UNITE FOR SIGHT 2nd ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
"Eyes on International Collaboration:
Promoting Health From Campus to Lab to Field."

April 2nd and 3rd 2005
Harvard University
Science Center
Cambridge, MA 02138
(located at the intersection of Oxford and Kirkland Streets)

Unite For Sight's Second Annual International Health Conference convened more than 400 people from throughout the world who are interested in international service, global health, public health, and medicine. This empowering, energizing conference brought together student leaders and activists, doctors, public health professionals, nurses, Peace Corp Volunteers, and others. The conference informed the public about international health problems and empowered them to develop solutions, whether in their own community or abroad.

Conference Brochure

Sponsorship Opportunities

Conference Schedule

Community Experiences: Improving Health for the Medically Underserved

The Role of Research to Improve Health

Epidemiology and The Economic Perspective on Health Improvement

Breakout Sessions

Joint Sponsorship & Accreditation Statement

This continuing medical education activity is jointly sponsored by Unite For Sight and The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

CME Credits

This educational activity has been designated for a maximum of 11 hours of Category I Credit toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award.

Biographies of Speakers

Community Experiences: Improving Health for the Medically Underserved

"A Vision For Global Public Health," Dr. Barry Bloom, PhD
Dean of the Faculty and Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Professor of Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health

A leader in international health and former consultant to the White House, Dr. Barry Bloom continues to pursue an active interest in bench science as the principal investigator of a laboratory researching the immune response to tuberculosis, a disease that claims more than two million people each year.

He has been extensively involved with the World Health Organization (WHO) for more than 30 years and is a member of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Health Research.

Dr. Bloom was elected President of the American Association of Immunologists in 1984 and served as President of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) in 1985. He has served as a member of the National Advisory Council of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Advisory Board of the Fogarty International Center at the NIH, the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Center for Infectious Diseases of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. National Vaccine Advisory Committee. He was an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

In 1977-78, he was a consultant to the White House on International Health Policy.

He received the first Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Research in Infectious Diseases, the John Enders Award of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in 1994, and shared the Novartis Award in Immunology in 1998.

Dr. Bloom currently serves as Chair Emeritus of the International Vaccine Institute. He serves as a member of the Ellison Medical Foundation Scientific Advisory Board, the Scientific Advisory Board of the Wellcome Trust Center for Human Genetics, the Earth Institute External Advisory Board at Columbia University, and the United Nations Development Programme: Millennium Development Goals Working Group on Tuberculosis. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

"Impossible Dreams - The First Ascent of the East Face of Mt. Everest and Eradicating Blindness in Mountainous Asia", Dr. Geoffrey Tabin, MD
Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Himalayan Cataract Project and Associate Professor of Surgery and Ophthalmology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine

In 1994, Dr. Tabin co-founded the Himalayan Cataract Project, which strives to eradicate preventable and curable blindness in the Himalaya through high quality ophthalmic care, education, and establishment of a world-class eye care infrastructure. He trained the first Tibetan surgeon to perform microscopic cataract surgery and established the Tilganga Eye Center in 1994 as the first outpatient cataract surgery facility in the Himalayan region. Dr. Tabin was featured in a National Geographic Ultimate Explorer program entitled "Miracle Doctors" on MSNBC in September 2003. Dr. Tabin is also on Unite For Sight's Medical Advisory Board.

"Village Eye Care in Africa and the Plight of the Blind - An Ear to the Ground", Dr. Muhsin Sheriff, MD, MPH
MPH (cataract surgery eye camps in Tanzania)
MUCHS - Harvard Research Collaboration, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania;
MPH in Quantitative Methods Candidate at Harvard School of Public Health

Dr. Sheriff is Internal Medical Monitor at the MUCHS (Muhumbili University College of Health Sciences) - Harvard Research Collaboration in Tanzania. He is a medical doctor with an MPH in Management and Policy who is studying for a 1-year MPH degree in Quantitative Methods at Harvard School of Public Health. He will share inspiring stories about his work to improve community health in rural areas of Tanzania. 'In addition to his full time job, he volunteers with a group of medical and non-medical personnel in conducting 'eye camps' in rural villages where they provide vision screenings and refractions, distribute eyeglasses, give health checkups and advice, and organize eye surgeries. Dr. Sheriff received a Volunteer Service Award in 2001 from the International Medical Relief of Western New York, Inc for coordinating eye surgical camps in Tanzania.

