SAN RAMON, Calif., October 25, 2019—For her significant contributions to the advancement of the industry and optometric profession, Michele Andrews, OD, Senior Director of Professional and Academic Affairs, North America, CooperVision, has been named a 2019 recipient of Women in Optometry’s Theia Excellence Awards. Dr. Andrews will be honored at an awards reception at Academy 2019 in Orlando on October 24.
In her role at CooperVision, Dr. Andrews leads a cross-functional team that fosters collaboration between the company and eye care professionals through advocacy, philanthropy, education, and commercial partnership.
“In this dynamic period of change for the industry, Dr. Andrews has been instrumental in strengthening our partnerships with eye care professionals and charting new territory to the benefit of the optometric community,” said Simon Seshadri, Vice President of Marketing, North America, CooperVision. “As the result of her tireless efforts, countless current and future practitioners have received mentoring and education proven to be invaluable to their growth and professional success. Dr. Andrews is certainly deserving of this recognition.”
Over the last few years, Dr. Andrews has supported the optometry profession through her work on Capitol Hill, fighting to preserve the relationship between optometrists and their patients. She was personally involved in the launch last year of the Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (APS), of which CooperVision is a charter member. Dr. Andrews routinely meets with U.S. Representatives and their staffs to help educate them about the impact of proposed legislation on eye care professionals and their patients. She also works with the Federal Trade Commission, as well as with government officials at the state and national levels.
Dr. Andrews has also been key to the development of CooperVision’s Best Practices program, which seeks to recognize U.S. eye care practices that are thriving through demonstration of innovation, superior patient experiences, and industry leadership, and provides honorees with the opportunity to share their experiences to help all ECPs adapt to a changing landscape. Since its inception in 2015, the program has grown in stature, garnering more applications with each passing year. CooperVision kicked off its search for its fifth class of honorees—the 2020 Best Practices—last month.
Under the leadership of Dr. Andrews, CooperVision’s Professional Affairs team is also dedicated to the education of current and future eye care professionals through a variety of programs, including: CooperVision’s Professional Advancement Consultant (PAC) program; a partnership with the American Optometric Association (AOA) to support its annual Contact Lens and Cornea Section (CLCS) Residency Forum; CooperVision’s Adopt-a-Patient and Student Ambassador programs; and sponsorship of events.
Dr. Andrews was a 2018 recipient the AOA’s Contact Lens and Cornea Section (CLCS) Council Dr. Rodger Kame Award, which is presented to Section members in appreciation of outstanding service and dedication to the AOA CLCS. Dr. Andrews was also named as one of Vision Monday’s 2018 Most Influential Women in Optical.
Dr. Andrews earned her Doctor of Optometry degree from the Illinois College of Optometry in 1992. She started her career in multi-unit ophthalmology, LASIK, and private practice settings before spending more than 10 years with LensCrafters, where she supported hundreds of optometric practitioners in various locations throughout the United States. From there, she became the Senior Director of Provider Relations and Clinical Services at EyeMed Vision Care. Just prior to joining CooperVision in 2015, she served as Executive Vice President of Professional Services at For Eyes Optical Company. Dr. Andrews is married with two children and lives in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois.
# # #
About CooperVision
CooperVision, a unit of CooperCompanies (NYSE: COO), is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of soft contact lenses. The Company produces a full array of monthly, two-week and daily disposable contact lenses, all featuring advanced materials and optics. CooperVision has a strong heritage of solving the toughest vision challenges such as astigmatism and presbyopia; and offers the most complete collection of spherical, toric and multifocal products available. Through a combination of innovative products and focused practitioner support, the company brings a refreshing perspective to the marketplace, creating real advantages for customers and wearers. For more information, visit www.coopervision.com.
About CooperCompanies
CooperCompanies (“Cooper”) is a global medical device company public traded on NYSE (NYSE: COO). Cooper operates through two business units, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision brings a refreshing perspective on vision care with a commitment to developing a wide range of high-quality products for contact lens wearers and providing focused practitioner support. CooperSurgical is committed to advancing the health of women, babies and families with its diversified portfolio of products and services focusing on medical devices and fertility & genomics. Headquartered in San Ramon, Calif., Cooper has a workforce of more than 12,000 with products sold in over 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.coopercos.com.
Media Contact
Heather Kowalczyk
McDougall Communications for CooperVision, Inc.
heather@mcdougallpr.com or +1-585-434-2148