Looking Back, While Stepping Forward

This month we celebrate Women’s History Month by looking at the 5 women who have helped pave, and who are continuing to pave the path for women in optometry.

• 1899 (approximate)

Gertrude Stanton –  The first licensed female optometrist.

• 1920

Dr. Mae Booth-Jones – The first female president of an optometry school, Washington School of Optometry, in Spokane, Washington.

• 1993
  

Joan Exford, O.D., – The first female to become the president of the American Academy of Optometry.

• 2010

Col. Carol Z. Rymer, O.D., M.B.A., – First female optometrist to be promoted to colonel in the U.S. Army.

• 2013

Jennifer Smythe Coyle, O.D., M.S., – First female to become president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry