2023 Technician Education Seminar

Matthew Arnett is the Chief Quality Officer of Dakota Lions Sight & Health (DLSH) where he has worked since 2013. Prior to joining DLSH, he worked as an analytical chemist for an FDA-regulated pharmaceutical and cosmetics manufacturing firm. Matthew currently serves as Chair of the EBAA Quality Assurance Committee and has also served on the Mary Jane O'Neill Fellowship International Eye Banking Selection Committee and as a guest faculty member of the 2019 Technician Education Seminar. When not at work, Matthew enjoys spending time with his family (wife & son), cheering for the Green Bay Packers as a partial (1/360,760th) owner of the team, and brewing his own beer in a custom designed brewery in his garage. 

Chris Conwell, CEBT, CQIA (ASQ), is the Technical Programs Administrator for Sierra Donor Services Eye Bank. Starting with the organization back in 2011 as a per diem Tissue Recovery Technician, Chris now oversees ocular recovery training, corneal evaluation and processing training, and ocular related research & development.

Jennifer DeMatteo, MCM, CIC, is the Director of Regulations and Standards for the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA). She oversees the EBAA Accreditation program, Medical Standards process and serves as their regulatory liaison. She received her bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Science degree in clinical microbiology from Hahnemann University (now Drexel University). She was responsible for directing the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and Employee Health programs and personnel in major tertiary hospital and ambulatory care settings.  Jennifer has been a Healthcare Epidemiologist for over 20 years and is certified in Infection Control & Epidemiology (CBIC).

Dr. Asim V. Farooq is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He received his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine where he was awarded a grant from Research to Prevent Blindness, allowing him to devote a year to study the pathogenesis of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in the cornea. He then completed ophthalmology residency training at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, and a fellowship in cornea and external disease at the Washington University in St. Louis.

Josh Galloway, CEBT, has been with Lions VisionGift since 2003 where he currently serves as the Vice President of Laboratory Services. Josh has trained surgeons and eye bank technicians from all over the world in EK processing. He is currently Chair of the Technician Education Committee, the Certification Board Chair, a faculty member of the Technician Education Seminar, and has been a primary and co-author on numerous presentations and articles.

Paul Graves, CEBT, CTBS, was born and raised in Alabama. He joined Advancing Sight Network in July of 1997 as a Transplant Coordinator. Over the years, he has been involved in all aspects of clinical eye banking, from Laboratory Manager to Director of Laboratory Services. Today, as the Vice President of Clinical Services, Paul oversees the clinical processing aspects of Advancing Sight Network, from performing tissue processing itself to developing new processing procedures to assist surgeons in the care of their patients. Paul is a Certified Eye Bank Technician and a Certified Tissue Banking Specialist.

Kerry Gray has worked as a Cornea Processing Technician at Saving Sight in Kansas City for 3 years. Prior to that, she was a zookeeper, working with penguins, stingrays, otters, and polar bears. This is Kerry's first year on the Technician Education Committee and she is excited to further her education and skills as a processing technician! 

Chelsea Green, CEBT, is the Processing Services Manager for the Iowa Lions Eye Bank. Chelsea received both a BA and BS with a focus in research from the University of Illinois Chicago. She came to the University of Iowa in 2011 to work in medical research and worked on multiple studies before finding her way into eye banking and earning her CEBT. She currently oversees the processing department at Iowa Lions Eye Bank. Chelsea is a member of the EBAA Technician Education Committee.

Joshua H. Hou, MD, is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences at the University of Minnesota. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Duke University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He then received his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. After that, he completed both his ophthalmology residency and cornea and external disease fellowship at the University of Illinois Eye & Ear Infirmary. Since 2015, Dr. Hou has served as Medical Director of the Lions Gift of Sight. In addition to a busy clinical practice, Dr. Hou also maintains a research laboratory at the University of Minnesota and is currently supported by the Minnesota Lions Vision Foundation. His main research interests include limbal stem cell deficiency and corneal tissue processing. Dr. Hou has been an active member of the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) since completing his cornea fellowship in 2014. He is a past participant of the EBAA Physician Leadership Program, and he currently serves as a member of the Medical Advisory Board and Scientific Programs Committee. He is also a regular physician lecturer for the EBAA Slit Lamp Microscopy Seminar.

