ADONZ president and 2023 IOA Optician of the Year nominee Angela Mitchell

Angela Mitchell, president of the Association of Dispensing Opticians of New Zealand (ADONZ), is among the five nominees for this year’s IOA Silmo International Optician of the Year.

“I feel very honoured and humbled to even be nominated, let alone a finalist!” said Mitchell. “It is definitely a highlight of my career, but hopefully not the pinnacle as there are still things I want to achieve in my business and for dispensing opticians.”

This year’s other nominees are: Jean-François Porte (France), Vitor Martins (Portugal) and the US’ Phernell Walker and Carrie Wilson. “The finalists will now have the chance to supply a dossier of evidence to back up their achievements in the eight areas of expertise we are looking for,” said Auckland-based International Opticians’ Association (IOA) president and former ADONZ president Donald Crichton. “I hope that showcasing these outstanding opticians will inspire the whole profession.”

Although Mitchell’s practice, Orewa Optics (co-owned with fellow DO Petra Hewitt), is located in what she describes as the retirement capital of New Zealand, there’s a large number of families now moving into the area, she said. “So we need to offer eyecare services that meet all ages.” Investing in low-vision, an initiative led by optometrist Helen Heyns, has also seen the practice visiting many local retirement villages “for educational morning teas with the residents,” she said.

A high myope herself, Mitchell said all her optometrists share her passion for myopia control and she was instrumental in setting up myopia protocols, patient information and marketing for the practice. “We offer the full suite of solutions. We also invested in a Nidek AL-Scan M. I am always researching how we can remain leaders in myopia control best practice.”

This year’s trip to Silmo will be Mitchell’s first. “I’m looking forward to meeting my fellow finalists and waving the New Zealand flag in the Silmo Academy sessions Stephen Caunter is speaking at,” she said. A win for Mitchell would make her the second consecutive Australasian to take the title, after Australia’s Grant Hannaford collected it in 2022.