Memphis, Tenn., July 30, 2015 – New Orleans optometrist Jarrett Johnson, OD, MPH, has been selected to receive Southern College of Optometry’s 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award at the college Convocation ceremony on Friday, September 25.
In receiving SCO’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. Johnson will be recognized for her significant contributions to the profession of optometry. A Past President of the New Orleans Optometric Society, Dr. Johnson serves on the Board of Trustees at her alma mater, SCO.
A graduate of Xavier and Loyola Universities, she holds a Masters in Public Health from Tulane University. Dr. Johnson received her Doctor of Optometry degree from SCO in 1990.
Dr. Johnson has worked in numerous public service roles, including Coordinator of Mobile Clinics for Vision Service Plan and the Red Cross’s Hurricane Katrina Project. She has also held several positions with the Great Expectations Foundation, including Vice President of Community and Organizational Development, in which she oversaw the Infant Mortality Review Project.
She has also served as a consultant for various federal healthcare grant programs, as Chief of Optometry for the New Orleans Health Corporation and as Minority Outreach Coordinator with a New Orleans AIDS Task Force. She has been in private practice since 1994 and is the owner of Primary Eye Care, a successful practice celebrating 25 years in New Orleans.
Dr. Johnson has served on the board for Lighthouse Louisiana and the Ponchartrain Chapter of the Links, Inc. In addition to serving on the board for VSP, she has published a number of articles and serves as an advisor to the Louisiana Healthcare Quality Forum’s Quality Measurement Committee.
She is a member of the American Optometric Association, the National Optometric Association, the American Public Health Association, and the Optometry Association of Louisiana.
In addition to serving as a two-term SCO Board Chair, she also co-chaired SCO’s “Envision Our Progress” campaign with OAL Executive Director and fellow SCO Board member James Sandefur, OD. The campaign proved to be the most successful in SCO’s fundraising history, surpassing an original $4 million goal by raising more than $4.7 million in just three years of what was originally scheduled to be a five-year campaign.
SCO’s Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor the college bestows upon its graduates.
About Southern College of Optometry
Southern College of Optometry was established in Memphis, Tenn., in 1932. SCO is an independent, not-for-profit institution of higher education with nearly 500 students from 40 states. The Eye Center at SCO serves nearly 80,000 patients annually, helping make the college one of the top in the nation for clinical optometric education. For more information on SCO, please visit www.sco.edu.
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