the board of the OAOP and currently is active in the legislative committee.   Dr. Harrel is also an adjunct clinical professor to NSUOCO.

Shane R. Kannarr,OD

Dr. Kannarr graduated from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is a member of Grene Vision Group, one of the largest optometry/ophthalmology groups in the country. Dr. Kannarr has lectured regionally and nationally on a variety of topics. He has special interests in ocular disease, contact lenses, and the business aspect of eyecare. He has also been the principal investigator in multiple contact lens studies, with recent focus on contact lens for patients suffering from dry eye.

Paul Karpecki, O.D., F.A.A.O.

Dr. Karpecki earned his Doctorate of Optometry from Indiana University in 1994. He completed his Fellowship in Anterior Segment, Cornea and Refractive Surgery at Hunkeler Eye Clinic, Kansas City, Missouri, which is affiliated with the Pennsylvania College of Ophthalmology and the University of Kansas, Department of Ophthalmology. He served as Director of Research for Moyes Eye Clinic in Kansas City and ran one of the largest dedicated dry eye clinics in the Midwest. He is also the President and Founding Partner of Visionary Consultants Inc., providing research consulting, marketing and education services to major ophthalmic companies and industries. He has lectured in over 300 symposia, covering four continents. He was the first optometrist to be invited to join the Delphi International Society at John's Hopkins-Wilmer Eye Institute, which includes the Top 25 Dry Eye Experts in the World. He participated in the State-of-the-Art Management of Chronic Dry Eye Scientific Roundtable presented by The National Eye Institute, Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health to better understand and treat dry eye disease in women. Dr. Karpecki is Chair of the Refractive Surgery Advisory Committee to the American Optometric Association, President of the Optometric Council on Refractive Technology, and Senior Advisor of Education, Review of Optometry Journal. A noted educator and author, Dr. Karpecki presently serves on seven professional journal editorial boards. Dr. Karpecki joined Cincinnati Eye Institute and will work in cornea/external disease and research with Edward J. Holland, M.D., at the Edgewood, Kentucky office.

Brad Main, F.N.A.O.

Mr. Main is an Ophthalmic Lens Specialist with comprehensive product knowledge and technical expertise in ophthalmic optics backed by strong communication and organizational skills.

John McGreal, O.D.

Dr. McGreal is a graduate of Albright College and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He was Chief of Eye Services at Greater Atlantic Health service in Philadelphia, where he also had a private practice. He was a founding partner in Vision Care Consultants, a managed eye care company in Pennsylvania. He was Center Director and Vice President for Vision America Incorporated for seven years. Currently, he is Director of the Missouri Eye Associates, a medical and surgical private practice in St. Louis. He is adjunct faculty at the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and the University of Missouri. He is internationally recognized for his educational endeavors.

He served on the continuing education committee for the North Central States Optometric Council and is a past member of the Congress continuing education subcommittee of the American Optometric Association. He is a clinical examiner for the National Board of Examiners in Optometry. He was the 42nd Peter’s Memorial Lecturer at the University of California, and the Nussenblatt Lecturer at the University of Houston in 2004. He was the 1998 Missouri Optometrist of the Year. He was the 2005 University of Missouri School of Optometry Educator of the Year.

Alan McKee, O.D.

Dr. McKee came to NSU Oklahoma College of Optometry in 2004.  Since that time he serves as a Professor of Optometry where he is involved in Clinical, didactic and administrative duties.  Clinical education responsibilities include clinical supervision and instruction of 3rd and 4th year students in ocular disease, walk-in, primary care, contact lens and rural eye clinics.  Didactic responsibilities include teaching Ophthalmic Optics I – Spectacle lens theory and design to the 2nd year students.  He currently serves as the Chief of Optical Services for the College of Optometry which includes overall direction of the college’s dispensaries and spectacle fabrication laboratory and their respective personnel.  Dr. McKee is credentialed with Cherokee Nation Hastings Hospital and the Cherokee Nation to provide optometric services in their respective healthcare facilities.

