Description: Councilor to the American Academy of Ophthalmology 

Term: January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2021

Basic Function:
Serves as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the TOA Executive Council. Represents TOA as a voting member of the AAO Council. 

Responsibilities of the Executive Council as a Whole:

  1. Directs all affairs of the Texas Ophthalmological Association consistent with its policies and bylaws. 
  2. Fills vacancies in any elected office of the Association. Approves nominations for each elected office.
  3. Approves the Association operating budget each fiscal year.
  4. Determines Association positions on legislative, regulatory and judicial matters.
  5. Recruits and retains members. Determines dues amounts for membership categories.  Reviews the action of all Association committees, the Foundation and the Political Action Committee for consistency with short or long-range policy/mission objectives.
  6. Employs and sets compensation for the Executive Director.


Responsibilities of Individual Executive Council Members:

  1. Serves as “an ambassador of goodwill” for the TOA at all times while advancing and implementing the Texas Ophthalmological Association’s mission and general purpose. 
  2. As his/her own expense, attends the three regularly-scheduled Executive Council meetings, usually held on Saturdays in winter, spring and fall. On occasion, an officer may participate via speaker phone. If any officer fails to attend two consecutive regularly-scheduled meetings of the Executive Council, the office shall be declared vacant. 
  3. Participates in specially-called meetings (usually via conference call). 
  4. Serves on standing or ad-hoc committees if appointed. 
  5. Annually reviews the anti-competitive and conflict of interest policies and signs a conflict of interest disclosure form.
  6. Serves as a volunteer and receives no compensation.


Specific Responsibilities of the AAO Councilors:

  1. The three AAO Councilors represent the TOA before the AAO Council. The AAO Council serves as the advisory body to the AAO Board of Trustees and provides recommendations for board action based on membership concerns. Specific information can be found at http://www.aao.org/about/governance/council/.
  2. Only Voting Fellows and Members of the American Academy of Ophthalmology are eligible.
  3. The term is three years; each Councilor is eligible for two terms.
  4. Attendance at the two AAO Council meetings is considered mandatory. The meetings are held during the AAO Annual Meeting and the AAO Mid-Year Forum. Should the Councilor be unable to attend a meeting, one of the TOA Alternate AAO Councilors will be asked to attend. Note that the AAO covers travel expenses per AAO guidelines for Councilors attending the Mid-Year Forum. 
  5. With the Executive Director’s assistance, the AAO Councilors submit Semi-Annual Reports to the AAO Council regarding the TOA’s activities.
  6. The AAO Councilors communicate back to the TOA the events and news of the AAO Council.
  7. As needed, the AAO Councilors develop Council Advisory Recommendations (CARs), in conjunction with the leaders of TOA for presentation and discussion at the AAO Spring Council Meeting.
  8. AAO Councilors are ex-officio members of the TOA Executive Council. They participate in the activities and deliberations of the Executive Council, but do not vote.