"EyeCare America - A National Public Service Program in Ophthalmology," Dr. B. Thomas Hutchinson, MD

B. Thomas Hutchinson, M.D. is a founding partner and current President of Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston, a sub-specialty group practice. His practice focus is on glaucoma and cataract; his professional interests also include quality assurance, credentialing and public service programs. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, a consulting editor for the Harvard Medical School Health Newsletter and a Surgeon at the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary. Dr. Hutchinson was a founding officer and is a Past-President of the Massachusetts Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, a Past-President of Prevent Blindness America- Massachusetts, a Past-President of the New England Ophthalmological Society. He served for nine years as a Director, one as Chairman of the American Board of Ophthalmology. He is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the American Glaucoma Society and is a past-presdient of the Chandler-Grant Glaucoma Society.

He has served in several capacities within the American Academy of Ophthalmology including Vice-chair and Chairman of the Council, the first Secretary of Ophthalmic Practice,a board director and as President. He is the founding Chairman of the Academy's National Eye Care Project and now serves within the Academy's Foundation as a Director of EyeCare America, the Foundation's public service program. He serves as a Director of the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company, an Academy subsidiary, he also serves on the American Academy of Ophthalmology Pension Board.

Dr. Hutchinson has received awards from the Academy including the Senior Honor Award; he was a Guest of Honor at the Academy's 100th anniversary. Other honors include Man of the Year in 1998 from the New England Ophthalmological Society, a similar award from the Massachusetts Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons in 1999, a Man of Vision award from Prevent Blindness America-Massachusetts in 2001, the Howe Medal from the Buffalo Ophthalmological Society and a Distinguished Service Award from Ophthalmology Times. He has been repeatedly cited as one of the "Best Doctors in America" by Woodward and White.

Dr. Hutchinson has been a visiting professor at multiple universities and medical centers in the United States and internationally. His curriculum vitae includes multiple original ophthalmic reports, chapters in books and editorials in major ophthalmic journals. For many years he was the Director of the Harvard Postgraduate Course in Ophthalmology and for 10 years was an Assistant Chief Editor of the AMA Archives of Ophthalmology. For over thirty years he has maintained an active role in the teaching of medical students, residents and fellows in ophthalmology.

"The Forgotten Voices. Children, Their Stories and Where Child Health Needs To Go," Kevin Chan, MD.

Kevin Chan is currently a pediatric emergency physician at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and a doctoral student in Population and International Health at Harvard University. He is a Knox Fellow at Harvard University, and a Johnson & Johnson Physician Scholar in International Health at Yale University. He has completed his Bachelor of Science (Honours) at University of Toronto, his Doctorate of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, and his Master of Public Health at Harvard University. He completed pediatric residency at the University of British Columbia, and his pediatric emergency fellowship at the University of Ottawa.

He is a founding member of the Student University Network for Social and International Health/Réseau Universitaire pour la Sociale et Santé Internationale, a Canadian university group that fosters social justice, aboriginal and international health. While a student at the University of Ottawa, he was a founding member of the Centre for International Health and Development, and was a charter member of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Technology and Assessment. He has also chaired the Ottawa Student Health Initiative, an international group with projects in Malawi, Vietnam, and Guyana for two years from 1993-1995.

