- Excellence in Leadership Award
- Cathy Holden Excellence in Managerial Leadership Award
- Roxann Mayros Organizational Champion Award
Excellence in Leadership Award
One of the ways VisionServe Alliance honors the work of its member CEOs is through the prestigious Excellence in Leadership Awards. The VisionServe Alliance Excellence in Leadership Award honors an Executive Director, President, or CEO of a member organization, current or former, who has shown exemplary industry and professional leadership over the course of at least five years. It is expected that the nominee’s contributions have been significant at a local, regional, and/or national level.
VisionServe Alliance is proud to announce the winner of this year’s award: John Mitchell, Former CEO of Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Elly Du Pré, Executive Director of the Florida Agencies Serving the Blind. Watch their nomination and acceptance videos below.
Cathy Holden Excellence in Managerial Leadership Award
The Cathy Holden Excellence in Managerial Leadership Award was founded in 2018 following the untimely passing of Cathy Holden who was a member of my leadership team at New View Oklahoma, our Vice President of Program Services. The Award honors a high-level employee of a member organization who has made an impact on, contribution to, or led staff in the pursuit of organizational excellence. Nominees must be employed by a current member of VisionServe Alliance and have demonstrated exemplary organizational and professional leadership over the course of at least five years in directing departments and/or programs, expanding impact, developing best practices, streamlining processes, research and/or publications specific to vision loss and/or blindness, developing innovations, etc. It is hoped that the nominee’s contributions have also been significant at a local, regional, and/or national level.
It is our pleasure to announce that the recipients of this year’s award, Leslie Montgomery, Vice President of External Affairs, Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services – Pittsburgh, and Jacci Borchardt, Director of Operations, Vision Forward. View their nomination and acceptance videos below.
Roxann Mayros Organizational Champion Award
The Board of Directors decided to honor the exceptional service of its first paid staff person and Chief Executive Officer, Roxann Mayros, when she retired in 2019 after 14 years in this role. The Roxann Mayros Champion Award was created to highlight the legacy of her service to the field of blindness and low vision. Her accomplishments included the creation of a knowledge network and support system for leaders in vision rehabilitation, promotion of best practices nationwide, national efforts for third party vision rehabilitation services reimbursement, the inspiration of innovative and collaborative projects, and the galvanization of attention to issues of national relevance such as the Low Vision Rehabilitation Demonstration Project and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Her leadership hallmark was passion and unwavering commitment to the promise of a better way forward leading to living well with blindness and low vision.
Eligible nominees are members of senior leadership for a member organization and will have demonstrated extraordinary service to the field such as founding a new organization, a subsidiary corporation or significant new programs; or turning around an organization that experienced significant loss, change or struggle of some other type; collaborating with external organizations to significantly expand mission impact of the organization for which the nominee works or worked.
VisionServe Alliance is proud to announce this year’s winner of the Roxann Mayros Organizational Champion Award is Cindy Hollis, Membership Services Coordinator, American Council of the Blind. View her nomination and acceptance video below.