Members of the eyecare community gathered in Boston to honor the legacy of Brien Holden, PhD, founder of Optometry Giving Sight (OGS) and a leading advocate for global vision care access. Professor Holden, who passed away in 2015, established OGS in 2003 in collaboration with the World Council of Optometry and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness to support programs addressing uncorrected refractive error worldwide.

During the event, OGS presented the inaugural Brien Holden Founders Award to Greg Pearl, OD, and CooperVision, recognizing their continued efforts to advance vision care accessibility and their longstanding support of OGS initiatives.

In his remarks, OGS U.S. board chair Juan Carlos Aragón, OD, reflected on Holden’s impact, describing him as “a man of action and a man of passion…a fearless colleague, a passionate friend, and a tireless leader in the fight against uncorrected refractive error.” Dr. Aragón also highlighted the organization’s progress, noting that OGS has helped establish 14 optometry schools, trained more than 14,000 optometrists and paraprofessionals, and built over 200 vision centers for clinical training and patient care.

“With your support, we have provided desperately needed vision care to over 15 million people in more than 70 countries,” says Dr. Aragón, adding that Holden would be proud of the collective achievements made in his memory.