Use Your Voice: Advocacy Strategies for Children’s Vision

Join the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness for a free webinar, “Use Your Voice: Advocacy Strategies for Children’s Vision” on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, 2:00pm – 3:15 pm ET.

In this 75-minute webinar, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the advocacy process, the value and impact that individual and community voices have on the advocacy process, and how to effectively advocate for public policies that govern healthcare, eyecare, and school systems to ensure they are responsive to children’s vision health needs.

Donna Fishman, MPH
Director, National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health
Prevent Blindness

Sara Brown, MPA
Senior Director, Government Affairs
Prevent Blindness

Bridget Benard
Parent of children with severe myopia
Maternal and Child Health Advocate, Doula, and Certified Lactation Counselor
ASPECT Patient Engagement Program Graduate

Bridget Benard is a passionate advocate for maternal and child health, with a deep commitment to supporting families through both personal and professional experience. She is a mother of three sons—two of whom have severe myopia—and has found a passion for raising awareness around childhood vision and disparities. After completing the Prevent Blindness ASPECT Patient Engagement Program with Prevent Blindness, she has used her voice to advocate for vision health, even sharing her family’s story with members of Congress on Capitol Hill to influence policy change.

Shannon Rohn Deere
Director
Leavitt Partners

Shannon Rohn Deere is a Director at Leavitt Partners based in Washington, DC. She provides federal policy counsel and analysis to clients as well as assists in managing multi-sector alliances. Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Shannon worked as a senior health care analyst at Ripple Effect Communications where she reviewed public comments on proposed regulations covering Medicare and Medicaid, and she also served as a researcher at The George Washington University Law School.

Susan Hepworth
Executive Director
National Coalition for Infant Health

Susan Hepworth serves as Executive Director of the National Coalition for Infant Health, a collaborative of professional, clinical, community and family support organizations focused on education and advocacy promoting patient-centered care for all infants and their families. She is also a partner and senior vice president at Woodberry Associates, a Washington, DC-based public affairs firm specializing in advocacy coalition management.

Kim Owens
Parent of child with vision impairment
Writer, Parent-mentor, Speaker, and Braille transcriber

Kim Owens is a writer, parent-mentor, speaker, and Braille transcriber. Her son, Kai, unexpectedly lost his sight at the age of ten. She immersed herself in the blindness community and advocated for his equal and accessible education. She believes that parental acceptance, community building, and equal accessible education are the three main pillars that led to her son’s success. She completed the Prevent Blindness ASPECT Patient Engagement Program.

Nicole Pratt
Parent of child with vision impairment
PTI Co-Director, Training Program Director, Leaders Empowered as Advocates with Dignity (LEAD) Project Director
SPAN Parent Advocacy Network

Nicole Pratt is a single working mom of two young adults who both have special healthcare needs (one with Retinopathy of Prematurity). At the SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, she organizes trainings that educate parents and professionals on an array of education and health topics across New Jersey and nationally. Nicole sits on several state, national, and local parent-leader advisory boards. Nicole has been a member of the Advisory Committee to the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness since January 2010.