Press Release

Oregon Optometric Physicians Association Installs Board Members and Hosts Award Ceremony
RELEASE:  April 17, 2023
CONTACT:  Geoff Knapp, Executive Director; [email protected]; 971-282-3292 

Oregon Optometric Physicians Association (OOPA) elected its 2023-2024 board of directors during its annual meeting held April 14-16 at Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond, OR.

Those elected to the board include:

President – Derri Sandberg, OD (Lifetime Vision Care, Bend Oregon)
President-Elect – Craig Bowen, OD (Tualatin Eye Associates, Tualatin, OR)
Immediate Past President – Nate Roland, OD (Eye Impressions, Sherwood, OR)
Senior Past President – Ashley McFerron-Brittner, OD (Canby Eyecare, Canby, OR)
Secretary/Treasurer – Yelena Galuza, OD (Woodburn Vision Source, Woodburn, OR)
Board Member at Large – William Hefner, OD (Pacific University College of Optometry, Forest Grove, OR)
Board Member at Large - Emilee Nehring, OD (Woodburn Vision Source, Woodburn, OR)
Board Member at Large – Shaina Sullivan, OD (Charles McBride, Optometrist, Beaverton, OR)

Jon Pederson, OD, representing the American Optometric Association (AOA), presided over the installation of officers ceremony.

The Annual Awards ceremony recognized the following
Student Award - Meagan Seufert (Pacific University College of Optometry)
Optometric Assistant - Brandy Yeack (Valley Eye Care)
Special Industry Award - Kirsten Ormsby (MacuHealth)
Advocacy Award - Thuy Tran, OD (Rose City Vision Care)
President’s Award - Jessica Tegen, OD (Madras Vision Source)
Young OD of the Year - Morgan Grove, OD (Coquille Vision Center)
OD of the Year Award - Gabby Marshall, OD, FCOVD (Elemental Eye Care)
Social Media Award - Amber Dunn, OD (Gatti Vision)

Oregon’s 2024 Meeting will be held April 4-7, 2024 at Salishan Coastal Lodge
*(Photos available upon request)
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Oregon Optometric Physicians Association Installs Board Members
RELEASE:    July 18, 2022
CONTACT:  Geoff Knapp, Executive Director; [email protected]; 971-282-3292 

Milwaukie, OR –Oregon Optometric Physicians Association (OOPA) elected its 2022-23 board of directors during its annual meeting held July 15-17 at Mount Hood Oregon Resort located in Welches, OR.  

Those elected to the board include:
President – Nate Roland, OD (Eye Impressions, Sherwood, OR)
President-Elect – Derri Sandberg, OD (Lifetime Vision Care, Bend Oregon)
Immediate Past President – Nicole Rush, OD (Bandon Vision Center, Bandon, OR)
Senior Past President – David Wolf, OD
Secretary/Treasurer – Craig Bowen, OD (Tualatin Eye Associates, Tualatin, OR)
Director – William Hefner, OD (Pacific University College of Optometry, Forest Grove, OR)
Director - Emilee Nehring, OD (Woodburn Vision Source, Woodburn, OR)
Director – Shaina Sullivan, OD (Charles McBride, Optometrist, Beaverton, OR)

Paul Barney, OD, newly elected American Optometric Association (AOA) Trustee, presided over the installation of officers ceremony.

The Annual Awards ceremony recognized the following:
Student of the Year Award:                              Luke Boran (Pacific University College of Optometry)
Optometric Assistant of the Year:                   Caitlyn Voss (Gatti Vision)
Special Industry Award:                                    Valley Contax (Eugene, OR)
Advocacy Award:                                                David Glabe, OD (La Grande Family Eye Care)
President’s Award:                                             Yelena Galuza, OD (Woodburn Vision Source)
Young OD of the Year:                                       Shaina Sullivan, OD (Charles McBride, Optometrist)
OD of the Year Award:                                      Ami Halvorson, OD (Pacific Cataract Laser Institute) 

Graduates from the 2022 Leadership YOU program received graduation certificates. The program assists to develop leaders in organized optometry.  Graduates include Drs. Audrey Brumley, David Glabe, Emilee Nehring, Jessica Tegen, Larry Buchholtz, Luke Boran, Mari Fujimoto, Mila Ioussifova, Morgan Grove, Rachel Martel and Shaina Sullivan. 

