Board of Trustees
DOUGLAS C. CLARK, OD | HOOVER, AL
graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and received his doctorate in 1982. Dr. Clark is a Past President of the Alabama Optometric Association, Birmingham Optometric Society and Southern Council of Optometry. In addition to serving on the board for the Southern College of Optometry Board of Trustees, he is a member of the American Optometric Association and Alabama Optometric Association. Dr. Clark is actively involved in the community of North Shelby County and is past chairman of the board for Safehouse of Shelby County.
DAVID A. COCKRELL, OD ’81 | STILLWATER, OK
completed his Bachelor’s degree in Zoology at Oklahoma State University and his Doctor of Optometry degree from SCO in 1981. He and his wife, Cherry Cockrell, OD ’81, opened their practice in Stillwater, Oklahoma, which became known as Cockrell Eyecare Center. In addition to serving as AOA President, Dr. Cockrell is a Diplomate and Past Chairman of the American Board of Optometry. Since 1996, he has served as a member of the Oklahoma State Board of Examiners in Optometry and in all of the organization’s officer positions, including president. He is also a past president of the Oklahoma Association of Optometric Physicians and the Southwest Council of Optometry. A Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, he is a member of the American Public Health Association’s Vision Section. A founding board member of Optometry Cares, he has received a number of awards at the local, regional, and national levels, including Heart of America’s OD of the Year award and an honorary degree from SCO.
STEVEN L. COMPTON, OD ’78 | FRANKLIN, KY
is a graduate of Western Kentucky University. Following his graduation from SCO in 1978, he joined Compton & Compton Eye Care, PLLC, with his father, the late Kenneth Compton, OD ’53. A member of the American Optometric Association and the Kentucky Optometric Association, he served as the KOA’s President in 2007-2008. Dr. Compton received the KOA’s President’s Award in 2008 and was named a Melvin Jones Fellow by the Lions Club International in 2000. He has also served in leadership roles for several organizations in his local community, and previously served as a member of SCO’s Alumni Council. Dr. Compton’s son, Alex, is a member of SCO’s Class of 2016.
BRIAN L. JONES, MBA | GERMANTOWN, TN
serves as President and Senior Consultant of GAVION, LLC and brings over 24 years of experience in institutional investment consulting. He is responsible for the oversight and development of the firm’s institutional client relationships and has worked as lead consultant on numerous foundation, endowment and pension client relationships throughout the U.S. Prior to his tenure in the investment consulting industry, he was a part-time faculty member for the Department of Economics at the University of Memphis. Additionally, he worked for the Tennessee Senate Finance Committee and for the U.S. House of Representatives for the Ways and Means Committee. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Memphis. He currently serves on the board of the Southern College of Optometry and on the Men’s Board of Grace Evangelical Church; in addition, he has been an active volunteer over the years with Special Kids and Families and the March of Dimes’ Prematurity Campaign.
AMANDA BREWER-LORD, OD ’97 | SPEEDWELL, VA
is a graduate of King College in Bristol, Tennessee. She received her Master of Science degree in Education from Radford University in Virginia. Upon graduation, Dr. Brewer-Lord established Wythe Eye Associates, a private practice with two locations in Virginia. She has been active in leadership positions in optometry, including serving on the Board of Trustees for the Virginia Optometric Association, the Board of Directors of the Banzai Consortium, the Board for TLC Laser Eye Center, InfantSEE Regional Liaison, and as SECO Logistics Committee Vice-Chair, among others. At the local level, she has served on the Board of Directors for 1st Bank of Virginia and the Wytheville Chamber of Commerce. Her awards include being named Virginia’s Young OD of the Year and numerous Clinic of the Year awards in Wythe County
LARRY OTTEN, OD ’77 | KIRKLAND, WA
is a graduate of the University of Washington. He opened his first Seattle-based clinic in 1978. After selling his practice in 2001, he joined a multi-clinic ophthalmology group in Redmond, Washington. He later purchased the practice and practiced there until his 2013 retirement. He is remaining active by working with a community college optician’s program and traveling abroad performing mission work in addition to working with local homeless clinics to provide vision care.
