Helping Our OWA Stars Shine
Each year, the OWA awards honorees at our annual Champagne Breakfast, for their contributions to the industry. Recipients receive $1000 each to donate to a charity of their choice.
OWA's Star Honorees
Pleiades Award
Each year, our Pleiades Award honors an individual who has shown exceptional support in advancing the leadership role of women in the optical industry. "The Pleiades" is also known as the "Seven Sisters" — referring to the seven brightest stars in the cluster.
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According to Greek mythology, each star was named after the seven daughters of Atlas who were turned into stars by Zeus. Together these stars create one of the brightest clusters visible in the northern hemisphere, just as by working together, the women of the OWA have created an organization that is bigger and brighter than the sum of their individual efforts.
Lori Archer
UnitedHealthcare Vision
Lori Archer is an experienced executive with UnitedHealthcare Vision, a division of UnitedHealth Group - a Fortune 5 company. As Chief Executive Officer, Lori is responsible for business strategy, execution and operations in this diversified organization serving commercial, individual and government clients.
A compassionate leader, with nearly 30 years' experience in nearly every aspect of the vision insurance and optical business, Lori has a proven track record of leading the delivery of member-centric vision benefits with unmatched choice in access to care. She has twice been recognized by Vision Monday's "Most Influential Women in Optical" - most recently in the Executive Suite category (2020) and in the Mentors category (2008). Prior to her current position, Lori has held a variety of leadership roles within UnitedHealthcare including sales and client management, client operations and product strategy and execution.
Lori is chair-elect on the Board of Directors of National Association of Vision Care Plans (NAVCP), a 2024 member of the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC) and a member of the Optical Women's Association.
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Lori Archer’s Charity of Choice — Vision to Learn
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Vision To Learn partners with school districts through a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the responsibilities of Vision To Learn and the district. Vision To Learn’s program model makes it easy for students to access eye care, and easy for schools to bring Vision To Learn to campus.
Pyxis Award
PYXIS is a constellation in the southern sky known as "The Compass." The PYXIS Award is presented to a member of the OWA who actively participates in the organization and promotes the OWA throughout the optical industry, contributing to OWA's continuing growth.
The recipient of the PYXIS Award is exceptional in her commitment to support and develop the OWA. She helps set direction of the organization by her actions and inspires by her leadership.
Megan Molony
National Vision
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Megan Molony joined the optical industry in 1995. Since then, she has worked for some of the largest global optical companies, including both Luxottica and Essilor, as well as National Vision, where she served in several key leadership roles across multiple functions. Those functions include Merchandising, Product Development, Customer Experience, Strategic Planning, Pricing Strategy, Managed Care, Operations and Innovation.
Megan joined National Vision in 2017. As National Vision's Chief Merchandising and Managed Care Officer, Megan Molony has strategic oversight of product, pricing, visual merchandising and managed care. Megan is instrumental in sourcing high-quality, low-cost products to deliver a broad assortment across all National Vision brands and drive revenue through strong Vision Care partnerships.
In addition to her role at National Vision, Megan has been actively involved in the OWA since 2016, and now serves as Vice President and Co-Chair of the Professional Development Fund Committee. She also serves on the board of the National Association of Vision Care Plans (NAVCP).
Megan resides in Suwanee, Georgia, with her husband, Joe; the couple have a son and daughter-in-law in Phoenix and a daughter in Chicago. When not at work, Megan enjoys travel, pickleball, reading, and spending time with family and friends.
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Megan Molony’s Charity of Choice — Home of Hope
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Home of Hope in Buford, GA, offers a 3- to 12-month transitional living program for children and their moms experiencing homelessness. Families receive room and board, customized plans and life skills training — all the resources needed to become independent and successful. Based on individual needs, their program focuses on education, career preparation, parenting, and financial planning. Their program is designed to help our children (and moms) achieve the necessary life skills training they need to successfully thrive outside our program. Their success is our success.
Emerging Leader Award
The Emerging Leader Award, created in 2018, is presented to a woman who is a rising star and exemplifies leadership qualities as a new distinctive talent within the optical industry. Examples may be a Millennial or GEN Xer but is not limited to these generations. Unlike the Pleiades and Pyxis Awards, the Emerging Leader Award may not necessarily be presented every year.
Kayla Ashlee
Spexy
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Kayla Ashlee is the CEO & founder of Spexy, an international optometric speaker, a certified optician, and quite the optometric renegade. Her direct and relatable approach to training has set her apart in the optical industry. Kayla took her knowledge of industry coaching and adapted it to reach any eyecare office that is hungry to grow by putting her training in an online video learning platform called Spexy® The result, she and her team train opticals to form a connection with patients through each experience. This has led to Kayla being selected as one of the Most Influential Women in Eyecare in 2024 by Vision Monday magazine. Kayla has been a contributor to Invision Magazine for three years, and was on the cover in April 2024.
Kayla invented a tool called FrameTurn® for independent opticals. This creation allows opticals to have access to frame inventory coaching and guidance based upon each optical’s own unique sales numbers and has proven to be a massive profit builder for the independent! To learn more about Kayla visit www.beSpexy.com.
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Kayla Ashlee’s Charity of Choice — Children’s Health Defense
The mission of Children’s Health Defense is to end childhood health epidemics by eliminating toxic exposure. They want to restore and protect the health of children by eliminating environmental exposures, holding responsible parties accountable, and establishing safeguards to prevent future harm of children’s health.
Recipients Charities Of Choice
Each year, the annual OWA award honorees receive $1000 each to put toward a charity of their choosing. The Charities of Choice selected for 2025 are:
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Vision to Learn — selected by Pleiades recipient Lori Archer
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Home of Hope — selected by Pyxis recipient Megan Molony
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Children's Health Defense — selected by Emerging Leader recipient Kayla Ashlee
If you would like to make an additional contribution to any of these charities, please visit their respective donation pages.
Even More Awards!
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Visionary Award — This award recognizes a member who is known as a "visionary" in our industry. This influential leader demonstrates progressive thinking and actively cultivates professional development of women, contributing to the successful future of the entire optical industry.
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Pinnacle Award — OWA recognizes a member who has demonstrated long-standing and consistent dedication and commitment to the OWA and to furthering the advancement of the leadership role of women in the optical industry. A pinnacle is the highest point of development or achievement, and the Pinnacle Award honors the person's success, determination and influence. The recipient is one who is recognized for inspiring others to reach aspirational heights and career advancement. Signifying a lofty peak, the Pinnacle Award also symbolizes major OWA milestone years as it will only be bestowed on anniversaries.