Committees & Task Forces

One charge of the AUPO Council is to empower the Member Councils and the Editor of the Journal of Academic Ophthalmology (JAO) by providing direct input to the Board of Trustees.  A second charge of the Council is to foster collaboration and communication amongst the various individual Councils and their member constituents.

Paul Sternberg - Chair
R.V. Paul Chan - Research Directors Council Board Liaison
Deborah Ferrington - Research Directors Council President
Garyl Geist - Administrators Council President
Bennie Jeng - Directors of Medical Student Education Council Board Liaison
Ariane Kaplan - Directors of Medical Student Education Council President
Andreas Lauer - Program Directors Council Board Liaison
Jennifer Lindsey - Program Directors Council President
Saras Ramanathan - Editor-in-Chief
R. Michael Siatkowski - Administrators Council Board Liaison
James Tsai - AUPO President-Elect
Terri Young - AUPO President

The charge of the Academic Leadership Development Program Committee (ALDP) is to create a program that provides orientation and skills to assist participants in succeeding in the academic ophthalmology leadership pathway.

Andreas Lauer - Chair
R.V. Paul Chan
Kathryn Colby
Jacque Duncan
Sayoko Moroi

The charge of the Advocacy Committee is to create an advisory group that evaluates policies and programs that may affect the AUPO mission, and to work externally with other societies and compatible advocacy groups to unify similar policy positions in order to make effective changes.

R.V. Paul Chan - Co-Chair
Kimberly Crowder - Co-Chair
Kathryn Colby
Jennifer Larson
Jay Lustbader
Machelle Pardue
Paul Phillips
Jonathan Rubenstein
Rachel Simpson
Katherine Talcott

The charge of the Annual Meeting Program Committee is to plan the educational activities of the Annual Meeting and to make recommendations to the Board of Trustees that enhance the meeting experience for attendees.

James Tsai - Chair and President-Elect
Kathryn Colby - Board Liaison
David DiLoreto - Breakfast with Colleagues Co-Chair
Deborah Ferrington - Research Directors Council
Garyl Geist - Administrators Council
Ariane Kaplan - Directors of Medical Student Education Council
Jennifer Lindsey - Program Directors Council
Paul Sternberg - Chief Executive Officer
Robert Swan - Educating the Educators
Sonal Tuli - Breakfast with Colleagues Co-Chair
Renee Young - Residency Program Coordinators
Terri Young - President

The charge of the Audit Committee is to provide oversight of the quality and integrity of the accounting, auditing, internal control, and financial reporting practices of AUPO, and to make recommendations for related policies and procedures to the Board of Trustees.

Sonal Tuli - Chair
Kathryn Colby
Kimberly Crowder
Paul Sternberg
James Tsai
Terri Young

The charge of the Excellence in Medical Student Education Award Committee is to annually review nominations and supporting materials for the award and to recommend the top-ranking nominee to the AUPO and AAO Board of Trustees for approval.

Allen Beck - Chair
R.V. Paul Chan
David DiLoreto
Lisa Kelly
Tim Stout
Alice Zhang

The charge of the Resident and Fellow Research Forum Committee is to consider the materials for each Resident and Fellow Research Forum nominee and to recommend the top ranked nominees to the Board of Trustees for approval.

William Harbour - Chair
Manuel Bartoli
Pratap Challa
Joshua Dunaief
Jacque Duncan
Sandeep Grover
Tim Stout

The charge of the Straatsma Award for Excellence in Resident Education Committee is to annually review nominations and supporting materials for each award nominee and to recommend the top-ranking nominee to the AAO and AUPO Board of Trustees for approval.

Jeffrey Henderer - Chair
Sophie Bakri
Pratap Challa
Laura Green
Tim Stout
Anne Wishna
Darrell WuDunn

The charge of the RPB David F. Weeks Award for Outstanding Vision Research is to annually review nominations and supporting materials for the award nominees and to recommend the top-ranking nominee to the Board of Trustees for approval.

Jacque Duncan - Chair
Steven Brooks
Jennifer Chao
Maria Grant
Leslie Hyman
Ronald Krueger
Maureen McCall
Sayoko Moroi
Tim Stout

The charge of the Boot Camp for New Chairs Committee is to create and administer a program that  develops or enhances leadership and managerial skills that contribute to the success of new Chairs of Departments of Ophthalmology.

Kimberly Crowder - Chair
R. Michael Siatkowski
 

The charge of the Bylaws Committee is to conduct periodic reviews of bylaws and policies and procedures for currency, to ensure the organization operates according to the established rules, and to make recommendations for updates to the Board of Trustees as needed. 

