In 2014, SEE launched the annual Humanitarian of the Year Award to honor the outstanding dedication and achievement of volunteer ophthalmologists and partner organizations that are committed to ending preventable blindness. The 2022 recipients of this award were the following individuals.
Dr. Luis Alberto Lagos – International Host Ophthalmologist
Dr. Luis Lagos is an ophthalmologist based in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Since training as an ophthalmology resident, Dr. Lagos’ passion has been his involvement in blindness prevention activities to help the most disadvantaged populations in Honduras.
In 2022, he hosted 3 SEE clinics, transforming the lives of hundreds of people with visual disabilities due to cataracts. He is also guiding efforts for the creation and development of a SEE International MSICS training program at Hospital General San Felipe, thus playing a significant role in creating more sustainable eyecare systems.
Dr. Ann Caroline Fisher – Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) Faculty
Dr. Caroline Fisher, MD, is a Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Stanford University Hospital and Clinics. She specializes in cataract and glaucoma surgery, including minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, and consistently teaches MSICS courses in collaboration with SEE.
It is because of Dr. Fisher’s efforts that SEE now partners with Stanford University for two MSICS courses per year. Her persistence in helping to establish this strong partnership has subsequently led to various other initiatives and collaborations for SEE.
Dr. Kenneth Turley– Traveling U.S. Ophthalmologist
Dr. Kenneth Turley is a board-certified ophthalmologist and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has devoted his time and energies to learning and teaching the latest surgical skills to provide the best possible outcomes to many patients in need around the world.
Having retired from his Idaho practice in 2015, Dr. Turley has worked closely with SEE in traveling for numerous humanitarian missions in countries like Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Peru, Colombia, Namibia, D.R. Congo, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Cape Verde Islands, and Myanmar.
Westminster Free Clinic & Community Care Center, Oxnard – Community Partner
Since its establishment in 2001, WFC has been an innovative nonprofit with the dual goal of: 1) serving as a community care center that provides easy access to free healthcare and health-supporting services to hard-to-reach populations facing transportation, language, cultural, and financial barriers to care, and 2) providing high school students with a pathway to college and to careers in the growing healthcare sector through experiential learning, and hands-on training in the delivery of health services.
To meet its goals, WFC mobilizes over 600 volunteers that collectively advance health equity for the uninsured. Community partnerships like this allow us to provide a full continuum of care to our patients beyond initial screenings. Community partnerships like this allow us to provide a full continuum of care to our patients beyond initial screenings.
We are so grateful to these individuals and partners who share our mission of making eyecare more accessible to those in need!
