Thank you to all our incredible partners across Wisconsin for supporting our vision health mission.
Gae Lach Sight Saver Award for Volunteer Service
Presented to Renee Peterson
Renee Peterson has devoted much of her professional and volunteer life to strengthening families and supporting vulnerable populations. Her professional experience includes empowering low-income women through pre-employment training, licensing treatment foster care homes and conducting adoption studies, directing domestic abuse crisis and long-term support services for women and their children, and facilitating meaningful relationships between children, teens, families, and mentors to build positive role-model connections.
As a mother, Renee became actively involved in volunteering in her community, which eventually led her to become a certified yoga teacher. For the past 10 years, she has taught a variety of classes, including Beginners and Beyond, Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga, and “Little Yogi and Me” classes for parents and young children.
Since the fall of 2023, Renee has volunteered with Prevent Blindness Wisconsin, assisting with children’s vision screenings. She finds this work both fun and deeply rewarding. Because Wisconsin does not require routine vision screenings for children, Prevent Blindness Wisconsin provides a vital resource for early detection of vision issues—giving children a greater chance for success in learning while building confidence and self-esteem.
Renee also volunteers with Kinship, supporting the food pantry and community-building projects. She and her husband enjoy spending time with their two adult children and son-in-law, often attending concerts, musicals, and comedy shows together. In her free time, Renee enjoys practicing yoga and meditation, walking, gardening, reading, exploring Milwaukee, and traveling.
20/20 Service Award
Presented to The Greater Milwaukee Foundation on behalf of the A. Walter & Elsa K. Seiler Fund
Prevent Blindness Wisconsin is deeply grateful for the longstanding support of the A. Walter & Elsa K. Seiler Fund through the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. For more than 10 years, the Fund has invested in our mission to prevent blindness and preserve sight through vision screening, education, and early detection programs. Their continued commitment has helped thousands of Wisconsin children and adults access vital vision services, creating a lasting impact on the health and well-being of communities across our state.
Adult Healthy Vision Award
Presented to Aurora Walker’s Point Community Clinic
Claudia Y. Evangelista Calvario is a social worker with over six years of experience supporting low-income and underserved communities. She currently works at Aurora Walker’s Point Community Clinic, where her work focuses on improving access to preventive healthcare and addressing social determinants of health that impact patient outcomes. Having experienced the challenges of accessing vision care growing up, Claudia is especially passionate about helping individuals connect to eye exams, glasses, and follow-up care. This work would not have been possible without the collaboration and support of her colleagues, Veronica Perez and Luis Amezcua, whose efforts helped make this program possible in the clinic. Claudia remains committed to advancing health equity and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to receive the care they need.
Children’s Healthy Vision Award
Presented to Valerie Hon, MSN, RN, LSN, NCSN
Valerie Hon is a master’s prepared registered nurse licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as a school nurse and a nationally certified school nurse. As the district nurse for Portage Community School District for the past 20 years, she is passionate about student health and children’s full engagement in school despite chronic health conditions. She has been a professional registered nurse for 33 years, including public health, occupational health, specialty clinic, home care, content expert, and long-term care nursing. Hon is active in her professional nurse organizations, serving as president, president-elect, district director, and membership chairperson for the Wisconsin Association of School Nurses. She instills in other nurses the need for ongoing professional development and use of evidence-based practice. She brings nurse professional development programs to her region of the state and invites other nurses to join. She seeks grants to expand services and opportunities for students, school nurses, and the school community. Nurse Hon values community partnerships to enhance public schools.
Vision Screening Ambassador Award
Presented to Notre Dame School of Milwaukee
Notre Dame School of Milwaukee is a Catholic, dual-language K3–8 school serving more than 760 students across three campuses on Milwaukee’s south side. Founded in 1996, the school has grown into one of the city’s most respected educational communities, known for academic excellence, faith formation, and strong family engagement.
Guided by the mission of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the school offers a unique model with a coeducational primary program, a girl’s middle school, and a boy’s middle school. Students learn in both English and Spanish, building bilingual skills and confidence for future success.
Notre Dame School of Milwaukee’s primary school has proudly partnered with Prevent Blindness Wisconsin since 2021 to provide children’s vision screenings. Through this collaboration, the school has shown a strong commitment to healthy vision for its students and works closely with families to connect children with needed follow-up eye care and resources.
Dedicated to educating the whole child, Notre Dame School of Milwaukee continues to create brighter futures for children and families across the Milwaukee community.