Upon his arrival for pediatric residency, Kevin helped create the Centre for International Health at the University of British Columbia, as well as the International Pediatric Office at the University of British Columbia. He has authored four books on the topic of international health: A International Workbook Guide for Students and Residents, the CIHAD Seminar Series Guidebook, A Book of Knowledge on International Health, and the CIHER Seminar Series Guidebook. Kevin has also written papers, chapters and articles on international health and development, and pediatrics. With Mike Seear, Kevin has written the first international health course for the internet.

Kevin has served on the Co-Chair of the Canadian Society for International Health; President of the International Child Health section of the Canadian Pediatric Society, Chair of the Canadian International Health Education Network, and currently is a member of the governing council of the International Health Medical Education Consortium that promotes international health in medical schools. He also founded the Global Child Health and Development Foundation (Global Child HANDS Foundation). He has taught and lectured on the subject of global and international health and development at the University of Ottawa, University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, as well as a trainer for the Canadian National Defense's Disaster Alert Response Team (DART).

Kevin currently has worked for a decade on malnutrition in rural Malawi, and teaches pediatrics at Mbarara University in Uganda as part of the Mbarara University-Canadian Paediatric Society project. He has served as chair of the Canada-PAHO liaison committee. He is an advisor to Ryan Well's Foundation, whose founder, Ryan Hreljac, was the recipient of the 2003 Child of the World Award from UNICEF. In addition, he has been a consultant to the WHO, UNICEF, and the World Bank.

For his contributions to international health, he has been awarded by the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, the Anne Amberg Prize for Community Medicine. He has also been awarded the Christopher Krogh award for outstanding contributions to international health medical education, by the International Health Medical Education Consortium. He was the first recipient of the Student Leadership Award in International Education, given by the Canadian Bureau of International Education. As a researcher, Kevin has been awarded 1^st Prize for Resident Research by the Canadian Paediatric Society, the Young Researcher Award at the 23^rd International Pediatric Congress and 1^st Prize for Resident Research by the International Health Medical Education Consortium. He is the first recipient of the BC Children's and Women's Research Institute Resident Research Award.

"Reflections from the Streets: Caring for Boston's Rough Sleepers," Dr. James O'Connell, MD
Harvard Professor and Founder and President of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program

Dr. O'Connell is the Founder and President of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless program, which began in 1985, currently staffs 250 employees, and provides medical care to the homeless at 72 sites in the Boston area. Dr. O'Connell says that he is a doctor who makes house calls to people who have no houses, and his organization is considered to be the premier health care for the homeless program in the country. Prior to his work with the Boston homeless population, Dr. O'Connell was national program director for the Homeless Families Program, a project jointly sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"Visioning Tibet: A Film By Isaac Solotaroff," Mr. Isaac Solotaroff

Isaac Solotaroff is an independent documentary producer and editor who has produced extensive, award-winning work. His first film, "Belief Amended, Faith Revealed", was named one of the outstanding documentaries of 1999 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arms and Sciences. He has edited numerous programs for PBS, BBC, The Discovery Channel, and The History Channel. He received two Emmy nominations in 2001.

Isaac's most recent film, "Visioning Tibet", chronicles the journey of San Francisco ophthalmologist, Dr. Marc Liberman, and his work to provide sight-restoring cataract surgeries in Tibet. Dr. Lieberman received the 2003 Humanitarian of the Year Award by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The film is slated for a national PBS broadcast later this year.

The Role of Research to Improve Eye Health

"Compassion, Knowledge, and Advanced Ophthalmic Technologies", Dr. Dimitri Azar, MD
Harvard Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Corneal, External and Refractive Surgery Services at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

Dr. Dimitri Azar, who is also on Unite For Sight's Medical Advisory Board, is a Harvard Professor of Ophthalmology, Associate Scientist at the Schepens Eye Research Institute, and Director of the Corneal, External and Refractive Surgery Services at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr. Azar has more than one hundred journal publications about corneal, anterior segment, and refractive surgery. His current research projects include the molecular basis of corneal scarring and avascularity during wound healing, as well as refractive surgical innovations and the mathematical basis of laser surgery.

