National View on Opticianry | August 2026

Aug 1
2 min read

Updated: Aug 4

Advocacy That Works

Dear Reader,

This month’s National View opens with proof that advocacy works. Back in February, we alerted our Washington partners to a bill that threatened access to continuing education. What followed demonstrated exactly what a unified profession can accomplish when we stand together.

As your Board and Staff team, we remain committed to staying attentive, informed, and proactive, ensuring that the work you do as opticians is recognized, protected, and valued. Thank you for the dedication you bring to your patients and to our profession every day.

Read on for the latest from UOA.

ADVOCACY

Washington Victory

When proposed legislation threatened to increase the cost of continuing education, opticians and industry leaders of the Opticians Association of Washington and the Pacific Northwest Opticians Alliance spoke up.

As Paul Holman of the Pacific Northwest Opticians Alliance put it:

“These learning opportunities directly influence the quality of vision services that Washington residents receive every day.”

Read the full story to see how grassroots advocacy helped protect access to professional education.

Read the Full Story

Veteran Advocacy in D.C.

UOA Executive Director Gwen Cooper, UOA Education Director Bob Alexander, UOA Board President Aarlan Aceto, and UOA Federal Lobbyist Jake Kohn traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with Congressional staffers about the new Eyewear Service Delivery system and its impact on Veterans' access to eye care.

Certified and licensed Opticians provide the expertise Veterans depend on, and UOA continues to advocate for policies that protect that access. Read about our advocacy priorities.

EDUCATION

Your Next Listen

Why do some opticians get treated as trusted advisors while others get treated as order takers? In this episode, Michael Gatti, Global Head of Learning and Sales Enablement at HOYA Vision Care, joins UOA Executive Director Gwen Cooper to talk about what separates the two, including why listening to patients often matters more than reciting product features and how certification raises the profession's credibility.

Find From Order Taker to Trusted Advisor wherever you listen to your podcasts.

The Optician Shortage Is Here

Counselors, educators, and employers keep telling us the same thing: the workforce pipeline for opticianry needs attention now, not eventually. The full blog post looks at what that shortage means for patient access and what the profession can do about it.