Dr. Thimons is a 1978 graduate of Ohio State University College of Optometry. He completed his hospital residency at the Chillicothe, VA Medical Center in 1979 and then served as Chief, Optometry Service until 1985. He then accepted the position of Center Director at Omni Eye Services, Fairfax, Virginia and served in that role until 1989 when he became Chairman, Department of Clinical Sciences at the State University of New York. While at SUNY he developed The Glaucoma Institute, a clinical research center, and served as its first Director. In 1998, he accepted the position of Executive Director of TLC and served in that role until 2002 when he co- founded Ophthalmic Consultants of Connecticut. A multidisciplinary referral practice providing secondary and tertiary level care! Dr. Thimons has received numerous awards for his service to the profession and has over 200 hundred publications in Glaucoma, Dry Eye, Cornea and External Disease. As well as Refractive Surgery and New Technologies. He is a nationally and internationally acclaimed Speaker and Educator and an acknowledged leader in ophthalmic clinical education. He serves in professorial appointments at several universities in the US and has been a clinical investigator in over 20 NIH, NEI and Post Release Clinical Trials. In 1999 he was awarded Optometry’s Top Educator and was selected as one of the Top Ten Clinicians of the decade. In 2002 he founded the National Glaucoma Society, a NFP with Executive offices in Andover, Massachusetts, that provides educational and clinical development services to primary care clinicians worldwide in the area of glaucoma management. In 2005 he was inducted into the Optometry Hall of Fame and has recently served as President, Connecticut Association of Optometrists. Dr. Thimons was selected as the Top Eye Doctor in Fairfiel County in 2013. In 2020 he was selected as the Bailey Medal Award winner by The Ohio State University in acknowledgement of his contributions to the profession. In 2022 he was selected by Newsweek magazine as one of the Top Eye Doctors in America.

After graduating from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Nathan Tsalkos (OD) quickly moved from graduate to practice owner. With constant learning happening for him every single day, Nathan hopes to share his perspectives on navigating your early career and developing your professional identity.

Ellen is the principal optometrist at EZ Optometry, an eye clinic that works within a community of health professionals. She focuses on interprofessional collaboration, ensuring there is shared education, decision making and patient centered care. She also has a special interest in myopia control, contact lenses and dry eyes.

Angie is the Clinical Manager at Quinn & Co. Eyecare, where she supports and mentors optometrists. With over 15 years' experience in regional practice, she is passionate about primary eye care and clinical education. Angie holds teaching positions at the University of Melbourne and Monash University, helping develop future healthcare professionals.

Dr Flora Hui is an optometrist clinician scientist with over 17 years of clinical experience and is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Eye Research Australia. Her research is dedicated to finding new treatments, improving disease diagnosis and access to eye care for people living with glaucoma and neurodegenerative disease. Flora balances life as an optometrist, scientist, board director, public speaker, and educator. She is dedicated to encouraging the next generation to consider careers in STEM through her work as a Director of the Toyota Community Foundation Australia, which supports programs to boost STEM education and careers across Australia, and as a coach for Curious Minds, a mentoring program for high school girls interested in STEM. Flora is an experienced public speaker and science communicator with regular media appearances and writing for The Conversation, and in recognition of this, was selected for ABC Top 5 (Science) and Superstars of STEM. Some of her notable research projects include leading a world first clinical trial on nicotinamide (vitamin B3) that can potentially slow vision loss. She now leads the Australian trial in a global collaborative clinical trial to determine its utility as a new therapy for glaucoma.