"Advances in Corneal Transplantation," Dr. Shachar Tauber, MD
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of Corneal and Refractive Surgery Service at Yale University

Dr. Tauber, who is on Unite For Sight's Medical Advisory Board, is a leader in refractive surgery. He participated in clinical research supporting the FDA approval of LASIK for correction of hyperopia. He was Visiting Fellow in advanced techniques in refractive surgery in Venezuela, and served as an observational fellow in cornea and external disease at Massachusetts Eye & Ear Hospital. Dr. Tauber was invited to educate ophthalmologists at the 1998 Global Ophthalmology Conference in China and at Tamil Nadu Medical University in India in 1999.

"Optic Neuro-Prevention - A Strategy to Eradicate Glaucoma Blindness," Dr. Louis Pasquale, MD
Co-Director, Glaucoma Service, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

Dr. Pasquale, who is Co-Director of the Glaucoma Service a the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Assistant Professor in Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, is interested in developing strategies to prevent functional visual loss from open-angle glaucoma.

"Stem Cells to the Retinal Rescue," Dr. Michael J. Young, PhD
Director, Minda de Gunzburg Research Center for Retinal Transplantation, Schepens Eye Research Institute and Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School

Dr. Young is one of the world's leading researchers in stem cells in the eye and the use of stem cells for the reversal of blindness. His lab focuses on the use of neural stem cells for retinal transplantation. His research projects include "integration of transplanted neural progenitor cells into the retina of immature and mature dystrophic rats," "bioengineering and stem cells to treat optic neuropathy," and "differentiation of retinal progenitor cells into specific cell types."

"The Role of Household Drinking Water Treatment Technologies and Safe Water Storage in Preventing Blindness in the Developing World," Ms. Susan Murcott, M.S.
Lecturer, Research Engineer, Principal Investigator at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
President of Ecosystems Engineering

Ms. Murcott is a research engineer and lecturer in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at MIT. Her research focuses on innovative technologies and sustainable approaches in water and municipal wastewater treatment in development country. She is President of Ecosystems Engineering, a consulting company specializing in drinking water and municipal and industrial wastewater projects with an emphasis on the use of sustainable, innovative, and cost-effective technologies. Among the courses that she teaches is "Design for Developing Countries," and she also leads student teams on research project trips in Nepal, Haiti, and Brazil.

Epidemiology and The Economic Perspective on Health Improvement

"Economic Tools: How to Use Them and What They Can Reveal About Blindness Prevention," Dr. Kevin Frick, PhD
Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Dr. Frick is an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health whose research focuses on cost-effectiveness studies dealing with sensory impairment. He has published research on the global productivity cost of blindness and how the Vision 2020 blindness prevention program could affect this cost. His ground breaking paper "The Magnitude and Cost of Global Blindness: An Increasing Problem That Can Be Alleviated," published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, states that the Vision 2020 program will save US$102 billion over the next 20 years. By 2020, the economic loss in productivity from blindness will be US$50 billion per year.

"The role of economics in improving health outcomes," Heidi Williams, MSc
PhD candidate in Economics, Harvard University

Ms. Williams recently completed an AB in mathematics at Dartmouth College as well as an MSc degree in development economics at the University of Oxford, supported by a Rhodes scholarship. She is currently working at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Boston, and will enter the economics PhD program at Harvard in the fall of 2005. Her research is focused in health, including work in epidemiology, health economics, and program evaluations.

Breakout Sessions

"An Update on Ocular Leprosy," Dr. Ebenezer Daniel, M.B.B.S., M.S., D.O.,M.P.H., M.A.M.S.

Dr. Daniel is Margaret Brand Chair Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Schieffelin Leprosy Research and Training Center in Karigiri, Vellore District, Tamilnadu, India. He is also a post doctoral fellow in the division of ocular immunology at The Wilmer Eye Institute, School of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University. He received his M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, a C.C.E.H. from the International Eye Care Center of the Institute of Ophthalmology in London, and his MBBS from the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.. Dr. Daniel specializes in ocular leprosy and lectures often on the infectious diseases of the eye and leprosy.

