Optometrist of the Year

The Optometrist of the Year Award is presented to an optometrist who has been outstanding in serving and representing the profession of optometry.  The nominees are scored in the areas of public service, service to the visual welfare of the public, service to optometry and service to optometric associations.   Nominations are submitted by WOA members and then reviewed by an Awards Committee for selection.  The WOA Optometrist of the Year is then nominated for the AOA Optometrist of the Year award the following year.

Dr. Michelle Harper
2011 Optometrist of the Year

A member of the American Optometric Association since 1989, Dr. Harper joined the WOA directly after her graduation from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 1993. Having been a long-time WOA member optometrist, Dr. Harper has provided many years of faithful service to her state’s professional association. From 2001-2003, she served as the WOA’s Northeast Wisconsin Optometric Society President, after which she became a Director at Large for the association in 2003. From 2004-2005, she served as WOA Treasurer and became the association’s President Elect in 2006. In 2007, Dr. Harper became the WOA President, leading the Board of Directors and representing the WOA membership. In 2008, she became Immediate Past President, and since that year, has served as the WOA’s Education Committee Chair.

Dr. Harper currently practices at Clear View Optical, S.C. in Sturgeon Bay. She is an active volunteer for sight-saving groups and benevolent programs including the Special Olympics Opening Eyes Program, where she has volunteered her services for at least nine major events; a remarkable number. In addition, she has volunteered her time and services to the Walker’s Point Community Clinic (WPCC) in Milwaukee, which provides free care to citizens in that neighborhood. On the national level, Dr. Harper is also a participating doctor in the AOA’s InfantSEE program; InfantSEE began in 2005 and provides free assessments for infants regardless of the family’s ability to pay or their insurance status.  Showing her commitment to volunteerism in the name of the optometric profession, Dr. Harper volunteered for several VOSH (Volunteer Optometric Services to
Humanity) mission trips to Mexico and rural Texas in 1992. She also volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America in her local community.

After graduating third in her class from Salem Central High School in Salem, WI in 1986, Dr. Harper went on to study pre-optometry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before earning both her Bachelor’s and Doctorate degrees in Optometry from the University of Houston College of Optometry. She currently lives in Brussels, WI with her husband Brian and son Jake. 

 *** The Optometrist of the Year Award is given in recognition of excellence, dedication to the profession of optometry, and service to the community.

The WOA is proud to recognize those optometrists who have been honored in previous years:

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Optometrist of the Year Nomination Form