The beginnings of a potential merger are underway between the National Academy of Opticianry (NAO) and the United Opticians Association (UOA).
The news comes after both organizations—plus the UOA Board of Directors—voted to authorize either a formal merger or asset-transfer process late last week.
Big news indeed! Let’s get a look at these groups first.
We’ll begin with the NAO.
Founded in 1963, the international organization provides opticianry education and training—from career preparation and certification to licensing exam prep and continuing education (CE)—through all optician levels.
And UOA?
The national organization was formed in 2024 following a merger between the Opticians Association of America and the National Federation of Opticianry Schools.
The advocacy group represents opticianry's “business, professional, educational, legislative, and regulatory interests,” with its work involving:
- Supporting national (and state) policy efforts
- Expanding access accredited training
- Strengthening the opticianry workforce
Check out its three tiers of membership.
Now let’s talk about this merger.
The formal merger was authorized not by just the two groups voting in favor of the move but also a “letter of intent” jointly approved by both the NAO and UOA Boards last month.
In their words, these latest actions “represent a coordinated commitment to advance the next phase of due diligence and planning.”
- To refresh: See what a due diligence process typically looks like.
And what will this phase involve?
A joint steering committee representing NAO and UOA will evaluate four key areas of interest to ensure that any potential alignment between the two groups is for the betterment of all members and their respective communities.
Those areas:
- Financial and legal obligations
- Programmatic integration opportunities
- Operational and staffing considerations
- Member services and educational continuity
Will this process impact the groups’ current operations?
Nope. In fact, both NAO and UAO emphasized there will be no interruptions to any of their operations, member services, or educational programs.
- That also goes for NAO’s Ophthalmic Career Progression Program, a digital training and education platform for opticians.
“Nothing in this process will disrupt ongoing work, and both organizations are committed to ensuring a seamless integration of processes, membership systems, educational offerings, and program delivery now and in the future,” the organizations stated.
Noted. So do we know how long it will take?
None whatsoever, unfortunately.
However … reports note such a process may come with a tentative timeframe of anywhere between 30 to 90 days (or potentially even 6 months, depending on the type of merger).
And in the meantime: “Additional updates will be shared with members of both organizations as the process progresses.”