Dr. Mittelman Named AOA’s 2023 Federal Advocacy Award Recipient

Salus president Michael H. Mittelman, OD ‘80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE, recalls when he was a student at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), listening to optometry legends Anthony Di Stefano, OD ‘73, MEd, MPH, FAAO, and the late Norman Haffner, OD ‘52, PhD, DSc, FAAO, talk about how important it was to become active in the American Optometric Association (AOA) and how the organization plays a key role in advocating for important things within the profession.

That left a lasting impression on Dr. Mittelman. When he entered the Navy at the start of what would become a 33-year career, he became involved in the Armed Forces Optometric Association (AFOS, recently renamed to the Association of Armed Forces and Federal Optometric Services) to assist in forwarding the scope of practice and licensure by endorsement nationally. And, as the Salus president since 2013, advocating for the profession has been an important component of Dr. Mittelman’s job.

“I think we all have a role to play in advocating for our professions,” said Dr. Mittelman. “In our case, I think it is even more important given that all of our professions are statutorily regulated. We have a wonderful opportunity to educate legislators and others who can play key roles in scope of practice, additional funding and other types of support that it's my responsibility to take advantage of.”

Because of his career-long dedication to advocating for the profession of optometry — and for the other professions served by the University — Dr. Mittelman has received the AOA’s 2023 Federal Advocacy Award from the group’s board of trustees for his “exemplary dedication to optometry and the advancement of the profession.”

He will receive the award at the National Optometry Hall of Fame and AOA awards ceremony June 23, 2023, at Optometry’s Meeting in Washington, D.C.

When it comes to advocacy, Dr. Mittelman enjoys sharing the accomplishments of Salus students and faculty and how innovative they've been in ensuring all University students become the best healthcare professionals, educators and researchers. 

“Salus is such a unique institution between our storied 104-year PCO history, groundbreaking audiology bridge program and the mix of blindness and low vision studies, physician assistant studies, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, orthotics and prosthetics and biomedicine masters and PhD programs,” said Dr. Mittelman.

While he calls it “very humbling” to be recognized with this award, Dr. Mittelman wants to remind everyone that there are a lot of people doing hard work to advance the profession of optometry. He cited in particular the work being done by Dr. Lindsay Wright, executive director of AFOS; and Matt Willette, chief advocacy officer for the AOA, both of whom Dr. Mittelman said work tirelessly to help optometrists who work in the Department of Veterans Affairs practice air their highest level of training and be paid at a rate commensurate with their training.  

“I was extremely surprised and honored,” said Dr. Mittelman when he received word of the award. “Frankly, the work I do for optometry, in particular, is out of my love and commitment to the profession.”