A combined silent and live auction, organized by Leadership YOU graduates Drs. Shaina Sullivan and Morgan Grove, raised more than $6,000 for Oregon Optometric Public Affairs Council (OOPAC). 

Oregon’s 2023 Meeting will be held April 13-16 at Eagle Crest Resort, Redmond, OR. 

*(Photos available upon request) 

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RELEASE: July 12, 2022
CONTACT: Geoff Knapp, Executive Director; 971-282-3292; [email protected]
Dr. Gabby Marshall Elected to National Board of Optometry

Milwaukie, OR -- The American Optometric Association (AOA) Board of Trustees have unanimously elected Gabby Marshall, O.D. as one of four new members to the board of directors for AOAExcel. AOAExcel is a company owned by the AOA that specializes in providing benefits to AOA members in their professional and personal lives.

A past president of Oregon Optometric Physicians Association (OOPA), Dr. Marshall is the clinical director of Elemental Eyecare in Bend, Oregon. She is a past recipient of the AOA’s prestigious “Advocate of the Year” award and is the president-elect for the Great Western Council of Optometry (GWCO).

“It’s an honor that this diverse group of doctors of optometry are joining the AOAExcel Board of Directors,” said Dr. Sam Pierce, chairman of the board for AOAExcel. “We will be heavily relying on their leadership, expertise, and passion to create a vision that allows AOAExcel to continue to grow, support the AOA and help ODs enhance their lives.”

AOAExcel (aoa.org/AOAExcel) is a member-benefit of the AOA that helps doctors of optometry practice smarter and more efficiently in both their personal and professional lives. AOAExcel offers a myriad of products and services through their endorsed business partners which includes a career center job board exclusively for optometrists, malpractice & other business insurance, a credit card for business owners, vendor discounts, retirement planning, life/disability insurance, student loan refinancing, merchant processing, and HIPAA compliance, among others.

Other newly elected members include Bibin Cherian, O.D. (OK), Steve Loomis, O.D. (CO), and TeShawna Sutton, O.D. (Ky).
Oregon Optometric Physicians Association (OOPA) is a statewide organization of doctors of optometry, college of optometry faculty, optometric students, and industry related associates. Its mission is to promote, protect and advance the professional practice of optometry.

OOPA is an affiliate of the American Optometric Association (AOA).
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RELEASE: July 26, 2020

CONTACT: Geoff Knapp, Executive Director (971) 282-3292; [email protected] 

Oregon Optometric Physicians Association Elects Board of Directors

Milwaukie, OR – The Oregon Optometric Physicians Association (OOPA) elected its 2021-2022 board of directors during its annual meeting held July 23.

Those elected to the board include:

President – Nate Roland, OD (Eye Impressions, Sherwood, OR)
President-Elect – Amber Dunn, OD (Gatti Vision, King City, Oregon)
Immediate Past President – Nicole Rush, OD (Bandon Vision Center, Bandon, Oregon)
Senior Past President – David Wolf, OD
Secretary/Treasurer – Craig Bowen, OD (Tualatin Eye Associates, Tualatin Oregon)
Director – William Hefner, OD (Pacific University College of Optometry, Sherwood, OR)
Director - Emilee Nehring, OD (Woodburn Vision Source, Woodburn Oregon)
Director - Derri Sandberg, OD (Lifetime Vision Care, Bend Oregon)

Belinda R. Starkey, OD, newly elected American Optometric Association (AOA) Trustee, presided over the installation of officers ceremony. Dr. Starkey was recently named “Optometrist of the Year” by the AOA.

OOPA is a statewide organization comprised of doctors of optometry, college of optometry faculty, optometric students, and industry-related associates. OOPA is an affiliate of the AOA.

Member committees within OOPA plan activities and carry out the mission of the Association. The mission is to promote, protect and advance the professional practice of optometry. 


RELEASE: January 27, 2021
CONTACT: Geoff Knapp (971) 282-3292; [email protected]

Oregon Optometrists Appointed to National Committees
Dr. Ashley McFerron and Dr. Nathan Roland joining American Optometric Association committees

Milwaukie, OR – Two members of Oregon Optometric Physicians Association (OOPA) have been named to separate American Optometric Association (AOA) committees.