Brandon Moore

Brandon worked as an optician for four years while attending Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.  He then accepted a position with A&A Optical as a territory manager. The next four years, he developed a territory by understanding his customers’ retail methods.  Brandon used information and policies from many different practices to help all of them maximize their profitability.  The last two years he has been the Western District Manager for A&A Optical with a focus on helping our customers’ grow their business.

James Owen, O.D.

Dr. Owen is a graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry and has a Masters in Business Administration from San Diego State University. Currently, he is the clinical director for TLC La Jolla, where he serves on TLC's clinical director advisory committee; and he is the optometric director for Encinitas Optometry. He is known for the outstanding personalize care he provides for his patients. As a member of the American Optometric Association, Dr. Owen serves on its Refractive Surgery Committee. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, is a member of the California Optometric Association, and the International Society of Refractive Surgery. Additionally, he is the President Elect of the Optometric Council for Refractive Therapy. Dr. Owen is uniquely trained in refractive surgery and anterior segment eye disease. He is experience in pre and post-operative care of refractive surgery and cataract patients. He participates in clinical research for refractive surgery, dry eye and keratoconus.

Stuart Richer, O.D., D.Ph.

Dr. Richer earned his undergraduate degree in 1977 from the Rochester Institute of Technology, after which he completed a dual OD MS (physiological optics) program at the University of California at Berkeley in 1981. A one-year residency in low vision / hospital based optometry followed at the Kansas City, Missouri DVA Medical Center. He has been Chief of Optometry at DVA Medical Center, North Chicago, IL since 1983. He has been actively involved in teaching optometry and medical students as well as postdoctoral fellows of all disciplines. In 1996 Dr. Richer earned his PhD in human physiology and biophysics from Chicago Medical School following 15 years of practice. He’s an associate professor of Family and Preventative Medicine at Chicago Medical School and Clinical Optometry at ICO and UMSL. Dr Richer has authored papers in Current Eye Research, Experimental Eye Research, FASEB, Vision Research, Optometry & Vision Science, Optometry, and International Ophthalmology Clinics. He has presented his research to the US Department of Defense, the Spanish Ophthalmologic Congress (Granada, Spain 1996), Schepens Eye Institute Retina (Harvard, 2000 meeting), the Peking University Eye Center / ILSI Focal Point (Beijing, 2002 & 2009), ARVO Retinal Section (Ft Lauderdale 2003), and the Canadian Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery (Montreal 2003, Ottawa 2005), Euro Press Conference (Frankfurt, Germany 2004), Spanish Retinal Society Madrid (2005), Italy Fermo (2005), Japanese Ophthalmologists (Sapporo 2005), EU Retina (Lisbon, Portugal 2006), The Technion, Israel (Haifa 2006) and ARVO SERC (USA 2006), Japan Kemin Lutein Symposium (Tokyo 2007). He is the principal investigator of the Veterans Lutein Antioxidant Supplementation Trial (LAST), the first US randomized double masked placebo controlled clinical trial of lutein and visual function published in the Journal Optometry April 2004 and the FDA/DVA approved Zeaxanthin and Visual Function Study (ZVF). He is a Fellow in the National Academy of Practices in Medicine and his Team was announced as Service to America Medal finalists in Science and Technology at the US Senate Hart Bldg, June 2006. Actively involved in primary care optometry and clinical antioxidant research, Dr. Richer has special interests in aging, prescribing nutrients in the intervention of age related macular degeneration, low-tension glaucoma, diabetic macular edema, prevention of cataracts and dry eye.

Tom Sullivan

Blind from birth, Tom has followed "Sullivan's Rules" to live a life filled with enviable achievements. As a musician, Tom has performed on The Tonight Show, composed scores of film and television, and performed the star spangled banner at the Super Bowl in 1976. As an author, he started with the best-selling If You Could See What I Hear (which became a major motion picture in 1982) and has most recently published Adventures in Darkness: Memoirs of an Eleven Year Old Blind Boy.

Tom Sullivan believes that every person is special and can express that uniqueness in every element of their lives. From the workplace to the home, from marriage and relationships to personal growth, Tom will impact you with his own brand of humor and insight as he reinforces the advantages of your own uniqueness.

