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
