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Board of Directors

GP Lens Institute

Derrell James, GPLI President

Derrell James is the Vice President and General Manager of X-Cel Specialty Contacts, a division of Walman Optical, and a leading global manufacturer of specialty gas permeable and custom soft contact lenses. Prior to X-Cel, Derrell was the President and CEO of Stradis Healthcare, a custom medical device procedural kit manufacturer. In his career, Derrell has held leadership positions in operations and business development for diverse industries including medical device, aerospace and defense, process control sensors and automotive manufacturing, with Honeywell, Rockwell Collins, Kimberly Clark Health Care, and Genicon. He is a certified Lean Master, and holds a BS in Management from Georgia Tech and a MS in Technology Management from Mercer University. He is the immediate past president of the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association.

John Hibbs, GPLI Vice President

John Hibbs graduated from TCU in 1985 and has been in the eye care industry for 36 years, spending the majority of his time with Bausch & Lomb’s Boston Products Division. He is currently Vice President of Commerical Sales for North America for Contamac US, a contact lens materials manufacturer. John is President of the CLMA, a board member of the GPLI and The Levitt Foundation, and chair of the Friends and Foundation of the Arlington Public Library. He also served three elected terms on the Arlington Independent School District Board of Trustees as Vice President. John is very active in community service, including Lake Arlington Childrens Ministry Leadership, Chairman of Arlington Childrens Toys Inc., and Chairman of the George Hawkes Library Funding Campaign. He has received several honors, including the PTA Life Membership Award, PTA Extended Life Membership Award, Girls Inc Tarrant County, Strong Man of the Year, TASB School Board of the Year, HEB School Board of the Year, and was a CLMA Innovator in Industry Award Recipient.

Sara Yost, GPLI Secretary/Treasurer

Sara Yost is the President and CEO of BostonSight, a nonprofit healthcare organization that advances the treatment of diseased or damaged corneas and dry eye. Sara leads a multi-disciplinary team dedicated to patient care, research, innovative scleral lens design, education, and technology, to help restore vision and improve the quality of life for people suffering with ocular surface disease. Before transitioning to CEO, Sara held the role of Chief Financial Officer and Director of Operations at BostonSight, where she helped to launch BostonSight SCLERAL, the organizations’ first commercial scleral lens product. She was also instrumental in the development of BostonSight’s proprietary FitConnect® software, translating practitioner needs to the software and lab team. Sara believes strongly in promoting education and collaborating with the eye care community. She earned her B.S., summa cum laude, in Health Management and Policy from the University of New Hampshire and earned her MBA, High Distinction, from Bentley University.

Cindy Belliveau

Cindy has had a dual career path spending a large part as an engineer in the aerospace industry while having a hand supporting the family business manufacturing specialty contact lenses at Visionary Contact Lens in Anaheim. She has used her technical training, a BS degree from Lehigh University and an MS degree from the University of Texas Arlington, to help progress the company’s capabilities. She has now transitioned full-time as the company’s operations manager and also focuses her passion in helping advance the specialty contact lens industry by serving on the board of the CLMA and the GPLI.

Kurtis Brown

Kurtis Brown brings over 35 years of specialty contact lens experience to the GPLI board of directors. In varied roles such as lab management, lens design, marketing, product management and sales, Kurtis has held positions with Boston Sight, B+L Boston, and Menicon. Kurtis is currently director of sales at DAC International for Europe, Middle East, Africa, India and China.

Robert L. Davis, OD, FAAO

Dr. Robert Davis is co-founder of EyeVis Eye and Vision Research Institute. He is a diplomate in the American Academy of Optometry and an inductee in the National Academy of Practice in Optometry. He has published and lectured extensively on topics related to contact lenses, eye care and the management of eye disorders. He is an adjunct faculty member for six colleges of optometry and has developed many contact lens designs, holding various contact lens patents. He is a past recipient of the GP Lens Institute “GP Practitioner of the Year” award.

Jennifer Fogt, OD, MS, FAAO, FSLS

Jenny Fogt, OD MS, is an Assistant Professor and director of iVERG (Innovation in Vision and Eye care Research Group) at The Ohio State University College of Optometry.  Dr. Fogt is an attending doctor in the 4th year Contact Lens Clinic and teaches the Vision of Children course for 3rd year students.  Her research includes specialty contact lenses, ocular pharmaceuticals, dry eye, soft contact lenses, contact lens solutions, and myopia control.  She is also a member of The Ohio State University Human Performance Collaborative, and has conducted research related to vision performance with and without contact lenses. Jenny serves as an Executive Committee member of the Scleral Lenses in Current Ophthalmic Practice Evaluation (SCOPE) group.  Dr. Fogt is a Fellow and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Optometry (Cornea, Contact Lens and Refractive Technologies), a Fellow of the Scleral Lens Education Society, and a member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and the American Optometric Association. 

