Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award

About the Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award

The Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award recognizes significant efforts by an individual or group of individuals to improve public health approaches for children’s vision and eye health at the state or national level. The award was established in 2014 by the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health Advisory Committee to commemorate Dr. Bonnie Strickland and her groundbreaking work to establish a comprehensive system for children’s vision in the United States.  Strickland served as Director of the Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs, Maternal and Child Health Bureau before her retirement in 2014.

Applications for the 2025 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award are due August 25, 2025.

Nominees

Nominees for the Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award may be an individual or group comprised of diverse stakeholders, including family/caregiver and community leaders, public health, healthcare, education, etc. who are implementing changes to improve children’s vision in the United States and reduce disparities in children’s vision and eye health. We are seeking nominations of individuals or groups who seek out new and innovative solutions to barriers to healthy vision in children and have successfully implemented solutions that are replicable and sustainable. Nominees should be able to demonstrate an impact in one or more areas of a population health system supporting children’s vision:

  • Key Stakeholder Engagement or Collaboration, including representation from families and diverse racial/ethnic/geographic and socio-economic levels target populations.
  • Training and Education
  • Public Awareness
  • Provision of Resources and/or Services
  • Surveillance and Accountability
  • Reduction of Health Inequities
  • Vision and Eye Health Infrastructure Development- Local, State, or National Level
  • Making the connection between vision and overall health, early childhood development and learning

Please note that we have separate applications for individuals and groups.

Application deadline is August 25, 2025 (11:59 pm EST)

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Award Presentation

The award will be presented to the recipient in a special virtual program on Wednesday, October 29 at 7pm ET.

The award consists of a commemorative plaque, recognition, and a 30-minute presentation at the October 29 event. The award recipient will be featured on the NCCVEH website with an overview of their innovative approaches to children’s vision and eye health systems. An all-volunteer committee for the Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award will review nominations and select the award winner.

Past Recipients

2024: The Alcon Children’s Vision Center (ACVC), a partnership between the Alcon Foundation and the Fort Worth Independent School District (ISD), provides essential vision and eye health services to Fort Worth ISD students. The ACVC provides eye health education for students and families, professional development for school nurses around children’s vision, vision screenings, and no-cost eye care services, including an on-site comprehensive eye exam, and if necessary, free prescription glasses..

2023: Danielle Crull, ABOM, author, business owner of A Child’s Eyes, organizer of The Pumpkin Patch Project, and founder of the Truffles the Kitty Organization (TKO) for her efforts to raise awareness of vision disorders in children, promoting early detection and treatment, supporting children in their patching treatment for amblyopia (lazy eye) and eyeglasses-wearing, and engaging families and the public in efforts to reduce stigma around vision disorders.

2022: Donny W. Suh, MD, FAAP, MBA, FACS, Chief of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, and Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California, Irvine.  Dr. Suh serves as medical director of the UC Irvine Mobile Eye Clinic which has provided vision screenings for more than 20,000 preschoolers in Orange County, Calif. Dr. Suh was also recognized for training pediatric ophthalmologists and his leadership within the American Academy of Pediatrics to improve communications between pediatrics and ophthalmology, and for developing vision screening guidelines.

2021: Ms. Shavette L. Turner, Vice President, Children’s Vision Services at Prevent Blindness Georgia (PBGA). Ms. Turner implemented a unique approach to helping disadvantaged and underserved youth across Georgia access vision and eye care, with emphasis in Hall County where there is a significantly large Latino population who experience barriers to eye care. Ms. Turner recruited more than 200 community volunteers, resulting in screening thousands of students and providing 300 pairs of eyeglasses.

2020: Logan Newman, NBCT, ABO, MS Ed, Program Developer and NYS Certified Science teacher and Career in Technical Experience Teacher at the East High School Vision Care Program.

2019: Anne L. Coleman, M.D., MPH, UCLA Stein Eye Institute.  Dr. Coleman is the Fran and Ray Stark Foundation Professor of Ophthalmology at Stein Eye Institute of the David Geffen School of Medicine; Vice Chair, Academic Affairs, UCLA Department of Ophthalmology; Professor of Epidemiology in the UCLA Jonathon and Karin Fielding School of Public Health; Director of the Stein Eye Institute Center for Community Outreach and for her leadership of the UCLA Mobile Vision Clinic.

2017: Sean P. Donahue, MD, Ph.D., Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Vanderbilt University.  Dr. Donahue was selected by the volunteer Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award Committee for his efforts to improve children’s vision through stakeholder engagement, volunteer coordination, and advancement of vision screening technology.

2016: The Illinois Eye Institute (IEI) at Princeton Vision Clinic based at the Illinois College of Optometry.  The IEI at Princeton was selected by the Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award Committee for its consistent and on-going commitment to addressing the unmet visual needs of Chicago Public School students.

2016 Honorable Mention: Vivian James, PhD, North Carolina Preschool Exceptional Children Coordinator for the Office of Early Learning – State Board of Education, Department of Public Instruction.  Dr. James was recognized for her exceptional work in North Carolina to improve vision screening systems as they relate to public health professional training as well as special education eligibility determinations.

2015: The Pediatric Physicians’ Organization at Children’s (PPOC) based at the Boston Children’s Hospital in Brookline, Massachusetts.  The PPOC was selected by the Award Committee for its consistent and on-going commitment to introducing proven and innovative new approaches to pediatric vision screening and care to providers and patients in the medical home setting.