Optometry Awards of Honour

2025 Alumni Awards of Honour recipients

Vision Champion Award

Hon. Judy Sgro, has been the Member of Parliament for Humber River – Black Creek in Toronto since 1999. Her career spans roles from local city councils to federal parliament, focusing on poverty alleviation, crime reduction, and urban policy.

As Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, she championed family reunification and systemic fairness. In opposition, Judy excelled as a critic for Seniors, Pensions, Veterans Affairs, and the Status of Women, advocating for pension reform and addressing issues like sexual harassment. She most recently chaired the Standing Committee on International Trade and the House Liaison Committee.

Judy has always said that the best thing any Member of Parliament can do is finding something that you care about, put your time into that issue, and you will find yourself a part of a team that is advancing that agenda and she is doing just that with her work in both Ottawa and Toronto.

Dr. Alexis Keeling, a 2016 graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science, is a solo practice owner in Dieppe, New Brunswick. She has a keen interest in dry eye treatments and specialty contact lenses. As a former teacher, she combines her passion for optometry and teaching by supervising optometry interns.
She is the immediate Past President of the New Brunswick Association of Optometrists, current chair of continuing education, and a member of the events committee for the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce. She also serves as an optometry exam author and is the incoming Chief Examiner for the Optometry Examining Board of Canada.
Dr. Keeling is a Canadian delegate to the United Nations, Commission on the Status of Women and has contributed to research on Low Vision and Falls Risk, and contributed to the Canadian Low Vision Guidelines. Her recent awards include Excellence in Contact Lens Patient Care, Greater Moncton’s Top 20 Under 40, and multiple Community Votes Moncton Platinum Optometrist awards.

Dr. Scott Brisbin (OD ’65) was born and raised in Manitoba. He graduated from the The College of Optometry of Ontario in 1965. He and his classmates were presented with an equivalency degree after the College became part of the University of Waterloo in 1967.

Dr. Brisbin and his beloved wife Calli chose to make Alberta their home and moved to the Edmonton area in 1967. They raised their 2 children on a wooded acreage Southeast of Sherwood Park. Dr. Brisbin built a very successful patient-centred practice in Edmonton, seeing three to five generations of families over his career.  When he turned 65, he was not ready to retire, but he did want a change. He joined the Sherwood Park practice of Dr. Dorrie Morrow, another recipient of Waterloo’s Alumni of Honour Award.  He was her first optometrist when she was a youngster.  He had mentored and inspired her to be an optometrist. This practice was located 17 kilometres away, and 92% of his patients moved with him. He continued to practice there for 15 more wonderful years.

In addition to his passion for his patients, he was also extremely passionate about Optometric politics from the onset. Dr. Brisbin dedicated most of his 55 year career to serving our profession politically, starting as president of the local Edmonton Optometric Society in 1968.

He was elected to the Alberta provincial Association council in 1970 and became the association’s president in 1975 through 1977 – Alberta's youngest president to that date. He also chaired numerous provincial and national forums on Optometry and chaired the CAO Congress in 1979.

In 1980 he joined the CAO Council and served as its president from 1986 to 1988. Leading up to his presidency he served on the COETF board and chaired it until 1989. He chaired its Awards Committee from 1995 to 1998.

In 1993, inter-provincial strife threatened the survival of the national organization. In response, CAO commissioned Dr. Brisbin to act as a one man task force and develop a plan to restructure the CAO Constitution. It took more than a year, meeting with key people across the country, listening to all sides, and developing a possible solution. At a meeting in Montreal convened for the purpose, “the impossible” was finally achieved and the provincial associations voted unanimously to accept his proposal after a day of animated discussions.

Dr. Brisbin represented Canada on the World Council of Optometry in 1994 and was elected president of WCO in 2000. As president, Dr. Brisbin visited close to 40 countries, lobbying governments, and working to improve or establish new schools of optometry in universities around the world.

He was a founding member of the World Optometry Foundation, and helped establish the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Refractive Error Working Group. During his presidency, he was instrumental in having the WHO formally recognize the profession of Optometry.

Dr. Brisbin cofounded, with Professor Brian Holden, World Optometry’s Vision 2020 Program, followed by Optometry Giving Sight, that continues to raise funds for optometry in the developing world to this day.

He was honored as International Optometrist of the Year in 2004.

He has been awarded CAO's President Award, AAO’s President Award, and received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Waterloo.

He has been a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, chairing the Region 5 Admittance Committee for many years and received the honor of a Life Fellowship in the Academy.

Throughout his career, Dr. Brisbin has spoken about Optometry to countless professional and lay groups, written articles for numerous publications, and participated in many advisory panels, and maintained an active practice.

Dr. Brisbin has absolutely loved his profession each and every day of his 55 years of his career. Covid told him, at age 80, that 2020 would be a good year to retire. He is currently writing a couple of books and enjoys his quality time with family and friends.