"Who will you be?" is the question the President-Elect of the American Optometric Association (AOA), Dori M. Carlson, O.D., will be asking the members of the Class of 2011 when she delivers the Commencement Address at the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO), on Friday, May 20.  Dr. Carlson will address the 96 Doctor of Optometry degree candidates on the SCCO campus, 2575 Yorba Linda Blvd., Fullerton, beginning at 10 a.m.

Also highlighting the one-hundred and seventh Commencement Exercise of SCCO will be the recognition of 33 optometrists who have successfully completed one-year residency programs and the conferring of the honorary degree, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), upon California State Senator Edward Hernandez, O.D., (D–West Covina).

Dr. Carlson of Park River, ND, was first elected to the 36,000 member American Optometric Association Board of Trustees in June 2004, re-elected in 2006 and elected President-Elect.

In addition to her responsibilities as President-Elect, Dr. Carlson serves as chair of the Investment and Personnel Committees and is a member of the Agenda and Executive Committees.  Dr. Carlson serves as board liaison to the AOA Meetings Center, the American Academy of Optometry, the American Optometric Student Association and affiliate associations in California, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Prior to her election to the Board, Dr. Carlson was the first female president of the North Dakota Optometric Association.  She served as chair of North Dakota’s Managed Care Committee, Hospital Privileges Committee and Mentoring Committee.  She also served as chair of the AOA Information and Member Services Group, chair of the Membership Development Committee and was a member of the Communications Technology Project Team.

She continues to serve on the North Dakota Blue Cross Blue Shield Advisory Committee and is a long-standing member of the North Dakota Legislative Committee.  She is a trained consultant for the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education.  Dr. Carlson is a graduate of the Pacific University College of Optometry.  She then completed a residency at the American Lake and Seattle VA Hospitals.  In 1994, she was honored as the North Dakota Young Optometrist of the Year and as the Optometrist of the Year in 2003.  She's in private practice in Park River and Grafton, North Dakota.

Established in 1904, SCCO is a private, non-profit, educational institution dedicated to educating today's minds to provide tomorrow's eye, vision and health care.  SCCO grants a four-year, professional degree, Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) and a Master of Science in Vision Science (M.S.).  The College's superior clinical education program provides patient care experiences in community optometric clinics; exposure to the delivery of optometric care in multi-disciplinary settings; and experiences in practices serving a wide variety of ethnic and socio-economic patient groups.  SCCO owns and operates two premier eye and vision care centers­ – the Eye Care Center located on its campus in Fullerton, CA, and the Optometric Center of Los Angeles located in south-central LA.