ASOA President lays out inspiration and vision for future

The ASOA Opening General Session included an overview of the strategic vision for the organization, an inspirational message from the 2025–26 President Carrie Jacobs, COE, OCS, and a motivational keynote presentation. 

“ASOA members are the neck that turns the head of the eye doctor,” said Abby Markward, MBA, ASOA Executive Director, riffing from a scene from the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. ASOA members are the heart and soul, she continued, of the practice, making success possible. 

Ms. Markward gave an update on what ASOA’s leadership has been working on behind the scenes within its core values of membership, industry partnerships, education, and advancing the profession.

Ms. Markward then introduced Ms. Jacobs as the incoming ASOA President, describing her as “focused, dedicated, motivated, positive, and most importantly, funny and kind.”

Ms. Jacobs, who is the Vice President of Operations for Chu Vision Institute, in Bloomington, Minnesota, took to the stage for her inaugural speech as ASOA President.

“Steve Jobs once said you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them by looking backward. But today I’m going to challenge that. In ophthalmology … and especially in this room, we’re not connecting the dots looking back, we’re connecting the dots looking forward.” 

Ms. Jacobs said the vision for the future of ophthalmology is “bold, urgent, collaborative, and it starts with us.” Independent ophthalmologists and a strong administrator have always been the foundation of this field, but today that foundation is being tested, Ms. Jacobs continued—tested by things like unprecedented consolidation, shrinking reimbursement, rising costs, and a shifting labor market. “These aren’t small issues, they’re seismic,” Ms. Jacobs said. “At times they can feel overwhelming, but moments like this don’t mark our downfall. They mark our turning point.” 

Ms. Jacobs said the question isn’t “Can we do it?” but rather “What can we choose to create next?” She said ASOA members will lead with boldness and unshakable purpose. 

Ms. Jacobs said her key priorities this year are to grow ASOA (not just in membership, but in value in the field as a whole) and to maintain education as a cornerstone. 

“We’re not just educating today’s administrators; we’re preparing the leaders for tomorrow,” she said. “We’re not reimagining what’s possible for ophthalmology someday, we’re doing it right now.”

Keynote speaker Joe Mull also returned for the third time to the ASOA Annual Meeting, speaking on a new topic, “Employalty^TM.” Click here to read a recap of this keynote message.