OELI Program Leadership

CHAIR

Erik Mothersbaugh, OD

Dean, Student Affairs
Illinois College of Optometry

Dr. Erik Mothersbaugh serves as the Dean of Student Affairs at Illinois College of Optometry (ICO), where he is primarily focused on the areas of Recruiting, Admissions, Student Services, and Communications. He is an alum of ICO, who after completing his Doctor of Optometry degree in 2012 stayed to complete a Residency in Primary Care and Ocular Disease. He then served five years as a full-time faculty member where he taught courses in Visual Optics and Ethics in addition to patient care responsibilities in the Primary Care and Urgent Care services of the Illinois Eye Institute. He has served in his current role as a member of the President’s Administrative Cabinet since 2018.

TASK FORCE MEMBERS

David Damari, OD, FCOVD, FAAO

Clinical Professor
The Ohio State University College of Optometry

Dr. David A. Damari is a Clinical Professor at the Ohio State University College of Optometry, serving as an attending doctor in the Primary Vision Care, Vision Therapy, and Binocular Vision (serving patients with strabismic and non-strabismic disorders, and those who have suffered traumatic brain injury) Services. Prior to his appointment at OSU, Damari was the Dean at Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University. While dean at MCO, he served as president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. He was also a professor at Southern College of Optometry, where he was the founding Chair of the Department of Assessment, responsible for institutional review, measures of academic outcomes, quality assurance in the curriculum, and reaccreditation. He is a Fellow and past president of the Optometric Vision Development and Rehabilitation Association (formerly the College of Optometrists in Vision Development) and a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. He is the only active optometrist to have completed the Fellow-in-Residence program at the National Board of Examiners in Optometry. He graduated from SUNY College of Optometry and completed the Irwin B. Suchoff Residency in Vision Therapy Rehabilitation there.

Alicia Feis, OD, FAAO

Dean
Arizona College of Optometry

Dr. Feis serves as the Dean of the Arizona College of Optometry (AZCO), holding that position since 2019. She previously served as the Assistant Director Clinical Rotations, the Assistant Dean and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the college. Dr. Alicia Feis received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biopsychology at the University of California Santa Barbara, and earned her Doctor of Optometry degree from Southern California College of Optometry. She completed her postdoctoral residency in pediatrics and binocular vision at Illinois College of Optometry. Dr. Feis was in private practice in Fort Collins, Colorado prior to joining Midwestern University Arizona College of Optometry in 2011. Dr. Feis is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO). She serves as a clinical director for the Special Olympics Opening Eyes program and was the recipient of the 2017 Arizona Optometric Association Young Optometrist of the Year Award.

Josephine Ibironke, OD, MPH, FAAO

Dean
Pennsylvania College of Optometry

Dr. Ibironke is the dean of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO)  at Drexel University. A pediatric optometrist and public health scholar with more than 20 years of clinical experience, Dr. Ibironke’s work includes landmark research including the Baltimore Pediatric Eye Disease Study and the Baltimore Reading and Eye Disease Study that advanced the understanding of refractive error, and amblyopia and vision’s link to academic success. She has spearheaded community-based eye health initiatives and served in national leadership roles within the American Academy of Optometry. As a founding faculty member of the University of Pikeville’s Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO), Dr. Josephine Ibironke helped design the college’s pediatric optometry curriculum and Leadership in Healthcare course sequence, shaping learner-centered programs that defined KYCO. She later served as associate dean of professional engagement and professor, leading initiatives in residencies, continuing education, international outreach, and career development—efforts that drove enrollment growth, expanded clinical opportunities, and launched the KYCO Vision Initiative to deliver eye screenings to every third grader in the region.

Beth Kinoshita, OD, FAAO, Dipl AAO

Associate Dean, Academic Programs
Pacific University College of Optometry

 Dr. Beth Kinoshita serves as the Associate Dean of Academic Programs at Pacific University College of Optometry (PUCO) and teaches within the contact lens and evidence-based optometry curriculum.  She is a graduate of the Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum and of the Contact Lens Residency Program at PUCO.  Dr. Kinoshita is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) and a Diplomate in the Cornea, Contact Lens and Refractive Technologies Section of the AAO.

Michael Sullivan Mee, OD, FAAO, Dipl AAO

Chair, Clinical Education
State University of New York, College of Optometry

Dr. Michael Sullivan-Mee is Chair, Department of Clinical Education, and Clinical Professor at SUNY College of Optometry in New York City. He earned his American Academy of Optometry (AAO) diplomate credential in 2006 and he currently serves as chair for the AAO Glaucoma Section Diplomate Program. He is past chair of the AAO Scientific Program Committee, currently serves on the AOA’s Council on Research committee, and he is a consultant for NBEO. He actively pursues clinical research and regularly publishes in the field of glaucoma.

Tamara Oeschlin OD, FAAO, Dipl AAO

Association Professor 
University of Alabama, Birmingham, School of Optometry

Dr. Tamara Oechslin is an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, School of Optometry. She serves as the Service Director for Specialty Clinical Rotations and is an attending in the Pediatric Optometry Service, Developmental Vision Clinic and Vision Therapy Clinic. She teaches didactic courses in Visual Optics, Eye Movements and Principles of Binocular Vision, and portions of Pediatric Optometry as well as acting as an investigator for binocular vision and refractive error research studies. She graduated from The Ohio State University College of Optometry with her Doctor of Optometry and a PhD in Vision Science. 

Marc Taub, OD, MS, FAAO, FCOVD, FNAP

Professor
Residency Supervisor
Southern College of Optometry

Dr. Marc Taub is a professor and pediatric/vision therapy/vision rehabilitation residency supervisor at Southern College of Optometry (SCO). He teaches in the vision therapy and pediatric clinics. Dr. Taub is the Editor-in-Chief of Optometry & Visual Performance, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal. He has written numerous peer-reviewed articles and has lectured and presented posters at international, national, and local conferences. He is an editor and chapter author on Visual Diagnosis and Care of the Patient with Special Needs,  Visual Development, Treatment, and Diagnosis of the Pediatric Patient, and Applied Concepts in VT 2.0. Dr. Taub is a Diplomate of the AAO, a Fellow OVDRA and NAP, and Instructor in the Optometric Extension Program Foundation’s Clinical Curriculum. Dr. Taub graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and completed a residency in pediatrics/VT at Nova Southeastern. He obtained an MS in Clinical Vision Research from Nova Southeastern and EdD from the University of Memphis.