"Unite For Sight in Nepal - A Documentary," Mr. Ganesh Subedi

Ganesh Subedi is a pharmacy student at Kathmandu University and President of the Kathmandu chapter of Unite For Sight. Ganesh will present a film documenting the Kathmandu chapter of Unite For Sight's work eye awareness program for the students of class 8,9 and 10.

"Utilizing Service Learning to Enhance Public Health in West Africa," Ms. Brighid O'Donnell

Brighid O'Donnell is a former member of the Board of Directors for Project Bokonon, a non-profit organization that works to improve the quality of health care in the Pobe community of Benin, West Africa. She is a graduate of the Calloway Business School at Wake Forest University, but prior to college, she took two summer trips to Linares, Mexico to work on community development via church restoration projects. While at Wake, she was an active member of the Volunteer Service Corps which included holding office as the Treasurer, Networking Chairman, Chairman of SPARC, and Community Chairman of Project Pumpkin. She also served as the student representative on the Eli Lilly Grant Executive Board, spent a semester in London working at an international PR Company, and traveled to Vietnam to help build school houses. After a year of work with Abbott Laboratories in pharmaceutical sales, Brighid has returned to school and will receive her Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from Boston College in June of 2005.

"Eye Health in Nigeria," Dr. Rotimi Bajulaiye, MD

Dr. Bajulaiye is a physician originally from Nigeria and currently based in New York. His training includes Preventive Medicine and an MPH from Yale University School of Medicine. He is an Assistant Professor at the Cornell University medical College/New York Presbyterian Hospital and a Medical Director at Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health. His current area of practice includes Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry.

"Glaucoma, A National Eye Health Problem in Romania," Ms. Madaline Prochipriuc, MD

Madalina Prochipriuc is a resident physician in cardiology in University Hospital Bucharest, Romania. She participated in many scientific debates, and she is always interested in improving the quality of health services and patient's lives. She is following a Master's program in Biodynamics guided by the International Center of Biodynamics. Now she is about to implement the chapter of Unite for Sight in Romania.

"Grassroots Optometry," Dr. Erik Weissberg, OD

Dr. Erik Weissberg is Assistant Professor of Optometry at New England College of Optometry. He served as clinical investigator for the National Eye Institute's Vision in Preschoolers (VIP) Study. His extensive work in optometry includes international work with VOSH / International. Dr. Weissberg will discuss his work to create training programs for health care workers in underserved communities in an attempt to transfer the ability to provide basic eye and vision care to members of the community.

"iCARE Project: Assistive Technologies For Individuals Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired.," Dr. Sethuraman (Panch) Panchanathan, PhD

Dr. Panchanathan is currently a Professor and Chair of the Computer Science and Engineering Department as well the Director of the Institute for Computing & Information Sciences & Engineering, and Director of the Research Center on Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC) at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. He leads a team of Researchers and Graduate students working in the areas of Ubiquitous Multimedia Computing, Visual Computing and Communications; Media Processor Designs; Content-based and Compressed Domain Indexing and Retrieval of Images and Video. Multimedia Communication, Face/Gait Analysis and Recognition, Genomic Signal Processing; Ubiquitous Computing Environments for Blind Persons.

"Our Health is Our Only Wealth: The Story of Lok Swasthya Sewa, a Model Health Cooperative in Ahmedabad, India," Dr. Chirag Shah, MD, MPH

Dr. Chirag Shah's interest in international ophthalmology developed from his background in public health. While at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, Dr. Shah worked with the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and their women's health cooperative in Ahmedabad, India. He has also completed a medical trek in the Ladahki Himalayas and helped design a novel health surveillance system in Costa Rica. After earning a masters in public health at the Harvard School of Public Health, he collaborated with Rochester's Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired to design an outreach project aimed at improving the visual health of Latinos. This project won a National Eye Health Education Program grant. In 2003, Dr. Shah was one of twenty-five medical students across the country to be awarded the American Medical Association Leadership Award. Dr. Shah is currently completing an internal medicine internship at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and will continue his training in ophthalmology at the Wills Eye Hospital.