Darrell Lee, CEBT, is a Laboratory & Processing Manager for Lions Eye Bank of West Central Ohio. He has worked for the eye bank for over 13 years, initially starting off as an eye tissue recovery technician. Darrell’s has BS in Chemistry and is a CEBT. Along with being a tissue coordinator, he is responsible for the processing of corneal tissue at LEBWCO. 

Jennifer Li, MD, is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the UC Davis Eye Center where she is the Director of the Cornea and External Disease Service and the Fellowship Director. Dr. Li received her medical degree and completed her residency at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and subsequently completed a fellowship in Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery at UC Davis. She is also the Co-Medical Director of Sierra Donor Services in Sacramento, California. Dr. Li is the Chair of the EBAA Board of Directors and has served on various EBAA committees including EBAA Accreditation Board, the Scientific Programs Committee and as Chair of the Medical Advisory Board. Dr. Li received the R. Townley Paton Award in 2021 for her contributions to the EBAA, sight restoration and corneal transplantation.

Mark J. Mannis, MD, is the Fosse Endowed Chair in Vision Science Research, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Science, UC Davis Eye Center at the University of California, Davis. He also serves as Medical Director of Sierra Donor Services Eye Bank in Sacramento, California. Dr. Mannis is a recipient of the R. Townley Paton Award from EBAA and was a recipient of the Lew Wasserman Award in research from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. for his work in the development of antimicrobial peptides in ophthalmology. He has received the Moacyr Alvaro Gold Medal from the Federal University of Sao Paulo for contributions to ophthalmic education in Latin America and has received an honorary doctorate from the University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru. He was the 2014 recipient of the Castroviejo Medal for his lifetime contributions to the subspecialty of cornea and both the Claes Dohlman Award from the Cornea Society and the EnergEyes award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology for his mentorship and teaching accomplishments. He conducts a busy referral practice in diseases of the cornea and external eye based at the University of California, Davis.

Kristen McCoy, MA, CEBT, CTBS, was appointed to Technical Director in 2008 when she assumed the responsibility for corporate training and is currently the Vice President of Surgical Applications for Miracles in Sight. Kristen holds a master's degree in health and humans' services administration from St. Mary's University in Minnesota, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Dayton and is a Certified Eye Bank Technician (CEBT) and Certified Tissue Bank Specialist (CTBS). She has served on numerous Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) committees and sub-committees over the years including the Technician Education Committee and the Certification Board. Kristen also served as a faculty member of the Technician Education Seminar for eight years.

Dana Owens, CEBT, is the Director of Tissue Recovery for Eversight.  She began her healthcare career as an EMT and Medic in the United States Army.  Soon after, she found her niche within the world of eyes.  For the past 8 years Dana has been involved in eye banking as a recovery technician, recovery manager, business development and distribution manager, and has been the Director of Tissue Recovery for the past 9 months.  Dana lives just outside of Springfield, IL with her husband and 5 kids (all teenagers!!) and many family pets.  She also travels frequently to all of the Eversight office locations in Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio.

Brian Philippy, BS, BCHe, CEBT, is the Director of Transplant and Research at the Lions Medical Eye Bank and Research Center of Eastern Virginia. Brian is a consummate eye banker who started in Minnesota in 1997 and transferred to the Tidewater region of Virginia in 2005, where he serves in Quality, Technical, and Distribution roles. In addition to numerous consulting gigs, Brian also served as a Director of Operations for Vision Share (as well as other roles) between 2007 and 2015 (concurrent with Virginia director roles). Throughout these different appointments, Brian's personal passion is in the arena of distribution - finding homes for every transplantable graft and intentionally filling challenging research requests. Brian has served EBAA in numerous areas including serving on the Board of Directors, the Accreditation Board, Medical Advisory Board, and the Statistical Report Committee. Brian received the Leonard Heise Award in 2022 for his contributions to the EBAA and sight restoration.   

