Optometry Australia has commenced the year with a new look national board that is representative of the optometry profession.
At the annual general meeting in November, Theo Charalambous was appointed Deputy President, and Albert Lee was appointed Treasurer of the national board following the departure of Fiona Moore and Tori Halsey who had held the positions respectively. Rob Howie also stepped down from the board at the meeting.
Dr Margaret Lam retained the position of President. Lee Baumwol, Kevin Sun and Shuvagata Bose were newly appointed to the Board.
Acknowledging the often heavy and complex workload of board members, Dr Lam praised the three departing directors.
“Fiona, Tori, and Rob made a significant contribution to the national board and demonstrated strong commitment to ensuring that Optometry Australia delivered against its strategic commitments… On behalf of the board, I wish to thank them for their contributions to our organisation and I wish them a highly successful future.”
DEPUTY PRESIDENT AND TREASURER
The Association’s new Deputy President, Mr Charalambous, has extensive experience in independent and franchised practices.
He entered the optometry profession in 2002 working in practices in the Berwick and Pakenham areas before opening ModernEyes in 2008, then moving to OPSM five years later. He is also a partner of Hastings Optical, a private practice established by Mark Van Staveren in 1988. Having previously worked in Indigenous clinics in Doomadgee and Mornington Island, he spent time in 2017 as Lead Optometrist for OneSight, a sustainable clinic with the aim of providing Zambians with access to consistent, high-quality eyecare and eyewear. Mr Charalambous is a member of the Franchise Development Council.
A 1998 Bachelor of Optometry graduate from the University of Melbourne, Mr Charalambous also holds a Senior Executive MBA from the Melbourne Business School.
The Association’s new Treasurer, Mr Lee, is a clinical optometrist and owner of an independent, full-scope optometry practice based in Rockdale, NSW.
He has worked in private and corporate practice in regional and metropolitan Australia and the United Kingdom. As a former Clinical Supervisor at the UNSW Optometry Clinic, he helped young optometrists learn and develop their optometry skills. He has also worked in research at the Cornea and Contact Lens Research Unit, Brien Holden Vision Institute.
With a passion for public health and giving back to the community and society, Mr Lee has worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Sydney, in rural and regional NSW settings and in the Northern Territory. Following the 2004 tsunami, he worked in Sri Lanka in eye camps and in 2015, provided vision assessments and spectacles to people in need in Nepal. His current focus is working with refugees and people seeking asylum and with marginalised populations in NSW.
He is currently completing a Master of Philosophy at the UNSW.
NEW BOARD MEMBERS
Optometry Australia’s three new directors are:
Lee Baumwol, a practising clinical optometrist, with ocular therapeutics endorsement. Since 2014 he has been part of the Total Eyecare partnership working out of its Claremont, Sandy Bay, and Kingston practices in Hobart. He also works parttime at the Royal Hobart Hospital Eye Clinic in the general and diabetic eye clinics. In addition to his clinical practice, Mr Baumwol is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at UNSW’s Optometry and Vision Science faculty, and he oversees clinical placements for students from this university. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a CASA credentialed optometrist.
Shuvagata ‘Shuva’ Bose, who has practised optometry in retail and medical settings within metropolitan and rural settings. He is currently Optometry Sessional Academic, supervising practical classes and tutorials for students in the Bachelor of Vision Science program at Queensland University of Technology. He has worked as a clinical supervisor at this university assisting students develop skills in clinical diagnostics and management.
Kevin Sun, a therapeutically endorsed clinical optometrist at Specsavers in Waterford, Western Australia. Mr Sun provides a range of patient services including aged and residential care home visits. He has experience in glaucoma co-management, diabetes eye care, dry eye, myopia control, and contact lenses.
“Fiona, Tori, and Rob made a significant contribution to the national board and demonstrated strong commitment to ensuring that Optometry Australia delivered against its strategic commitments… On behalf of the board, I wish to thank them for their contributions to our organisation and I wish them a highly successful future.”
