The Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC) kicked off the new year by reiterating its commitment to fighting childhood myopia and appointing a new Board Chair and eight members to its 2023 Board of Directors.
Give me some background on GMAC.
Launched in 2019, GMAC is an industry coalition of leading ophthalmic companies and eye health associations within the United States and United Kingdom focused on raising public awareness of viewing childhood myopia as a treatable disease.
The organization targets direct-to-consumer communication channels by developing messaging campaigns with governments, non-governmental organizations, and other healthcare organizations,
What companies/organizations are in it?
Represented organizations include:
- Essilor Luxottica
- OneSight Essilor Luxottica Foundation
- Johnson & Johnson
- World Council of Optometry (WCO)
- CooperVision
- Vyluma
- Jobson
- The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)
- Treehouse Eyes
- VTI
- Eyes On Eyecare
- Visioneering Technologies Inc
- American Academy of Optometry
- Alcon
- Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI)
- Euclid Systems Corporation
- Menicon Co, Ltd.
- International Myopia Institute
- PentaVision
- Sydnexis Inc
- SightGlass Vision
- SynergEyes
Who’s the new Board Chair?
Lisa McAlister, Global Myopia Lead at Johnson & Johnson Vision, is replacing past chair Millicent Knight, OD, senior vice president, Customer Development Group NA, at Essilor Luxottica.
Who are the 2023 Board of Directors?
The participating board members of GMAC in 2023 are as follows:
- Lisa McAlister, Global Myopia Lead at Johnson & Johnson Vision
- Millicent Knight, Senior Vice President, Customer Development Group, EssilorLuxottica
- Sandra Block, OD, MED, MPH, President-elect, World Council of Optometry
- Rajeev Garg, PhD, Global Head: Myopia Management Strategy, CooperVision
- Matt Geller, OD, Co-founder & CEO, Eyes on Eyecare
- Layna Mendlinger, Global Head of Marketing, Visioneering Technologies, Inc
- Kovin Naidoo, PhD, Global Head Advocacy and Partnerships, OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation
- Nick Parker, Head of Business Development & Partnerships, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)
- Bill Scott, President, Jobson Healthcare Information
- Raul A. Trillo, MD, MBA, COO, Vyluma
See here for a list of GMAC Advisory Board members.
What’s GMAC’s latest initiative?
The organization’s most recent campaign is called “Tech Timeout,” where families are challenged to spend 24 hours without any digital screens. The goal is to increase time spent outdoors and reduce time spent doing near-work activities indoors such as spending time on digital devices, which can increase myopia progression.
Any words from GMAC’s new Board Chair?
McAlister stated: “With rates on the rise and myopia predicted to impact 1 of 2 people by 2050, our work is more important now than ever, and this coalition is uniquely setup to help create a brighter future for the eyesight of our children.”