The “inconvenience” of being blind has never kept Tom Sullivan from competing in a world where he realized that to be equal, for him, meant that he must be better. Tom is an excellent golfer, an avid snow skier and a marathon runner, and has recently been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

As a special correspondent for ABC's Good Morning America, Tom has become a regular morning fixture in millions of American homes. His touching and insightful reports give many that “you can do it” bit of inspiration to start their day. Over the years he's made a number of guest starring appearances in shows such as Designing Women, Highway To Heaven, Fame, M.A.S.H, Mork & Mindy, and WKRP In Cincinnati. In films he's had roles in Airport '77, Black Sunday and Love's Dark Ride, a movie of the week. Working behind the scenes, Tom was the co-writer and co-producer of Blind Witness, an ABC movie of the week.

It is only fitting that with his wealth of experience and commitment he would become one of the most sought after motivational speakers on the circuit.

William Tullo, O.D., F.A.A.O.

Dr. Tullo is the Director of Optometric Services for TLC Vision. He is the leader of the Clinical Directors Advisor Group. In addition he is a member of TLC’s Clinical Advisory Group. Dr. Tullo received his undergraduate degree at State University of New York Stonybrook and his doctorate in Optometry from State University of New York College of Optometry. He has served as Assistant Clinical Professor for ten years specializing in cornea and contact lenses and is currently Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor at SUNY state College of Optometry. He has maintained a private practice in his hometown Princeton, New Jersey over the past twenty years. (Sponsored by TLC Laser Eye Centers)

Hank Van Veen, O.D.

Dr. Van Veen is a Professor Emeritus from Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry.  During his tenure at NSUOCO (1979-2004), he served in the capacity of Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs, Clinic Director, and then as full professor before becoming adjunct faculty.  He is a graduate of the University of Tulsa in Physics and from the University of Houston College of Optometry.

Michelle Welch, O.D.

Dr. Welch is a 1995 graduate of NSUOCO. She currently serves as an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Clinical Care Services. At NSUOCO she teaches Clinical Methods IV which includes injection and minor surgical procedure techniques. She also teaches Ocular Disease II: Cornea and External Disease, as well as the Anterior Segment Laser Therapy course. Dr. Welch is responsible for eye clinics within the Cherokee Nation Health Division located in Salina, Sallisaw, Jay, Muskogee and Stilwell as well as the eye clinics at Hastings Indian Medical Center and the campus eye clinics. Dr. Welch has also served on the OAOP Board of Directors as a District Director. In 1999, she became a member of the Cherokee Nation Medical Executive Committee and has served as the Optometry Chief since that time.

Brenda Wood, A.B.O.

Brenda Wood is a Business Development Manager working with Carl Zeiss Vision since 2001. She has just recently accepted a position with Zeiss that will allow her to call on the 3 O’s throughout Oklahoma exclusively. As many of you know, this has been Brenda’s dream since 2002 and she is excited about being back in Oklahoma working with all of you once again. She has been in the optical industry since 1981 where she began her optical career working with an ophthalmic surgeon. Since then, she has worked in most facets of the industry, with her primary focus on education for the dispensing optician. She is an ABO certified optician, an ABO certified speaker, and also an accredited speaker for the AOA Paraoptometric Association. She lives on a working ranch in Cement, Oklahoma with her husband and two teenage sons.

Kathi Wood, C.P.O.T.

Kathi has been an optometric assistant for more than 35 years, working in both the private sector (15 yrs) and for the Federal Aviation Administration for their Vision Research Team (21 yrs). Have presented extensively at national, regional, state and local meetings on topics such as CPO, CPOA and CPOT Reviews, Visual Fields, Refractive Surgery in Civil Aviation, Contact Lens Use in Civil Airmen, and at the June 2001 AOA Congress was on a panel for Aviation Vision. In addition have co-authored numerous Office of Aviation Medicine Reports, Articles in the Optometry Journal of American Optometric Association, and Aviation, Space, & Environmental Medicine, AOA newsletters, the Federal Air Surgeons Bulletin and was primary author of a chapter on “Visual Fields” in the AOA Paraoptometric Section’s Self-Study Course for Optometric Assisting: Second Edition and Third Editions.