George Mera

George has been in the contact lens industry since 1996. He previously served as Chair of the GP lens committee for the CLMA with budget input for the GPLI programs, and he attended the GPLI Cornea and Contact Lens Resident Symposium since 2002 as a CLMA Ambassador. He has been NCLE certified since 2002, Advanced Certified since 2011, and holds a Master in Contact Lens Technology from the NCLE. He previously served on the Board of Cathedral of Hope, United Church of Christ in Dallas Texas, a church with a 2,000 plus member congregation. George holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, allowing for a deeper understanding of contact lens materials and solutions. He is currently a specialty contact lens fitting consultant at TruForm Optics, which allows him to work with eye care professionals in Optometry, Ophthalmology, and Opticianry to help their patients achieve the best possible visual outcome.

Daren Nygren

Daren Nygren is President of Custom Craft Lens Service and a past President of the CLMA – Contact Lens Manufacturers Association. Daren has over twenty years of experience as an Optometric/Ophthalmic Technician and contact lens fitter. Daren previously served as City Council President and Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Bremerton in Washington State. Daren is honored to serve on the inaugural Board of Directors of the Gas Permeable Lens Institute.

Chris Pantle

Chris Pantle is Director of Sales (Americas and Pacific Rim) at DAC International Inc., a manufacturing equipment supplier to the contact lens and intraocular lens industries. He has been involved in the optical industry for more than 36 years. He served as President of the CLMA from 2008-2010 and is currently serving on both the CLMA and GPLI boards as Chair of Internal Affairs. Chris was the recipient of the CLMA ”Leonardo Da Vinci Award” in 2015 and the CLMA “Industry Enhancement Award” in 2024.

Jan Svochak

Jan Svochak is currently President of TruForm Optics, a family-owned business headquartered in Texas. He served as President of the CLMA from 2014-2016. Jan is an experienced contact lens fitting consultant, optical design programmer, presenter and lecturer, and has served on several boards. He was the recipient of the 1994 CLMA Creative Design & Process Award as well as the 2018 CLMA Leonardo da Vinci Award and holds several US patents.

Jennifer S. Harthan, OD, FAAO, FSLS, Ex-Officio

Jennifer S. Harthan, OD is a graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO).  After completing a residency in Cornea and Contact Lenses at ICO, she became a full-time faculty member. Dr. Harthan is a Professor at ICO and Chief of the Cornea and Contact Lens Center for Clinical Excellence at the Illinois Eye Institute. Dr. Harthan is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), a Diplomate of the Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses and Refractive Technologies, a Fellow of the Scleral Lens Education Society and serves on the Advisory Board for the International Keratoconus Academy. Dr. Harthan is the Executive Director of the GP Lens Institute as of January 2025. Dr. Harthan is a founding member of the SCOPE (Scleral Lenses in Current Ophthalmic Practice Evaluation) research team.  She has numerous publications on the topics of complex contact lens fits and anterior segment disease. Dr. Harthan is the 2022 recipient of the Dr. Edward S. Bennett GPLI Educator of the Year Award, the 2022 AOCLE Dr. Lester E. Janoff Memorial Award, and the 2024 AOA Contact Lens and Cornea Section Achievement Award. Dr. Harthan is actively involved in ocular surface disease and contact lens research and lectures on these topics at national meetings.

Thomas G. Quinn, OD, MS, FAAO, FSLS, Ex-Officio

Dr. Quinn established a group practice in Athens, Ohio in 1983 with his wife, Dr. Susan Quinn. He currently serves as the Associate Director of the GP Lens Institute and provides part-time optometric service on the Vision To Learn school vision van. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a Diplomate of its Cornea, Contact Lens and Refractive Technologies Section. He chaired the Academy’s Clinical Investigator Certification Program, leads its Mentorship section of the Flom Leadership Course Series, and has served as host of the Anterior Segment Portion of the Academy’s Clinical Podcast Series. He has served as chair of the American Optometric Association’s Contact Lens and Cornea Section Council and is a fellow of the Scleral Lens Education Society. He is past chair of the EastWest Eye Conference and past member of the Educational Advisory Board for Vision Expo. Dr. Quinn was the 2001 recipient of the GP Lens Institute’s GP Practitioner of the Year Award. He was the 2019 Recipient of the American Academy of Optometry’s Vincent Ellerbrock Clinician Educator Award and was the 2022 Recipient of The Ohio State University College of Optometry’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.