The ClearVision-Adira Grant Program was created to empower and uplift women in the optical industry, providing them with resources to advance their careers and personal growth. Through a collaboration with the Optical Women’s Association (OWA), this grant program reflects ClearVision Optical’s and Adira’s commitment to supporting women’s development at every stage of their professional journeys. This year, the program has reached an exciting milestone, closing out with five inspiring winners for 2024!
Meet the 2024 Grant Winners
This year, five women were each awarded $2,000 grants to support their personal and professional development. Each recipient has a unique story and vision for using this grant to overcome challenges, develop new skills, and achieve meaningful milestones in their careers.
"I am thrilled to be chosen as a winner of the Adira grant. After 45 years in my career, receiving this grant at 60 proves you should never lose sight of your dreams. I am in the process of starting a nonprofit organization, ‘Eyes to Heaven,’ to directly help dementia patients, their caregivers, and families better understand the disease and its effects. This work honors my father, an optician until age 93, who is now in the late stages of dementia. Thank you, ClearVision and the OWA, for this wonderful opportunity to continue to succeed and help others."
Karen Michaelson
Owner, KARE Consultant and Communications, LLC
"The ClearVision-Adira grant award means that more children with disabilities will get the special eyeglass frames they need and deserve. My daughter’s journey as a child with Down syndrome who needs glasses led me to realize as a doctor that not every child who has sensory and anatomical differences is able to get eyeglass frames better suited to their needs. Thank you so much for enabling me and my team to provide free glasses to children with disabilities in Massachusetts."
Amy Moy, OD
Senior Director, Community Health Initiatives and Optometric Compliance, New England College of Optometry
"Winning this grant gives me the chance to help expand awareness about opticianry and inspire the next generation to pursue this rewarding career. With the industry facing a shortage of opticians, I’m excited to make a meaningful impact by encouraging high school students to consider this profession. I can’t wait to see the project in action!"
Judy Quinones
Team Lead Licensed Optician, LensCrafters
"So grateful for the opportunity to express my passion for helping non-verbal patients and then find the most amazing support among my peers, ClearVision and the OWA.
This grant will help me bring a literal voice to those so often overlooked in our communities. Thank you so much!"
Danielle Crull, ABOM
Owner, A Child’s Eyes
"I am humbled to be chosen and honored to share this with one of my heroes, Danielle Crull. I am pursuing my MBA to enhance my skills to give back to an industry that I love.
I encourage women of opticianry to dream big. Thank you, ClearVision and OWA for supporting women in the
optical industry."
Michelle Kelley
Director of Opthalmic Services and Materials, Southern College of Optometry
The Essay Prompts
Applicants to the ClearVision-Adira Grant Program were asked to share their personal journeys and aspirations by responding to one of the following prompts:
1. Please share your greatest challenge in the workday and how you would use this grant to overcome that.
2. If you were to dream big, what skill would you like to attain that you haven't had time to spend on to make a difference in your career?
3. Connect. Inspire. Lead: Working women are pressured with so many tasks; tell us how you would use this grant to help you overcome your stress and struggles.
4. What is the most impactful achievement you have had? What is next on your bucket list, and how would you use the grant to help you get there?
These prompts encouraged applicants to reflect on their challenges and ambitions, aligning the grant with their professional journeys and goals.
The Selection and Voting Process
The winners were chosen through a collaboration between ClearVision and the OWA. After applicants submitted their essays, a panel selected by both organizations reviewed the entries and narrowed down the finalists. The OWA members then voted on the finalists, with all essays anonymized to ensure fairness and focus on the applicants’ ideas and aspirations.
About the Optical Women’s Association
The Optical Women’s Association, founded in 1997, is a non-profit organization devoted to the professional advancement of women across the optical industry. The OWA’s mission has grown over the years, but its core commitment remains the same: to support and promote women in optical.
About Adira
Adira, an eyewear brand by ClearVision, is crafted to celebrate women at every phase of their lives. Adira’s designs honor the unique experiences of women, offering a collection that allows them to express themselves confidently and beautifully.
As we celebrate the 2024 ClearVision-Adira Grant winners, we look forward to the inspiring ways in which each recipient will use this support to enrich their careers and reach new milestones in the optical industry. We are excited to see how the ClearVision-Adira Grant Program continues to grow and evolve next year, bringing new opportunities to more women across the industry.