"Unite for Sight: Delivery of Eye Care and Ocular Education in China and Tanzania," Ms. Sally Ong

Sally is a sophomore undergraduate student at Duke University. She is from Johor, Malaysia and is considering a double major in Biology and Political Science. Sally is involved with service-learning initiatives, including participating in a course entitled "Humanitarian Challenges at Home and Abroad FOCUS program" and teaching a course entitled "Service Learning: Expanding Your Duke Education beyond the Classroom."

Sally is the co-Vice President of Duke's chapter of Unite For Sight. As a Unite For Sight Student Intern in Tanzania during Summer 2004, she prescribed eyeglasses, participated in cataract eye surgery camps, and implement eye health education programs in schools throughout the country.

Sally is fluent in English, Mandarin, Malay, Fujian, and is learning Italian. She has played the piano for nine years and is interested in service, human rights, health care, multiculturalism, and international issues.

"Upgrading Eye Health Care Strategies in Rural Tanzania," Mr. Sachin Jain

Sachin Jain, Unite For Sight's Regional Director of U.S. Midwest and Regional Director of Tanzania, is a second-year medical student at Rush Medical College. Some of his interests include advocacy for underserved populations, universal health coverage, and international public health. He traveled to rural Tanzania as a Unite For Sight intern in the summer of 2004 to implement several eye care initiatives, such as establishing a cataract surgery program, an eye clinic, and eye health education in local schools. He has also been honored with an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship for the 2004-05 academic year. His fellowship involves working at Interfaith House, a medical respite care facility, where he teaches health education classes, delivers eye care services, and surveys homeless clients about precipitating factors that led to their homelessness and barriers to access to health care. Sachin is also the national co-coordinator for the American Medical Student Association's Direct Action Interest Group.

"Removing Cataracts, Restoring Hope: Unite for Sight in Humjibre and Buduburam Refugee Settlement, Ghana.," Ms. Silvia Odorcic

Silvia Odorcic was born in Croatia and grew up in Toronto, Canada. She completed a B.A. Magna Cum Laude at Cornell University and double majored in biology and English. She previously worked at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto on the Notch signaling pathway and its role in tumorigenesis and neovasculariation in breast and colon cancer. As an undergraduate, she took a course on the human visual sytstem and became intrigued by the field of ophthalmology and vision research. Currently a Unite For Sight International Intern in Ghana until February 2005, Silvia's long term goals include a career in ophthalmology and vision research, with hopes of someday obtaining her MD/PhD.

"Letters from Camp: A First Person Account of the Refugee Camp at Buduburam, Ghana," Valda Boyd Ford, MPH, MS, RN

Ms. Valdy Boyd Ford is Director of Community and Multicultural Affairs at University of Nebraska Medical Center. Previously Assistant Professor at Creighton University School of Nursing, she is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Educational Administration and Curriculum Design at University of Nebraska. She is Founder and Executive Director of The Center for Human Diversity, a 10-month intensive institute to develop culturally competent care providers and increase organizational capacity for cultural competence. She is also Executive Producer/Host of Valda's Place,a weekly cable TV sohw addressing broad perspectives on health and diversity

Valda Ford was a Unite For Sight volunteer at Buduburam Refugee Camp from December 28 through February 28, 2005. For the 77,398 children and adults living at the Buduburam camp, this was the first time they have been provided with eye exams or eye health education. The Volunteer Team screened for treatable eye conditions, including refractive error, cataracts, xerophthalmia, trachoma, river blindness, and conjunctivitis.

