NSU honors visionary leader, alumna Dawn Holsted

Dr. Dawn Holsted first recognized her interest in optometry through acquaintances with eye doctors near her hometown of Kingfisher, Okla.

"One optometrist was a family friend, Dr. Roy McDonald," she said. "He influenced my decision to choose optometry as a profession."

Holsted, vice president of clinical services and quality assurance for TLCVision, the largest provider of laser vision correction in North America, will be honored by Northeastern State University as the 2010 Outstanding Young Alumna at homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 9.

"The college of optometry at Northeastern State University is the No. 1 optometry college out of all of the schools, and having it associated with a premier Oklahoma university, with access to the Indian Health Service, makes NSU a dream location to attend school. It was a privilege to attend and graduate from NSUOCO, and I wear my alumna status proudly."

At Kingfisher High School, Holsted was valedictorian of the Class of 1982. She first earned her bachelor's degree in biomedical science from Oklahoma State University in 1987 before attending NSUOCO and graduating in 1991.

While at NSU, Holsted was involved in Campus Christian Fellowship.

"We had a group of optometry students that joined CCF and I have wonderful memories of fellowship, performing skits, and having great fun with other Christians on campus," she said.

She completed post-doctoral residency training in 1992, continues to serve the NSU Oklahoma College of Optometry as an adjunct professor lecturing on ocular disease, laser training and post-operative care. She credits Dr. Leland Carr III for sparking her interest in teaching.

"He allowed me to share the teaching duties of a course with him as one of my tasks for my residence," Holsted said. "I've been involved in residency and extern education since graduation and I still love it. I enjoy helping influence other doctors become the best they can possibly be for their patients, professions, schools and their state optometry associations. I have worked in referral centers directly with Oklahoma optometrists, and I can proudly say our state is the best place to be a patient and practice optometry."

Holsted completed her residency in ocular disease and refractive surgery. Afterward she worked for a referral service in Tulsa before joining TLC as the clinical-executive director in Oklahoma City in 1998. In 2000, she became a regional clinical director for two locations, then three, five, and in 2003 was named a regional operations and clinical director. In 2007 she accepted the position of vice president of clinical services and quality assurance, which serves 70 centers in the U.S. and Canada.

"I spend much of my time traveling to our centers, headquarters and professional ophthalmology and optometry meetings," she said. "I work with all our internal clinical directors and medical directors, coordinate all technology education and training, and provide professional relations to national optometry organizations. I love working with optometry and being engaged with the organization at a national level to ensure optometry stays at the forefront of refractive surgery."

Holsted was the first female president of the Oklahoma Association of Optometric Physicians and continues to be active in organized optometry. She serves on the Greater Oklahoma City Better Business Bureau executive board and is a member of the Executive Women's Forum in Oklahoma City. She is also a lifetime member of the NSU Alumni Association.

Holsted is one of four alumni who will be honored as part of NSU's homecoming celebration, "Welcome Back to Fabulous Northeastern State," during halftime of the Oct. 9 football game with Texas A&M-Commerce at Doc Wadley Stadium. The other honorees include Distinguished Alumni Dr. Lowell Lehman of Tulsa and LTC Ron Quiett of El Paso, Texas, and President's Award for Community Service recipient State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sandy Garrett of Oklahoma City.