Sayoko Moroi - Chair
R.V. Paul Chan
Bennie Jeng
Andreas Lauer

The charge of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Oversight Committee is to provide a mechanism for the board and CEO to give feedback to one another, to negotiate the CEO agreement and incentives, and to make recommendations for related policies and procedures to the Board of Trustees.

Terri Young - Chair
James Tsai
Nicholas Volpe

The charge of the Communications Committee is to ensure AUPO communication platforms and publications are representative of the organization and its members and create a professional presence for AUPO.

Jacque Duncan - Committee Chair

Manuela Bartoli - Publications Promotion Subcommittee Co-Chair
Eileen Bowden - Publications Promotion Subcommittee
Michelle Callegan - Website Subcommittee
Geetha Davis - Social Media Subcommittee
Steven Feldon - Consultant
Anju Goyal - Website Subcommittee
Laura Gwyn - Website Subcommittee
Herb Ingraham - Publications Promotion Subcommittee
Leila Khazaeni - Social Media Subcommittee
Norvil Lindsay - Social Media Subcommittee
Jennifer Lindsey - Social Media Subcommittee Chair
Nicole Manley - Website Subcommittee
Kevin Merkley - Publications Promotion Subcommittee
Michael Migliori - Publications Promotion Subcommittee Co-Chair
Sayoko Moroi - Board Representative
Katherine Talcott - Publications Promotion Subcommittee
Meg Templeton - Social Media Subcommittee
Sonal Tuli - Website Subcommittee
Ze Zhang - Website Subcommittee Chair

Social Media Content Creators
Masih Ahmed
Tyler Knight
Norvil Lindsay
Jennifer Lindsey
Sankara Mahesh

The Compensation Survey Committee is responsible for working with the selected Board-identified vendor to review, evaluate, and disseminate a member compensation survey at intervals designated by the Board of Trustees. 

Steven Feldon - Chair
Kathryn Colby
Brendan Creswell
Kimberly Crowder
Ronald Krueger
Juan Trujillo
Sonal Tuli
Nicholas Volpe

The charge of the Data Resource Committee is to review requests for the use of SF Match and AUPO data, review requests to distribute surveys for research studies, and to make recommendations for related policies and procedures to the Board of Trustees.

R. Michael Siatkowski - Chair
Sophie Bakri
Ashay Bhatwadekar
Zachary Elkin
Ambar Faridi
Steven Feldon - consultant
Bennie Jeng
Sankara Mahesh
Timothy McCulley
Andrew Melson
Daniel Rubinstein
Ying Shen
Daniel Tu

The Executive Committee, consisting of the President, President-Elect, Past President, and the Chief Executive Officer, is responsible for the affairs of the Corporation between meetings of the Board of Trustees.

Terri Young - Chair
Paul Sternberg
James Tsai
Nicholas Volpe

The charge of the Faculty Development Committee is to develop programs and resources within the AUPO that support and enhance the career goals of all faculty and senior administrative staff in academic departments of ophthalmology.

Andreas Lauer - Chair
Bennie Jeng
Rukhsana Mirza

The charge of the Finance Committee is to monitor the monthly financial and investment reports of AUPO, and to make recommendations for related policies and procedures to the Board of Trustees.

James Tsai - Chair
Sophie Bakri
Jacque Duncan
R. Michael Siatkowski
Paul Sternberg

The charge of the Ophthalmology Residency Match Oversight Committee is to provide oversight for San Francisco Match (SF Match) ophthalmology residency match-related activities, maintenance, and improvements. The committee is advisory to the Board and shall make recommendations that enhance the experience for all users to the Board of Trustees.

Jeff Pettey - Chair
Nisha Chadha
Kimberly Crowder
Steven Feldon - consultant
Janice Law
Daniel Moore
R. Michael Siatkowski
Brian Song
Paul Sternberg
Nicholas Volpe
Fasika Woreta
Terri Young

The charge of the Nominating Committee is to identify candidates for positions on the Board of Trustees, and to make recommendations for related policies and procedures to the Board of Trustees. 

Nicholas Volpe - Chair
Donald Budenz
Julia Haller
Paul Sternberg
James Tsai
Terri Young

Shahzad Mian - Director
Steven Armenti - Trainer Team Leader
Susan Culican - Assessment Team Leader
Seth Pantanelli - Multimedia Team Leader
Grace Sun - Skills Transfer Team Leader
Bennie Jeng - Board Liaison

Council of Faculty and Academic Societies 

Pavlina Kemp
David Wallace

The Council

Kathryn Colby, Councilor
Jonathan Rubenstein, Alternate Councilor

William Harbour
Christina Prescott
Paul Sternberg
​​​​​​​Terri Young

Rachel Wozniak

Christopher Teng

Wajhma Aboud
Jeff Pettey
Paul Sternberg
Dennis Thomatos