"A Successful Model for Comprehensive Eye Care Coverage in the Developing World: The Case of LV Prasad Eye Institute," Mr. Rohit Ramchandani

Rohit Ramchandani Ramchandani is currently an MPH student at Boston University's School of Public Health. Concentrating in International Health, Rohit's passion lies particularly in the field of ophthalmic public health.

After working deep within the equatorial rainforests of Guyana, South America on issues ranging from HIV/AIDS to Malaria, Rohit returned to his native Canada and founded the University of Waterloo International Health Development Association (UWIHDA) while pursuing his Honours Bachelor of Science in Health Studies and Gerontology.

Building on his ophthalmic research experience at Toronto Western Hospital's Department of Ophthalmology (where he assisted in the investigation of the role of lamina cribrosa biomechanics and ischemia in glaucomatis optic neuropathy), Rohit led a group of 3 students to Hyderabad, India last summer where they completed a WHO internship through the world renowned LV Prasad Eye Institute. During this time, his group worked on community eye health projects in urban slums and rural villages throughout the state of Andrah Pradesh. A book based on this experience is currently in the process of publication and an initial draft can be found on the the UWIHDA website at http://watserv1.uwaterloo.ca/~uwihda/ under the 2004 project link.

Rohit is a National Laureate of the Canada Millennium Scholarship and recipient of the John McBain Scholarhsip for International Entrepreneurship.

"The role of NGOs and community organizations in deliering healthcare at grassroots level," Neema Mgana

Neema Mgana began her humanitarian efforts while an undergraduate when she co-founded an AIDS organization serving children affected by HIV/AIDS in her home country of Tanzania. Prominent African dignitaries actively support the organization, as do foundations and community leaders in building a community center that will provide education and basic health facilities for children and youth.

Ms. Mgana has woven a career of activism and education and has studied the health sciences, international peace studies, medical informatics, and has a Masters in international health with a certificate in humanitarian assistance. Her research interests are in HIV/AIDS, public policy, and most recently, human rights, poverty and reproductive health issues in Africa.

Neema parlayed her experiences and education with her passion for helping youth in Africa and formed the African Regional Youth Initiative (AYRI) in 2002. As a participant at the Global Health Council (2002) Neema realized a need to leverage resources and coordinate efforts of activists at national, regional and international levels. As founder and Executive Director of AYRI, Neema works in collaboration with hundreds of young African activists to promote social, political and economic justice in Africa. AYRI mobilizes hundreds of youth and community-based organizations in Africa addressing HIV/AIDS through comprehensive approaches by engaging in activities that mobilize and empower communities, increase women and youth and participation, facilitate dialogue between organizations in different countries, and other activities that build capacity such as training in advocacy. As such, ARYI works with individuals and partner organizations that focus on poverty, leadership and governance, youth employment, women's rights, illness and disease, education, information technology, and reproductive health.

Over the course of years, Neema has worked in national hospitals, public health agencies, taught at a university in Tanzania, and international organizations located in Africa, Canada and the US. Neema has also participated in creating other organizations, is an active member of numerous networks and attends local, national and international conferences with a mission of lifting the voice of young people in Africa.

"UNESCO Observatory of Visual Health Services--Central America," Dr. Janet Leasher, OD, MPH

Dr. Janet Leasher is Assistant Professor of Optometry and Director of Outreach for Nova. Her current teaching assignments include the vision screening courses and binocular vision clinics. As Director of Outreach for the College of Optometry, she is spearheading a review of the vision screening program and is responsible for creating effective outreach strategies. She also consults with international vision health and development programs, in particular in Latin America. Her research interests surround program evaluation and global access to quality vision care.

Dr. Leasher has received humanitarian service recognition for her dedication to serving those less fortunate both domestically and in developing countries. She currently serves as APHA Vision Care Secretary, Personal Advisor on Latin America to the President of the World Council of Optometry, and has been named the Regional Coordinator for the UNESCO Chair in Visual Health and Development. She is a 20-year member of the American Optometric Association and continues to be very active in VOSH, serving in over 25 missions to various locations in Latin America.