RYAN H. POWELL, OD ’02 | KANSAS CITY, MO
is owner of the multi-location practice, Insight Eyecare Specialties in Missouri, where he practices in Kansas City. He is an adjunct faculty member and has been active on SCO’s Alumni Council and on several state and national optometry committees. A graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, he graduated Cum Laude from SCO. His training includes completion of an internship at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and with Eye Care Associates of Kentucky. He is a member of the Beta Sigma Kappa and Gold Key Optometric Honor Societies. He served six years as a trustee for the Northwest Missouri Optometric Society and has served as InfantSEE State Liaison in Missouri since 2005. He also is a member of the American Optometric Association’s InfantSEE committee. He served as President of the Missouri Optometric Association in 2009-10 and formerly served on the Hayes Center for Practice Excellence Steering Committee at SCO. He was named Young Optometrist of the Year in 2008 by his state association. Dr. Powell served as President of the North Central States Optometric Council in 2013-14. He is an administrator for Vision Source and serves on the Pro-Forum Advisory Panel for Essilor/Transitions.
JAMES D. SANDEFUR, OD ’65 | OAKDALE, LA
is the longtime Executive Director of the Optometric Association of Louisiana. He founded the Gold Key Optometric Honor Society in 1965 at SCO and served as Student Body President. Dr. Sandefur was in private practice from 1968 through 2005. He served in every capacity available at the state level, including President of the Optometry Association of Louisiana. He also served as President of the State Board of Optometry Examiners and as a member of the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry. He is in his seventh five-year term on the Board of Examiners, having served as Secretary since 1996. In 2010, he was presented with the American Optometric Association’s Distinguished Service Award. He was named Louisiana Optometrist of the Year in 1993 and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Southern College of Optometry in 2001. The OAL’s James D. Sandefur Distinguished Service Award was created and named in his honor. In 2010, he was the recipient of the University of Houston College of Optometry’s Pittman Optometric Leadership Award. In 2014, he was named recipient of the Virgil Deering Executive Director Award of Excellence at the national American Optometric Association meeting and joined his fellow SCO Board member, Dr. Chris Wroten, in receiving the Optometrist of the Year Award from the Optometric Association of Louisiana.
CARLA D. SANDERSON, PHD, MSN, RN | JACKSON, TN
serves as Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation at Chamberlain College of Nursing, where she oversees Chamberlain’s state board and higher education agency approvals and directs institutional and programmatic accreditation processes, approvals and recognitions. Dr. Sanderson, now provost emeritus from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, has extensive academic and regulatory expertise having served as provost and executive vice president for strategic initiatives. She also served as chief academic officer and chief operating officer and launched several programs, now accredited, in engineering, pharmacy and nurse anesthesia. Dr. Sanderson aided the Kurdistan Regional Government in the implementation of accreditation standards for its new higher-education system and authored several book chapters on academic leadership and ethical decision-making in nursing. She holds a PhD from the University of Florida, an MSN from the University of Tennessee and a BSN from Union University. She also has served on the Board of Trustees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
DAVE SATTLER | COLLEYVILLE, TX
began his career with Alcon in 1986 as a Sales Representative for the Vision Care Group based out of San Diego, California. While living in Southern California, he held a number of positions with increasing responsibility including Regional Broker Manager, National Account Manager, and District Sales Manager.
In 1991, he was promoted to Director of National Accounts and relocated to Alcon’s Corporate Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. In this position he was responsible for sales management and marketing activities for corporate optical chain accounts, HMOs and optometry schools.
