Message from the Chair
Chair of the Board
Jim Quirk, CEBT
Over the past year, the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) has made meaningful progress advancing our mission and strengthening the foundation of our profession. Guided by member input, strategic planning, and commitment to continuous improvement, we are pleased to highlight three significant successes that position the Association, and the eye banking community, for long-term sustainability and growth.
Modernization of the Accreditation Program
One of the most impactful achievements this year was the modernization of the EBAA accreditation program. Recognizing the evolving regulatory, technological, and operational landscape of eye banking, EBAA acquired a document management platform to receive and process the policies, donor records, staff training records, and other administrative documentation, as well as Pre-Inspection and Site Inspection Questionnaires that are part of the accreditation process. The result is a more streamlined, flexible, and forward-looking framework that continues to uphold the highest standards of quality and safety while reducing unnecessary administrative burden. These updates ensure accreditation remains relevant, consistent, and supportive of innovation, while maintaining public trust and professional excellence.
Restructuring of the Membership Dues Model
In response to longstanding member feedback, EBAA’s Board has gathered a taskforce to review EBAA’s membership dues structure and to propose potential revisions to the House of Delegates. The team consists of Board members, staff, and association members with a broad range of experience and perspectives, all dedicated to our shared mission. This effort is marked by a commitment to fairness, transparency, and sustainability. The updated model will recognize the diversity of organizations and professionals within our Association, align dues with value received, and support EBAA’s ability to deliver essential programs and services. This restructuring will strengthen EBAA’s financial foundation while demonstrating responsiveness to the needs of our members.
Expansion of Membership Categories
To better reflect the multidisciplinary and evolving nature of eye banking, EBAA expanded its membership categories this year. This expansion allows for broader participation from professionals across related fields, creating opportunities for more diverse perspectives, expertise, and collaboration. By welcoming a wider range of voices, EBAA is fostering innovation, strengthening advocacy efforts, and ensuring the Association remains inclusive and representative of the profession’s future.
Together, these accomplishments underscore EBAA’s commitment to progress, inclusivity, and excellence. We thank our members for their engagement, feedback, and dedication, and we look forward to building on this momentum in the year ahead.
President’s Address
President & CEO
Kevin Corcoran, CAE
Welcome to EBAA’s 2025 Year in Review. Throughout this publication, you will learn about many of the projects and initiatives we developed for our members in 2025. It’s quite an extensive list. But even more valuable are the actions and decisions that happen behind the scenes; processes that our members never see but definitely benefit from.
EBAA is led by a twelve-member Board of Directors. With seven eye bankers and five physicians, six men and six women, and a range of eye bank sizes, scopes and structures, our Board fairly represents the diversity of our membership.
These people meet by teleconference monthly and in-person three times a year for the express purpose of ensuring that EBAA understands and addresses our members’ most pressing needs. They do this for minimal reward – their Board gift this year was a box of chocolates – except the satisfaction of contributing to the profession they’ve dedicated themselves to.
This year, they have responded to questions about EBAA’s value proposition, our revenue structure, and the significance of our most prominent service – eye bank accreditation. While these are complex issues, and opinions vary widely among Board members, they have all made a good faith effort to seek solutions that are in the best interest of the entire profession.
Recognizing that they are simply the servants of our members, the Board commissioned a survey of our members, to learn firsthand what they think and how they want us to lead the organization. Those results were received in January 2026 and indicated that eye bankers and physicians alike value their EBAA membership, particularly our accreditation program, regulatory advocacy efforts, and educational programming. But they are challenged by workforce issues, reimbursement difficulties, and regulatory overreach.
The Board and staff have always had these issues at the forefront of our work, as demonstrated by the content of this report, but we will refocus our efforts to align EBAA’s programs with our members’ needs. The survey’s findings will be integrated into our ongoing discussions, including our upcoming strategic planning meeting.
EBAA exists to serve our members and our profession. I hope this 2025 Year in Review report, and our daily efforts, reflect this fact. But please do not hesitate to contact me, or any member of the Board or staff, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions for how we can serve you better.
Report from the Board
Speaker of the House
Shannon Schweitzer, CEBT
2025 has been a busy year for EBAA and the Board of Directors. At the beginning of the year our Director of Regulations and Standards, Jennifer DeMatteo, and EBAA staff, like all EBAA members, were immersed in responding to new FDA guidances. Suddenly, concerns shifted to ensuring proper support was given to eye banks regarding sepsis and tuberculosis. In April, we found ourselves at the Pharma conference in a futile attempt to seek information from FDA. EBAA has fought “the good fight” all year trying to obtain and disseminate information to support our professional cause and to secure appropriate responses from the FDA.
Prior to the annual June meeting, two Town Halls were conducted and new potential Board members were presented. We made proposed changes to the bylaws; of them, the most notable change would allow two representatives (an eye banker and physician) from a single eye bank to hold a seat on the Board of Directors. This change was approved at the June meeting.
Following the Annual Meeting in June, we prepared for the Board’s orientation and strategic planning session in early August. During this session, the Board determined the association’s list of priorities for the coming year, updated our strategic plan, set goals to better align with member values, and also engaged in extensive discussions about member dues, the centrality of EBAA’s accreditation program, and how to adequately plan and implement the goals we had established.
To ensure that our plans and goals were responsive to our members’ needs and expectations, EBAA sent out the first membership-wide survey in many years in an effort to open the lines of communication and determine how to better serve our members. Members’ responses will also help us support our members as they navigate the most current and pressing issues in the profession.
While we would like to solve all the problems facing our members, this is obviously not practical. But as we close out 2025, I want you to know that your Board of Directors and your association remain deeply committed not only to our surgeons and recipients, but also to navigating a path to actionable solutions for these many challenges. Because, we are not only stronger together, but we can accomplish more when we work within the eye banking and corneal transplantation community.