"Connecting Caring Communities for Global Self Sufficiency," Ms. Deborah Naybor, Founder of Both Your Hands

Deborah Naybor grew up in the suburbs of New York City. In 1977, she graduated from Paul Smiths College with an A.A.S. degree in Forestry and in 2002, she earned a BS in Literature and is currently working on her Masters degree in Humanitarian Services. In 1985, Naybor became only the 12^th woman in New York State to receive her professional surveyor's license. In 1988, she started Deborah A. Naybor, Professional Land Surveyor, PC with $1000 and an old pick up truck that had to pushed onto the job site more than once.

Deborah has been honored with 22 awards on local, regional and national levels. In 2004, she was honored with the Business Optimist Award, and presented with a prize of $10,000 to start a nonprofit known as Both Your Hands, which connects caring communities with poor villages to create self sufficiency and pride in achievement.

Deborah's passion is making a difference. Creating self sustainable income for poor villages around the world, she has discovered a system of linking American communities to those most in need.

"Microfinance Status and Trends During The International Year of Microcredit," Ms. Bhakti Mirchandani, MPA/MPAID Degree Candidate

Bhakti Mirchandani is a joint MBA/MPA student at Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government. She has founded three organizations: the Global Microentrepreneurship Awards; the Graduate Student MADVC (Microfinance and Development Venture Capital Network; and the Harvard College Social Enterprise Club. Bhakti has worked in Lehman Brother's Wealth and Asset Management Division, Salomon Smith Barney's Equity Research and Sales and Trading Divisions, and in Women's World Banking's Global Network for Banking Innovation. She holds a BA in Chemistry from Harvard College.

"The Makeni Hernia Project : A Community Oriented Approach To Surgical Care in Rural Sierra Leone." Capriotti, JA; Caivano, DM.

Joseph Capriotti, MD is an ophthalmology resident at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in New York City. After completing his master's degree in biophysics at Columbia University, Jooe spent several years traveling and working throughout Latin America and Asia. During these years, his interest in international medicine grew. He has been involved in several community based surgery initiatives in Sierra Leone in the past two years. After completing an internship in general surgery at Beth Israel Medical Center, he is now a resident in ophthalmology at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.

"Education and Health Problems Amongst Street Children in Ghana," Eric Kofi Asamoah

Eric Kofi Asamoah is Founder and President of Street Child Rescue Ghana, a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Hohoe-Volta Region of Ghana. He took a keen interest in researching the tourist industry in Ghana, with special attention to the development of "Wli Waterfalls" in Hohoe district, a project with potential and significance to stop the rural-urb drift of the youth in search of non-existent jobs in the cities. Eric founded Street Child Rescue Ghana in 1998 to help the homeless in Hohoe. Living in Ghana, he is also a Board member of the Academy of Santa Maria Preparatory School in Hohoe and CEO or Erida Ghana Limited since 1991.

"Bright Sight, Bright Heart Project: Promoting Eye Health in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand," Leslie Edmonds, M.A.

Leslie Edmonds is currently finishing the Masters of Special Education in Visual Impairment program at San Francisco State University and has a B.A. and M.A. in Communications. She is employed at Guide Dogs for the Blind in California and has worked with visually impaired and physically disabled populations for 10 years. Leslie has been actively involved in serving the blind population as an advocate for accessibility, certified ski and golf guide and volunteer for various organizations serving visually impaired children.

In July 2004, Leslie was a Unite for Sight volunteer in Thailand, providing eyeglasses to over 1,200 orphans and the elderly in northern Thailand, an area in desperate need of eye healthcare. Many of the orphans served have HIV/AIDS. The Bright Sight, Bright Heart project is a successful model for local community effort and volunteer support.