In 2001, he assumed the role of Director Professional Relations and in 2008 he was promoted to Director Professional Relations – Global Optometry. Peer to peer professional marketing was added to his list of responsibilities in 2010. In 2011, Sattler became the Director Professional Relations overseeing Academic Development. After 28 years of service, he retired from Alcon in 2014. Sattler is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and is currently serving as a volunteer board member for the American Optometric Association’s Foundation and The Pennsylvania College of Optometry Industry Advisory Board.
A.L. SPIVEY III, OD ’67 | MCKENZIE, TN
is owner of Spivey Eye Clinic in McKenzie, Tennessee, where he practices as a partner with his son, Scott Spivey, OD ’94. In 1965, he received his Doctor of Optometry degree and Bachelor’s Degree from SCO in 1965 and was a member of the Gold Key Honor Society as a student. Also an adjunct SCO faculty member, he is a Past President of the Northwest Tennessee Optometric Association. He is a member of the American Optometric Association, the Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians, and the Northwest Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians. Dr. Spivey devoted a decade of service to the Tennessee Board of Examiners in Optometry. A member of the Tennessee Academy of Optometry, he’s chaired a number of committees at the state association level and is a past member of the National Board of Optometry Part III Council and National Board Optometry Clinical Skills Committee. He also served as Vision Service Plan’s Tennessee representative and spent 10 years as Legislative Chairman for the Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians. Dr. Spivey has served on the Hayes Center for Practice Excellence Steering Committee at SCO and formerly on SCO’s Alumni Council. He is a 2011 recipient of SCO’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Since his graduation, Dr. Spivey has introduced approximately 20 students to the profession of optometry by bringing them to visit SCO; many later applied and received admission.
STUART J. THOMAS, OD ’84 | ATHENS, GA
Is the owner of Thomas Eye Center in Athens, Georgia, Dr. Thomas is a past chairman of the VSP Global Board of Directors. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Georgia in 1979. He went on to earn his Doctor of Optometry degree from the SCO in 1984, the same year he opened Thomas Eye Center. He is a long-standing member of the AOA and the Georgia Optometric Association, serving in various leadership positions, including president. Dr. Thomas has also served as President of SECO, International, an organization that provides continuing education for optometrists and their staff. One of the key initiatives Dr. Thomas has championed as chair of VSP is the inclusion of standalone vision plans such as VSP Vision Care in state health care exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. His wife, Sharon Thomas, OD ’83, is a research optometrist.
LETICIA W. TOWNS, FACHE | COLLIERVILLE, TN
is Senior Vice President, External Relations, for Regional One Health. Located in Memphis, Regional One Health is a multi-state healthcare resource providing healthcare throughout a five-state region within 150 miles of Memphis. She has more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors and has served in senior executive roles in community not-for-profit, rural and urban academic delivery settings in Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Certified in healthcare management, she is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), a Delegate on the American Hospital Association (AHA) Regional Policy Board 4, and a member of the AHA Metropolitan Section Governing Council Nominating Committee. In 2014, she was appointed to the Board of the American Lung Association.
CRISTIE UPSHAW TRAVIS, CHAIR | MEMPHIS, TN
serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Memphis Business Group on Health in Memphis. CEO of the Memphis Business Group on Health since 1994, Travis earned her Master of Science degree in Health Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her career includes consulting with continuing care retirement communities, hospitals and physicians with Ernst & Whinney in Memphis, Atlanta, and Washington D.C. She also has served as a vice president for a Washington D.C.-based health care consulting firm. She has served on several national boards and commissions, including the Board of Governors for the National Business Coalition on Health, where she is a former Chair. Her service has also included chairing the Board of Directors for The Leapfrog Group, and on the NCQA Employer Advisory Committee, the National Commission on Prevention Priorities, and the National Transitions of Care Coalition. She serves as the Chair of the National Quality Forum’s Consensus Standards Approval Committee and on its Board of Directors. Her leadership in Memphis includes serving on the Governance Council for Healthy Shelby, being a former Chair of the Common Table Health Alliance (formerly known as the Healthy Memphis Common Table); President of the Community Advisory Board for the University of Memphis Graduate Program in Health Administration; a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the University of Memphis School of Public Health; former President of the Board of Volunteer Midsouth; former Vice Chair of Lifeblood; former member of the National Technical Advisory Panel for the Midsouth eHealth Alliance, and a former officer of the Greater Memphis Employee Benefits Council. She also served as a subcommittee Chair on Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton’s Blue Ribbon Panel on the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. She represents Memphis and employers on the Workplace Advisory Board for the Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness and their Healthier Tennessee initiative, the Tennessee Health Information Committee, and the State Health Plan Advisory Committee.
