Born to Lead
To some it may be surprising that Beth Muckley (OD’97) made the leap from specialty clinical practice to serve as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Ohio Optometric Association. When you learn a bit more about her, it makes perfect sense.
- Question Greetings, Dr. Muckley. Please tell us a bit about your family of origin.
-
Answer
Sure! I grew up outside of Alliance, Ohio in a rural farming community. My dad was a CPA and my mom stayed home to raise my younger brother and me. My maternal grandparents were both Italian immigrants in the 1920s. Conversely, my dad’s family is a first family of Ohio. His relatives go back to settling Coshocton County and owned one of Johnny Appleseed’s original orchards.
- Question Wow. Are you a gardener?
-
Answer
Coincidentally, my dad, paternal grandfather and I own fruit orchards. We didn’t know our ancestor owned orchards or had any connection to Johnny Appleseed until my brother discovered it in genealogy research. It must be in our DNA!
- Question How did you find your way to The Ohio State University College of Optometry?
-
Answer
In elementary school I thought I would either become a college professor (because I loved school) or be an optometrist because my brother had exotropia as a child. Receiving my first pair of contact lenses at 13 years of age provided life-changing freedom and cemented my interest in eye care. At the time, there were only 16 colleges of optometry, and The Ohio State University College of Optometry had the top board passage rates. I knew I would get a solid education for a great value.
- Question You’ve been so involved in the profession. Where does that energy come from?
-
Answer
I was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” by my high school classmates, so I guess I was born with it! (laughter) At that time, I was active in show choir, a girls’ singing quartet and had the lead my senior year in the musical “42nd Street.” If you are brave enough to sing solo in front of an audience, you gain confidence!
- Question What activities were you involved with while in optometry school?
-
Answer
I was president of AOSA, class secretary and a student member of the American Academy of Optometry. The energy I have comes from my passion for this profession and as a born advocate. Optometry is an underdog health care profession, and it ignites a fire in me when optometrists aren’t considered “real” doctors.
- Question For many years you were Director of Optometric Services at Northeast Ohio Eye Surgeons, an OD/MD referral practice. How did you end up there?
-
Answer
During Optometry school at Ohio State, I fell in love with ocular disease and pharmacology. My first extern site choice was to go home to Ohio Eye Alliance where, at the time, Brian Mathie (OD’90) practiced. He was one of the few ODs seeing advanced disease working with MDs. After my externship, I knew I wanted to be his resident. Dr. Mathie has since been a friend and mentor. There were very few ophthalmology practices that respected optometry back then, so after my residency I worked in many different practice modes to fit together a full-time schedule. I worked for Dru Grant (OD’81) who is still one of my great friends and also a mentor. I worked at the Cleveland VAMC in Brecksville with Bill McGann, OD and also at Walmart for my classmate Dirk Warner (OD’97). I really wanted to be in another modern pro OD/MD practice. I was fortunate to be contacted by NE Ohio Eye Surgeons where the founder, Larry Lohman, MD, was a great refractive surgeon and forward-thinker with regard to optometry. I practiced there for 23 years in anterior segment disease and managed medical glaucoma. I also recruited and worked with an incredibly talented optometric team. Together we developed a medical model of working alongside ophthalmology in a high pathology referral surgical center.
- Question One of the many hats you have worn is that of an educator and author. Did you set out to be involved in these activities or did they find you?
-
Answer
Because of the type of medical optometry I practiced, I reached my elementary school career dream of being both an optometrist and professor by being an extern site for the college. Being an author was not something I aspired to do. In fact, if you told me 30 years ago that I would be a contributing author in Catania’s Primary Care of the Anterior Segment, which was once my textbook, I would have thought you were crazy! It was a privilege to be part of the new edition and impart my “in the trenches” clinical knowledge in glaucoma so that other optometrists may gain confidence in glaucoma management and help their patients.
- Question You currently are Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Ohio Optometric Association. It feels to me like that’s a big leap from clinical practice. Tell us about the transition.
-
Answer
Yes, it was a big leap to retire from my practice to take on this role, but it was a perfect fit for an OD at this time with scope expansion on the horizon. It was also time for me to be re-energized and do something different. As a past OOA President, board member and volunteer, I had the privilege of working alongside exceptional past executive association leaders - Rick Cornett, Linda Fette, and Keith Kerns, as well as our longtime lobbyists Dan Leite and Courtney Saunders. Having that exposure and deep understanding of the OOA programming in membership, resources, and advocacy has allowed me to hit the ground running. I am also extremely privileged to serve under the leadership of a remarkable OOA Board of Directors and help represent the profession to legislators, policy makers and the public.
- Question You’ve had so many professional passions over the years. What are you most passionate about right now?
-
Answer
I am most passionate about SB 129 and modernizing our practice laws so that Ohio ODs can practice to their fullest educational training to better serve patients and retain talented young optometrists to stay in Ohio. I also am excited about the expansion of the Ohio Optometric Foundation’s iSee program due to funding from the Ohio Budget and participation in the Governor’s Children’s Vision Strike Force.
- Question With all the demands you have, how do you keep yourself balanced and energized?
-
Answer
I relax by finding peace in nature. In addition to my orchard, I enjoy tending my vegetable and flower gardens. Our house borders a state park and the wildlife can be watched from our back porch. We also love to spend time at our home in Vermilion right on Lake Erie.
- Question What advice would you give to a new optometry school graduate?
-
Answer
Say yes to opportunities, make good choices, and find your purpose. If you follow this in all aspects of your life, success and fulfilment will come to you.
- Question Do you have any particularly important or fond memories from your time at The Ohio State University College of Optometry you’d like to share?
-
Answer
The Class of 1997 was a pretty special group of people. The friends I made are still with me to this day. We always got together for summer pool parties and post exam celebrations. A group of us hung out together every Thursday night for must-see-TV, watching Seinfeld, Friends and ER, playing cards. Then we would go out at 11 p.m. to Hot Peppers dancing until 3 a.m. Now I go to bed at 9 p.m. and wake up at 3 a.m., but I still love dancing, especially to Bad Habits, The Official Eye Docs of Rock.
- Question Is there anything else you’d like to share that we haven’t touched on?
-
Answer
Just a thank you to The Ohio State University College of Optometry for not only providing me with a great education, but for the lasting friendships and connections I have made with both colleagues and the faculty. My son is now a sophomore at Ohio State experiencing these time-honored traditions. It is fun to watch his journey. But for Ohio State …
