Donna Miller, PBT's New President and CEO
NASHVILLE, Nov. 18, 2005 – Prevent Blindness Tennessee (PBT), a nonprofit health agency providing public education, vision screenings, eye exams and eyeglasses to children, seniors and other Tennesseans in need, has named Donna Miller president and chief executive officer. She succeeds Alice Orr, who is retiring next month after 22 years of stellar service to the Tennessee community.
Miller joins Prevent Blindness Tennessee from Fisk University, where she was director of corporate and foundation relations. Prior to that, she was chief executive officer of Gateway Community Services in East Lansing, Michigan, where she oversaw an agency that ran three medical clinics and delivered intensive crisis counseling for children, adolescents and families in crisis.
“Donna Miller is a dynamic leader and devoted public servant committed to expanding the mission of Prevent Blindness Tennessee,” PBT Chairman Gavin Maloy said. “Her superior fund-raising and grant-writing skills, coupled with her passion for helping children and the elderly, will help propel Prevent Blindness Tennessee to greater heights in the coming years.”
Maloy praised Orr for growth of PBT’s education and grassroots programs. In the most recent cycle year, Prevent Blindness Tennessee served more than 74,000 people, reaching new areas in Jackson and the Tri-Cities. In Tennessee, more than 20,000 people over age 40 are blind, and many other Tennesseans over 40 have vision problems that could lead to blindness; 65,000 are vision impaired, 413,000 have cataracts, 45,000 have glaucoma, 107,000 experience diabetic retinopathy and 32,000 have age-related macular degeneration, Maloy said.
“Expanding Prevent Blindness Tennessee’s network is essential to preserving sight in our great state,” Miller said. “Prevent Blindness Tennessee has an energizing mission, and I intend to travel across Tennessee and make sure our community leaders and decision-makers know how vital our services are in local communities. Prevent Blindness Tennessee has achieved much success under Alice Orr’s leadership, and I look forward to raising the bar and expanding our reach.”
To learn more about Prevent Blindness Tennessee’s programs and services, please call toll free (800) 335-0450 or (615) 352-0450, or e-mail askpbt@preventblindnesstn.org.
Click here for a pdf version of this press release.
About Prevent Blindness Tennessee
As an affiliate of the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting vision loss, Prevent Blindness Tennessee and the nationwide network of affiliates, divisions and chapters serve millions of people each year through free vision screenings, public and professional education, community and patient services, programs, referrals, information and research. We keep the SEE in TennesSEE.
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