Webinar – Geographic Atrophy: Knowledge, Hope, and Help

Speaker Bios

Kira Baldonado, MPH
Executive Vice President, Prevent Blindness
Moderator

Kira Baldonado is the Executive Vice President of Prevent Blindness, where she provides strategic leadership across public health, programming, and policy functions. With nearly 30 years of nonprofit experience, she has driven national systems change through collaborative policy development, multi-sector partnerships, and the establishment of best practices in vision health. A seasoned grant writer and program leader, Kira has secured and managed significant federal and corporate funding, authored over a dozen peer-reviewed publications, and led national coalitions and quality improvement initiatives. Her leadership has expanded Prevent Blindness’s reach, strengthened its advocacy impact, and ensured alignment with strategic and financial goals. A recognized thought leader, Kira holds an MPH in Health Policy and Management from Kent State University and has served in numerous advisory roles for major organizations in eye health and public health.

John Kitchens, MD
Retina Specialist, Retina Associates of Kentucky

Dr. Kitchens completed his residency at the University of Iowa Hospital and vitreoretinal fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye in Miami, where he was named Chief Resident.  He enjoys speaking nationally and internationally about new treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetes and vascular disease.  Dr. Kitchens has developed several innovative surgical techniques and has been awarded the American Society of Retina Specialists Rhett Butler Award on three different occasions.  He’s repeatedly named on America’s Top Ophthalmologists list and Best Doctors in America list.  Dr. Kitchens enjoys both photography and videography in his free time.  He joined Retina Associates of Kentucky in 2005 and lives in Lexington, Kentucky.

Julie Grutzmacher, MSW, MPH
Director of Patient Advocacy and Population Health Initiatives, Prevent Blindness

Julie Grutzmacher grew up in Wisconsin and completed her undergraduate degree in Social Work in Minnesota. After college she joined the Peace Corps. Julie spent two years in Swaziland, Africa, where she lived and worked in a rural village providing HIV/AIDS education, mitigation, and community development services. It was during that experience that her interest in public health and health disparities was forged. After returning to the U.S., Julie completed her Masters in Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and later was employed as a social worker in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Rush Hospital. This experience cemented professional goals relating to the elimination of health disparities and improvement of outcomes for marginalized populations.

After the NICU, Julie pursued a second Masters Degree, this time in Public Health, while simultaneously working in population health management, providing care coordination and health education for high risk pregnant women in Chicago’s South Side. It was in this role that her passion for accessible and quality primary care was elucidated. She went on to co-create and manage a primary care leadership training program for multidisciplinary medical residents at the University of Chicago. Julie joined the Prevent Blindness team in May of 2020 as the Director of Patient Advocacy and Population Health Initiatives where she oversees the Center for Vision and Population Health (CVPH) and the ASPECT patient-engagement program. She is passionate about reducing all barriers to eye care.

Diane Marshall
Prevent Blindness Patient Engagement Program Graduate, Individual Living with Geographic Atrophy

Diane Marshall lives in West Los Angeles. She was diagnosed with dry, macular degeneration at 54 and now at 78. She has advanced geographic atrophy and is now considered legally blind. Diane was a teacher and high school counselor for 38 years and an avid photographer. Unfortunately, she can no longer do photography and depends on spoken content to do any kind of reading. Diane still enjoys listening to audiobooks, having lunch out with friends, and taking photos on her iPhone.

Pete Poulsen
Prevent Blindness Patient Engagement Program Graduate, Retired Business Communication Coordinator, Individual Living with Geographic Atrophy

Pete Poulsen is a 78-year-old retired corporate communications coordinator. He was diagnosed with Geographic Atrophy (GA) in 2019 and began receiving Syfovre injections in April 2023 shortly after they were approved in February of that year. His GA was early stage when he started treatment and called “donut hole” by his retina specialist because he still has a small area of good central vision. He is able to function fairly normally with primary symptoms of difficulty seeing in dark or bright environments, “blind spots” and difficulty in low contrast situations and in recognizing faces. As a result, he has had to give up his lifetime passion for photography, driving and bicycle riding. He is the co-founder of a new Low Vision Support Group in his community of 120,000.