Sandra Wang-Harris, O.D.Sandra Wang-Harris, O.D., associate professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry, has been chosen by the World Council of Optometry to deliver the Memorial Lecture in Honor of Karen Sparrow.

This memorial lecture honors the memory of Karen Sparrow, a public health optometrist who devoted herself to addressing the needs of underserved populations and regions with limited access to eye care. Sparrow, a longtime WCO volunteer, exemplified the spirit, passion and commitment to public health optometry that embodies the mission of WCO. Wang-Harris will present this lecture during the fifth World Congress of Optometry from June 25-28.

“It is a great honor to be selected as the speaker for the Karen Sparrow Memorial Lecture,” Wang-Harris said. “Karen’s life and work embodied true compassion, tirelessly giving of herself to those less fortunate. Her love for the optometry profession and her care for others, both at home and in distant lands, exemplify the spirit of a true humanitarian optometrist.”

Wang-Harris has been selected for this international honor in recognition of her community service and public health work throughout her career. In 1999, she established the first eye clinic for HIV-positive patients in Huntsville, Alabama, igniting her passion for working with underserved populations. She advanced this passion by working in Nepal, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, East Timor, The Gambia, Kazakhstan, and the Federated States of Micronesia. She returned to the United States to join the faculty at UAB Optometry, where she previously completed a primary care residency.

WCO is an international membership-based nonprofit organization for individual optometrists, industry professionals and optometric organizations that envisions a world with high-quality, accessible eye health and vision care for all people. Its mission is to advance and promote optometry, global eye health and vision care through collaboration, education and advocacy.