Graeme Pollock, MD, PhD, is the Director of Lions Eye Donation Service at the Centre for Eye Research Australia, Melbourne. He has spent the past 30 years involved in eye banking at local, national, and international levels. Dr. Pollack completed his doctorate in the field of pathology at the University of Queensland and University of Cambridge. Graeme also holds a master’s degree in public health majoring in Health Administration from Monash University, and a Post-Graduate Certificate in University Teaching from the University of Melbourne. His interests include medical standards and guidelines in the field of eye banking. He is a past Chair of the Eye Bank Association of Australia and New Zealand, past-President of the Australasian Transplant Coordinators Association, a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the Eye Bank Association of America and a founding member of the Global Alliance of Eye Bank Associations. In 2019 he was awarded an Order of Australia for service to corneal transplantation and education.

Mellissa Pottinger is the Supervisor of Laboratory Services at Florida Lions Eye Bank in Miami, FL. In this capacity, she is the lead recovery technician, lead tissue processor, and manager of tissue distribution. As an experienced recovery technician, Mellissa has extensive firsthand knowledge of the many infectious disease processes that determine eligibility for eye donation.

In addition to her eye banking duties, Mellissa oversees the day-to-day operations of Florida Lions Eye Bank’s Serum Tears program. Serum Tears, for those who don’t know, are a biological therapy in which a patients’ own blood serum is used to make an eye drop that treats a variety of ocular surface disorders. Mellissa handles any and every task required to assure smooth operation of the Serum Tears program, from scheduling patient appointments to processing Serum Tears in the laboratory.

Mellissa has been with Florida Lions Eye Bank for 8 years, first as an assistant in the ocular pathology laboratory under the leadership of Dr. Sander R. Dubovy, medical director of the eye bank. In 2017, she assumed the role of recovery technician and distribution manager. Mellissa earned her CEBT in 2021 

Mellissa was born in Brooklyn, NY to Jamaican parents. She moved with her family to Miami when she was 10. In 2014 she has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Florida International University. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in the same subject.

Saira Quraishy, CEBT, obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from Kennesaw State University and joined Georgia Eye Bank in May 2006 as a Donor Coordinator. In April 2007, Saira transitioned into a technical/laboratory position and has been a Certified Eye Bank Technician (CEBT) since 2007. After several years of dedicated service and outstanding job performance, Saira was promoted to the position of Laboratory Supervisor in April 2013 and in January 2015, Saira was promoted to Manager of Technical Operations. Saira manages donor recovery operations, laboratory operations, donor eligibility determinations, and tissue distribution activities. Saira serves on the Technician Education and the Scientific Programs Committees for the Eye Bank Association of America.

Ingrid Schunder, MBA, CEBT, began her career in eye banking in 1999 and has been with Miracles In Sight since 2013. In her current role as Vice President of Logistics and Development, Ingrid is responsible for the day-to-day logistical operations of both North and South Carolina. This includes the supervision and ongoing training of the Surgical Recovery Specialists who perform ocular tissue recoveries as well as the Professional Development Staff servicing the hospitals, Medical Examiners, Coroners and Funeral Homes of North and South Carolina. Ingrid is currently a member of the Technician Education Committee and has served on the faculty for the Technician Education Seminar for the past three years.

Troy Win’E, CEBT, is the Vice President of Strategies Development at Miracles in Sight. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Cellular Molecular Biology from the University of Washington. Troy currently serves on the EBAA Technician Education Committee. 

Anthony Vizzerra, CEBT, serves as Director of Clinical Services at Saving Sight. He has been in the eye banking profession for five years. Anthony earned his Bachelor of Science in psychology with a minor in chemistry from The University of Arizona. In his current role, Anthony oversees the daily operations of the clinical laboratory and directly supervises the lab team.  Since being with Saving Sight, he has been able to successfully change procedural protocols to help reduce processing errors, as well as reduce overall supply costs.