Dr. Ashley McFerron, O.D, has been named to AOA’s Industry Relations Committee (IRC). The committee builds and maintains relationships with businesses that support the optometric industry.

Dr. McFerron is a member of the AOA, Portland Metropolitan Optometric Society (PMOS), and OOPA. She is also a past President of OOPA. In 2013, Dr. McFerron was named “Oregon Young Optometrist of the Year”.

Dr. McFerron received her Bachelor of Science from The University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2003. Her Doctorate of Optometry was received in 2008 at the Oklahoma College of Optometry at Northeastern State University. In July 2008, Dr. McFerron moved from Oklahoma to Oregon where she practiced in Woodburn for 3 years. In October 2011, she purchased Canby Eyecare from Dr. Don Chase who owned the practice for 37 years.

“Dr. McFerron is a great fit for this committee,” said Jerry Neidigh, O.D., chair of the IRC. “Her experience in private practice, respect from peers and commitment to AOA’s mission, places her in a great position to lend tremendous contributions to our efforts.”

Among her many accomplishments, Dr. McFerron founded the Bedlam Optometry Clinic in Tulsa, OK. The clinic, staffed by medical students who provide free care for the uninsured, is supported by the Bedlam Clinic Foundation. Clinics are now located in 16 different sites. The foundation is funded by a multi-million-dollar endowment and is the largest healthcare provider for the uninsured in the city of Tulsa.

“Ashley’s legacies continue to build and her continuing contributions to OOPA are monumental,” said Dr. Nicole Rush, President, Board of Directors.

Dr. Nate Roland, O.D, has been named to AOA’s Leadership Development Committee. The committee ensures that AOA is proactive in the recruitment and training of volunteers and promotes membership engagement in a way that: Reflects the demographics of the profession, represents a broad array of modes of practice, establishes connections between similar efforts at both state and national levels, maintains a balance of experienced subject matter experts while being inclusive of new members.

Serving as an optometric physician for Eye Impressions in Sherwood, OR, Dr. Roland is President-Elect for OOPA, member of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry, member of Oregon Department of Education’s Vision Screening Advisory Group and served in pivotal positions in the New Mexico Optometric Association serving as President and was instrumental in the successful passage of legislation expanding the scope of Optometry.

Dr. Roland was selected from the AOA volunteer pool during the appointment process last fall, recommended by Dr. Curtis Ono, AOA Board of Trustees and appointed by AOA’s president and president-elect.

“We are extremely excited that Dr. Roland has joined our AOA Leadership Development Committee,” said Andrea P. Thau, O.D., FAAO, FCOVD, FNAP, committee chair and past president, AOA. “His energy and history of leadership roles will serve as a tremendous addition to this diverse committee.”

A Diplomate of American Board of Optometry, Dr. Roland is also a member of the American Heart Association’s Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers group. As the nation's oldest and largest voluntary health organization, BLS’ purpose is to help Americans live heart healthy lives and prevent America's No. 1 and No. 5 killers, heart disease and stroke.

“Dr. Roland will be a great asset to the work of the committee because he exemplifies the qualities of a great leader,” said Curtis A. Ono, O.D., AOA Board of Trustees. “Dr. Roland will provide a guiding hand in helping our members develop into future leaders of Optometry.”

Dr. Roland will assume the role of OOPA board president in July 2021 succeeding Dr. Nicole Rush.

“Nate will serve as a tremendous president and has already demonstrated his leadership skills on multiple state and national levels, “ said Dr. Rush. “I have all the confidence in the world that he will lift the association to even greater heights.”

Click here for full press release 

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Press Release Archives

RELEASE: October 19, 2020
Associations unite to promote comprehensive eye exams 

Salem, OR – Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association (OSSA) is partnering with Oregon Optometric Physicians Association (OOPA) to encourage all Oregonians to make 2020 the year to make an in-person comprehensive eye exam. 

More information may be found at https://oregonsheriffs.org/2020eyeexam/  


Release August 10, 2020

Nicole Rush, OD, president of the Oregon Optometric Physicians Association’s board of directors, was announced today as one of Vision Monday’s “Most Influential Women in Optical.”  
Click here to read full release