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The Vision Council

Better Vision Institute

The Better Vision Institute (BVI) is a unique body that brings together the vision community's three professional disciplines - ophthalmology, optometry and opticianry. It provides the only forum in which these three professions can come together to address America's vision health.

Current Members

Thomas Abbott, LDO, NCLE, Chairman
Mr. Abbott is a licensed dispensing optician and manager of the Everett Clinic Vision Centers in Everett, WA. Previous to this position, Tom owned his own optical dispensary. Mr. Abbott is currently affiliated with a multitude of vision care organizations, including the Contact Lens Society of America, Washington State Opticians Assosiation. National Contact Lens Examiners, The American Board of Opticianry. Tom received his education at Junior College and hails from his hometown of Beloit, WI.

W. Lee Ball, Jr., OD, Incoming Chairman
W. Lee Ball, Jr., O.D. is a 2001 graduate of the University of Houston College of Optometry. He completed an optometric residency at the University of Miami Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. After residency, he joined the staff at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Ball is an adjunct clinical faculty member at the New England College of Optometry and serves on numerous boards and committees, including the National Eye Institute, CDC, the American Optometric Association (AOA) Healthy Eyes Healthy People committee, and the Optometric Leadership Institute. Dr. Ball is a past president of the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) and currently holds the office of vice-chair for the Pharmacy, Podiatry, Optometry and Dental Health Provider (PPOD) workgroup.

Dave Edwards
Dave Edwards is a 30-year optical veteran, who has working experience in all phases of the optical business. He is a Florida Licensed and Nationally Certified Optician, with A.B.O. and N.C.L.E. accreditations. Mr. Edwards has vast background in all phases of the optical business, with a focus on management and education. His executive skills center on the management of a chain of 30 optical offices in Florida and Texas with over 100 employees. In addition, his affiliations extend to optical labs and their management.

At present, Dave serves on both national and international boards for the optical industry. In addition, Dave has been nominated for appointment by the Governor of Florida to serve on the Florida Board of Opticianry.

Joy Gibb, ABOC
Ms. Gibb has worked with Master Opticians, which is an independent retail opticianry located in Bountiful, Utah, for over 21 years and currently serves as its manager. She is also an active Contributor to Vision Care Product News and serves the multi-faceted role of secretary, treasurer, and education coordinator for the Far Western Conference of Opticians. Ms. Gibb attended LDS Business College and is from Woods Cross, UT.

J. Alberto Martinez, MD
Bio coming soon.

Paul E. Michelson, MD
Dr. Paul E. Michelson is a Board Certified Ophthalmologist and Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American College of Surgeons. He received his B.A degree from Johns Hopkins University and his M.D. degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His educational training continued as he did an internal medicine internship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, followed by a three-year residency at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Following his training, Dr. Michelson served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in the Canal Zone, on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, as head of Ophthalmology at Scripps Clinic Medical Group, and chief of Ophthalmology at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, CA. Dr. Michelson is currently an ophthalmologist at Eye Care of La Jolla.

Marie Carmen Perez-Blanco, OD
Dr. Marie Carmen Perez-Blanco is an optometrist with the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, FL. Her specialty is in primary eye care and her research interests are in refractive surgery, especially LASIK. Dr. Perez-Blanco received her undergraduate degree from St. Thomas University in Miami, FL and her O.D. from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia, PA.

Jean E. Ramsey, MD
Dr. Ramsey serves many roles, including Director, Pediatric Ophthalmology Service at Boston Medical Center, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Boston University School of Medicine, and Co-Director of the Massachusetts Preschool Vision Screening Program. She is also pursuing her MPH from the Boston University School of Public Health. Prior to these roles, she worked at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard School of Medicine, and the New England Eye Center and Tufts University School of Medicine.

Dr. Ramsey has also been very active in the vision care community through her service to a variety of organizations, such as the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Massachusetts Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, and Women in Ophthalmology.

Glen T. Steele, OD
Dr. Glen Steele is a clinical professor and Chief of the Pediatric Service at The Eye Center at Southern College of Optometry. He also has a private practice emphasizing the eye and vision care needs of the infant and child. Dr. Steele is a past president of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and a past president of the Optometric Extension Program Foundation. He is currently a member of the American Optometric Association Infant Vision Committee. Dr. Steele has lectured extensively throughout the USA and internationally in the area of infant vision development and care and he has received a plethora of awards and distinctions for his work within children's vision care.