OWL awards celebrate women leaders

The achievements of three women were recognized at this year’s OWL awards.

Members voted on three finalists in three categories-Visionary, Catalyst, and Rising Star. The winners were announced Sunday evening during OWL’s annual awards reception.

Visionary Woman Award

Audrey Talley-Rostov, MD, is the recipient of the 2015 Visionary Woman Award. Dr. Talley-Rostov is a partner at Northwest Eye Surgeons, Seattle. She is an OWL board member, as well as an international advisory board member for the newly created Indian Women Ophthalmology Society.

The award, sponsored by the Lindstrom Family Foundation, honors a woman who has paved the way for other women in the field through significant professional achievement.

Finalists in the category also included Joan-Marie Stiglich, ELS, chief content officer of Slack Inc. and Ellen Troyer, MT MA, chief executive officer/chief research offer, Biosyntrx.

Catalyst Award

The Catalyst Award was presented to Laurie K. Brown, COMT, COE, OSA, OCS, CPSS, practice administrator for Drs. Fine, Hoffman and Sims LLC, Eugene, OR.

Among the finalists in the category were Lauri Jorgensen, managing director and co-founder of MedEdicus LLC, and Rosemary Martinez, senior vice president of sales, OCuSOFT.

The Catalyst Award, sponsored by AcuFocus, honors an individual who has demonstrated leadership in supporting the advancement of women.

Rising Star Award

The 2015 Rising Star Award was presented to Erin Schallhorn, executive vice president of The Fundingsland Group. The award, sponsored by Link Consulting, honors an emerging leader in the ophthalmic space.

Finalists in the category were Gretchen Coker, executive vice president of human resources, SightLife, and Dinamarie Stefanie, director of clinical operations at Abbott Medical Optics.