United Opticians Association

10/14/2026

Welcome to UOA, Opticians Association of Pennsylvania!

Opticians in Pennsylvania now have a seat in the national conversation about the profession, and Opticians Association of Pennsylvania keeps its own identity while it takes part. Members gain a legislative advocacy platform that tracks state and federal policy, co-branded marketing support, review course grants, event discounts, and access to industry roundtables.

If your state association is a UOA member, you’re a part of the UOA community too! Reach out to your association to learn how to get involved.

Is your state association ready to join? Learn more: https://www.opticians.org/membership

10/13/2026

What happens when patients see their frames as a personal choice, but their lenses as a commodity?

In this episode, Albert Pogorschelske, vice president of Horizons Optical of America, sits down with Gwen Cooper, executive director of United Opticians Association (UOA), to discuss how to make the value of the lens more tangible, and how technology can help opticians create a one-of-a-kind experience that patients can’t get online.

Albert explains how personalized lens technology, including gaze-dynamic measurements and virtual reality, can turn the patient into a participant in the lens-selection process. He also shares practical tools to help opticians demonstrate the differences between lenses.

Hear about the importance of customer experience and attention to detail, the role of AI in the profession, and why he believes optician certification should expand across the United States.

In this episode, you will learn:
+ Why patients may understand the value of a premium frame more easily than a premium lens
+ How personalized technology can change the patient experience and create greater engagement with the lens
+ What skills opticians will need to grow as technology changes the eye care industry

This episode is brought to you by Horizons Optical.

Listen to the full conversation: opticians.org/missionoptician

Link in bio.

10/09/2026

Thank you for your support!

Insight Media Group published a two part deep dive on what certification means for opticians, featuring UOA's own Gwen Cooper and Bob Alexander laying out the distinction between licensure and certification.

Phernell Walker, MBA, ABOM, LDO, NCLEC, chair of the American Board of Opticianry and a member of the UOA board, summed it up well in Part 1: certification gives patients a concrete way to know who to trust.

Certification works alongside licensure where it exists and continuing education everywhere. Together, they give a patient a reason to trust an optician's ability, regardless of which state they're standing in.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 from Insight Media via our News page: https://www.opticians.org/news

Link in bio.

Original post: Insight Media, "A Comprehensive Guide to Optician Certification: Part 1" by Zack Tertel

10/08/2026

This World Sight Day, we’re proud to support the Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act. Untreated vision problems affect how a child learns, grows, and thrives, and right now there’s no national program to catch them early. That needs to change.

Learn more at advocacy.preventblindness.org/edvi-act/

10/08/2026

Get Certified, Stay Certified.

Phernell Walker, MBA, ABOM makes the case clearly: certification isn't just a credential, it's value you bring to every patient and every practice. Fewer remakes, lower costs, better care.

Watch the clip and catch the full interview in Part 1 of the Comprehensive Guide to Optician Certification. 👇

10/07/2026

Ask ten opticians the difference between licensed and certified, and you will get ten different answers. That is not a knock on anyone. The requirements are that inconsistent from state to state.

Take licensure alone. Connecticut requires an 8,000 hour apprenticeship or a two year degree, plus written, oral, and practical exams, while New Hampshire asks for nothing more than registration. Roughly half the states do not license opticians in any form. Certification, by contrast, runs through the same national exams no matter which state an optician calls home, the NOCE for opticians and the CLRE for contact lens work.

Here is where it gets interesting. In a lot of licensed states, that certification exam is the entry point into getting licensed in the first place, but nothing requires an optician to keep it current once the license is issued. Continuing education becomes the renewal requirement instead. In a certification renewal survey, close to a quarter of opticians who let their certification lapse said it was simply because their state did not require them to keep it.

Licensure and certification solve different problems, and both matter. One is your state's legal permission to practice. The other is a national standard of proven skill. See how they compare, and why both are worth understanding.

New on the blog, Licensed vs. Certified Opticians, What's the Difference?

Read More: https://www.opticians.org/post/blog-licensed-vs-certified-opticians-difference

10/06/2026

Introducing a new series: A View From the Board.

Each installment spotlights one of UOA's strategic pillars through the perspective of a board member. We're kicking things off with Board President Dr. Aarlan Aceto on the future of opticianry education.

Associations, advocacy, licensing, certification, and public awareness all matter to this profession, and Dr. Aceto sees education as the foundation under every one of them. In this first installment, he explains what a shared educational foundation could mean for opticians on any pathway into the field, and how UOA is beginning to explore that framework with educators, experienced opticians, and industry partners.

Read the full message, Education as the Foundation of Opticianry, on our blog: https://www.opticians.org/post/blog-education-foundation-of-opticianry

If this is news to you, so is our monthly National View email. Join our list while you're on the site.

UOA Board President Aarlan Aceto shares his vision for opticianry's future and a simple call to action: join, participate, get involved.

10/06/2026

Applications are officially open for the 2027 Student to Leadership Program.

Offered by UOA in partnership with Hoya Eyeglass Lenses, the program’s travel grant covers travel and conference registration for the One Vision, One Voice, One UOA National Conference in Minneapolis, June 2 to 5, 2027. Recipients join opticians, educators, state association leaders, and industry partners for hands on learning, advocacy discussions, and leadership development, and connect with other students and apprentices starting their careers at the same time.

New this year, 2027 recipients will be featured in a special issue of INVISION Magazine, an early chance to introduce themselves and their goals to readers across the optical industry.

To apply, you need to meet one of the following: enrolled in a formal education program, a registered apprentice, or working under the guidance of a mentor or sponsor. The grant is awarded once per person, and anyone who applied previously and was not selected is welcome to apply again.
Applications are due February 1, 2027.

Know a student, apprentice, or trainee who should apply? Share this with them.

Apply for the Program: uoaleadership.org/apprentices

10/04/2026

Insight Media Group published a two part deep dive on what certification means for opticians, featuring UOA's own Gwen Cooper and Bob Alexander laying out the distinction between licensure and certification.

Phernell Walker, MBA, ABOM, LDO, NCLEC, chair of the American Board of Opticianry and a member of the UOA board, summed it up well in Part 1: certification gives patients a concrete way to know who to trust.

Certification works alongside licensure where it exists and continuing education everywhere. Together, they give a patient a reason to trust an optician's ability, regardless of which state they're standing in.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 from Insight Media via our News page: https://www.opticians.org/news

Link in bio.

Original post: Insight Media, "A Comprehensive Guide to Optician Certification: Part 1" by Zack Tertel

10/03/2026

Vision of Hope Foundation has three open seats on its board, and they're looking for people in this industry who want to help shape where the foundation goes next.

These are at-large board positions, open to anyone ready to contribute at the board level rather than tied to a specific role. Vision of Hope Foundation was formed to promote and support international, national, and community-based vision-related mission work, support opticianry education, and develop future opticianry leaders.

Board members serve a two-year term, with the option to be re-elected for up to two additional two-year terms. Board meetings happen every other month, with committee meetings as needed, for a total time commitment of about two to four hours a month.

If you've been looking for a more active way to give back to opticianry, this is a concrete place to start.

Apply to serve: https://form.jotform.com/UnitedOpticiansAssoc/VOHBoardInterestForm