From the First Meeting to Lasting Relationships: Connecting with Nebraska State Senators
and Working Together to Pass Legislation for Your Patients and Your Practice
You are the expert. Sharpen your skills to share the real-world experiences of your patients, practice, and profession with Nebraska state senators. This webinar will give doctors of optometry practical strategies for making first contact, creating meaningful conversations, building trusted year-round relationships, and becoming an effective legislative advocate for optometry.
We have a great opportunity - working together - to secure the support needed from our state senators for our Vision Benefit Legislative Bill in the 2027 state legislative session.
NOA members Dr. Rusty Crotty and Dr. Darren Wright will share their experiences in how they first met their state senator, how they've built a relationship with him, why it's been enjoyable, and how it's benefiting optometry.
Speakers
Amanda Dellinger, O.D.
Dr. Amanda Dellinger serves as legislative chair for the Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians (TAOP). Most recently, she successfully led TAOP to become the 16th state to modernize its scope of practice. This came on the heels of the successful defeat of the “Not a Doctor” legislation targeting optometry and other professions during the 2024 Tennessee General Assembly. Dr. Dellinger was honored as TAOP’s Optometric Physician of the Year in 2023. In 2022, she received the American Optometric Association President’s Award for Distinguished Service to Optometry and was named TAOP’s Young OD of the Year in 2015. Dr. Dellinger is a past president of the Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians. She is currently a member of the AOA State Government Relations Committee and a board member of AOAExcel.
Lisa Gontarek, O.D.
A 1997 graduate of Southern College of Optometry, Dr. Lisa Gontarek is in private practice in Chesapeake, Virginia. She is an advocate for optometry at the local, state, and national levels. She serves on the VOA Membership Committee and helped establish the VOLT leadership program for young ODs in Virginia. Dr. Gontarek is a past president of the VOA and played an integral role in getting Virginia’s laser law passed in 2022. She currently serves as a legislative key person at the state and federal levels and mentors young ODs to do the same. As vice-chair of the AOA State Government Relations Committee, Dr. Gontarek hopes to use her experience to help other states achieve their legislative goals.
Phone: 402-474-7716
