NEW YORK—Nominations for the 2018 Women in Optometry Theia Awards of Excellence are now open. The Theia Awards of Excellence are named for Theia, the Greek goddess of vision or sight. The final awards decision will be made by the Women in Optometry professional advisory board, and the 2018 Theia Awards will be presented at the annual American Academy of Optometry Meeting in San Antonio, Texas on Nov. 8, 2018. This year, Women in Optometry will be expanding the categories included under the Theia Awards of Excellence to honor women ODs in five categories. These categories include:

• Leadership: organizational or community leadership or advocacy
• Mentoring: active role in guiding others in practice management and more beyond optometry school
• Innovation: outreach, marketing, practice models, inventions, etc.
• Education: inspirational, motivational educator
• Young OD: an OD within 10 years of graduation who shows any/all of the above qualities

“The tremendous number of nominations that we’ve received for the first two Theia awards reinforces the impact that women ODs are making on the profession. Nominators often send in heartfelt, detailed forms saying how the OD they’re nominating has affected their lives and their careers,” said Marjolijn Bijlefeld, Women in Optometry editor.

Click here to nominate a woman OD in any of the five categories.