TERRY L. TUCKER, OD ’84 | NORTH FORT MYERS, FL
has operated a solo practice in North Fort Myers, Florida since 1997. He attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence prior to enrolling at SCO, where he also received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1982 and earned his doctorate in 1984. He served five years on the faculty of Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine in addition to his private practice and consultation services. Dr. Tucker is an active member of SECO, the American Optometric Association and the American Academy of Optometry. In Florida, he has served two terms as President of the Southwest Florida Optometric Association and a number of key committees for the Florida Optometric Association and is a Past President of the association. Dr. Tucker has worked with the Florida State Board of Examiners in Optometry. He’s also served in leadership roles in community organizations and has been named a Paul Harris Fellow and Rotarian of the Year by the Rotary Club of North Fort Myers. He also is a former Trustee to SECO from Florida.
CHRIS WROTEN, OD ’02 | DENHAM SPRINGS, LA
is serving as SCO’s Alumni Council representative to the Board. In 2013, he received SCO’s Young Alumni Award, and was named Louisiana’s Young Optometrist of the Year in 2011 and the American Optometric Association’s Young OD of the Year in 2012. In 2014, he received the Optometrist of the Year Award from the Optometric Association of Louisiana. A graduate of Louisiana State University, he graduated Summa Cum Laude from SCO in 2002 before completing a residency at the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He later joined the Bond-Wroten Eye Clinics as a partner. Dr. Wroten also serves as Chief Operating Officer of the practice. He has served two terms as President of the Optometry Association of Louisiana and is active in numerous local organizations. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor on the faculties of SCO, the UIW-Rosenberg School of Optometry, and the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Optometry.
AARON M. KERR, OD ’98 | MEMPHIS, TN
is the 2015-16 Faculty Representative to the Board. Dr. Kerr received her Doctor of Optometry degree in 1998 from Southern College of Optometry. She completed a post-doctorate residency in Ocular Disease at Omni Eye Services in Memphis, TN in 1999. Dr. Kerr joined the faculty at Southern College of Optometry in 1999 as a full time Instructor. She was the instructor of record for OPT 334 "Special Topics in Contemporary Eyecare" for 8 years and serves as clinical faculty in The Eye Center in Adult Primary Care Services. She also provides clinical instruction and patient care in area nursing homes and assisted living facilities as part of SCO's external clinical curriculum. She currently holds the rank of Associate Professor and is the Chief of Community Vision Health Services. Her professional interests include glaucoma management, diabetic and hypertensive retinopathy, and surgical co-management. She is a member of the American Optometric Association (AOA), the Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians (TAOP), and the West Tennessee Optometric Physician Society (WTOPS).
BLAIR B. FLINT, ’19 | AUSTIN, TX
serves as SCO’s Student Representative to the Board of Trustees for 2017-18. Blair hails from Austin, Texas and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During her undergraduate years, she worked for an optometric practice that offered vision therapy and neuro-optometric rehabilitation, and participated in Unite For Sight’s Volunteer Corps in Honduras. Both of these experiences were instrumental in realizing her passion for optometry. At SCO, Blair has been involved in the Lions Club, COVD, NORA, the BSK Honor Society and was elected as President of the Student Government Association. Outside of optometry school, she enjoys hiking, cheering for the Tar Heels, running, and spending time with her fiancé, James.