ALL CHILDREN SEE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Foundation Advisory Board
- President of the Foundation Advisory Board
Dr. Bradley Black practiced pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is past president of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) and the Louisiana Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons (LAEPS). He has served on the boards of directors of AAPOS, the Children's Eye Foundation, the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, and LAEPS. He received the Honor Award and Senior Honor Award from AAPOS and the Achievement Award, Secretariat Award, and Outstanding Advocate Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and he was elected to the American Ophthalmological Society. Dr. Black is active in international ophthalmology. He served on the Orbis International Cybersight Medical Advisory Board and has performed and taught pediatric eye surgery in more than thirty countries. He and his wife, Cindy, have two children and two grandchildren. In his leisure time, you can often find Dr. Black sailing the Gulf of Mexico on his thirty-five-foot sloop.
Christine has 10 years of experience in client services and office coordination. She has experience in various capacities such as content writing and social media management. Christine received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Missouri- Columbia has a Master of Science in Management and Leadership from Western Governor's University (WGU).
Dr. Derek Sprunger, Associate Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology at Indiana University School of Medicine, is the former President of The American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS), is Past President of the International Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Council (IPOSC) and the Indiana Academy of Ophthalmology (IAO). Service to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) included 2 terms on the Council and 1 term on The Secretariat of State Affairs. He is a Parks Bronze Medal winner and has been inducted into the Pediatric Ophthalmology Hall of Fame.
He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from AAPOS and the Senior Achievement Award from the AAO. He has been Ophthalmologist of the year twice in the State of Indiana and is an Emeritus Member of the American Eye Study Club (AESC) who awarded him the John H Killian Award.
Dr. Sprunger has written or contributed to over 100 journal publications and book chapters on various topics. He has been involved in training over 150 residents, 50 USA fellows, and international fellows.
Dr. Lauren Ditta is a board-certified pediatric ophthalmologist and neuro-ophthalmologist at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. She is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics and serves as Section Chief of Neuro-Ophthalmology. She has clinical appointments at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Le Bonheur Children's Hospital. When she began her career in Memphis, she developed a pediatric neuro-ophthalmology clinic within the Le Bonheur Children's Hospital Neuroscience Institute to incorporate eye care as part of multidisciplinary clinics caring for children with complex disease processes-a program that now attracts patients on a regional and national scope.
Dr. Ditta has distinguished herself as a leader within both of her areas of sub specialization. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and has served as the chair of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) Pediatric Low Vision Rehabilitation Committee, as well as various committees within (AAPOS), the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS), and the American Board of Ophthalmology. She has authored publications and book chapters within pediatric neuro-ophthalmology and is a reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals. She is a fellow of NANOS, an AAPOS Honor Award Recipient, and has been consistently recognized by Castle Connolly as an Exceptional Woman in Medicine.
Dr. Ditta is a mother to three boys and wife of an awesome pediatric neuro-radiologist, who shares her passion for pediatric healthcare.
Megan has over 20 years of experience in both the non-profit and for-profit business sector. Working in areas of business development, donor development, fundraising, strategic planning fundraising and client services. Megan obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Bellevue University in Omaha, NE.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Foundation Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President of Operations at Cumulus Media
Robert (Bob) Walker is the Executive Vice President of Operations at Cumulus Media, Inc and is the previous General Manager of Network and Content at the Weather Channel. Previously, he served in multiple executive roles with Gannett's TV properties in Atlanta, leaving as President to join The Weather Channel. He is an experienced executive in corporate, business, and strategy development roles and a recognized community leader and partner with several organizations.
Dr. Rupa Wong is a board certified pediatric ophthalmologist, wife, mom to 3 kids, entrepreneur, and the managing partner of Honolulu Eye Clinic for the past 15 years. She has been featured on the Best Doctors Lists since 2010 and was even featured on the cover of Honolulu magazine for that issue. She also serves as Clinical Associate Professor at University of Hawaii School of Medicine.
Dr. Wong also has numerous passion projects including founding a women's medical conference, Pinnacle Conference a business and leadership development conference for women in medicine and hosts the It's Good To See You Podcas t, an up and coming podcast which tackles issues of work-life balance, personal and professional growth for professional women and being a boss on your own terms. She is active on social media where she discusses harmonizing work and life, eye health, eye surgeries, as well as the gaps in business knowledge that medical school does not address.
Her non-profit work exemplifies her commitment to children in the community, as well as medical education, and includes serving on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii, YoungMD Connect, and previously on the Board for Association for Healthcare in Social Media, for which she was a Founding Member. She also previously served on the Board of Directors of Project Vision Hawaii. As a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters, she single handedly organized an annual event which has brought in over $100,000 of charitable contributions with no assistance required from the administrative team. She is active in her professional organizations as well, serving as Vice Chair of Digital Education of the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmologists and Strabismus, a member of the Recruitment Task Force and Socio Economic Committee. Dr. Wong also serves on the Gala Committee for the American Academy of Ophthalmology which raises funds for the organization's charitable endeavors.
Dr. Stacey Kruger is currently Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Health in Great Neck, NY.
Dr. Kruger earned her medical degree at S.U.N.Y. Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn and completed her residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY. She then completed her pediatric ophthalmology fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina's Storm Eye Institute in Charleston, South Carolina. Dr. Kruger's special interest area is pediatric cataract surgery and intraocular lenses. Dr. Kruger was only one of a select few physicians invited to be a Principal Investigator in the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study, which began in 2004. This is a prestigious National Institute of Health and National Eye Institute sponsored Multi-Center Clinical Trial, which has evaluated the use of intraocular lenses (artificial lens implants) in patients less than six months of age born with cataracts.
Dr. Kruger is also actively involved in providing care for indigent patients in Guatemala, participating in medical mission trips to that country annually since 2002. Dr. Kruger is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, serves as Councilor to AAO on the Board of Directors of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus as well as many other professional organizations; she has also authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Residency Program Director
Dr. Stacy Pineles is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Residency Program Director at the Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Dr. Pineles completed her medical school training at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004, followed by subsequent training as an ophthalmology resident (2005-2008) and fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus at the Stein Eye Institute at the University of Pennsylvania (2010), and a Master's degree in Clinical Investigation at UCLA (2013). In 2010, Dr. Pineles joined the faculty of the Stein Eye Institute at UCLA, one of the leading centers of vision science in the world. Dr. Pineles currently runs an NIH-sponsored research program evaluating binocular vision in children and adults with eye misalignment. Her research interests also include the systemic effects of pediatric eye disease as well as clinical trials in pediatric ophthalmology. She currently serves as the principle investigator of an NIH-sponsored multicenter study of pediatric optic neuritis. Dr. Pineles serves on numerous professional committees within the American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, and the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. She travels regularly both nationally and internationally to speak on topics related to her research in pediatric neuro-ophthalmology and is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and 7 book chapters.