Candidate Bio
Esther Baker, MA, MBA, joined Iowa Lions Eye Bank as executive director in January 2019. Esther has a background in non-profit management and program administration, strategic planning, change management, external relations, communication, and program evaluation. She was elected to her first term as an at-large member of the EBAA Board of Directors in June 2022. Her EBAA committee service includes four years on the Donor, Partner and Community Relations Committee and a two-year term on the Finance Committee. Esther also serves as the board liaison to the new DEI Committee. Esther was appointed to the Lions Club International Lions Eye Bank Core Group, which was formed in early 2020 to help set direction for all Lions eye banks and provide leadership to a larger global Lions Eye Bank working group, of which she is currently a member. Previous roles include special projects research associate at Strength in Numbers Consulting Group, executive director of Girls on the Run of Eastern Iowa, deputy director of the Iowa Tobacco Research Center in the University of Iowa College of Public Health, and public relations director of the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Science
Candidate Statement
It has been my privilege to represent the membership as an at-large member of the EBAA Board of Directors this term. The Board has been faced with some unique and formidable challenges in my first term on the board. We have worked arduously to fully evaluate and consider numerous complex issues facing the organization and the eye banking community. As the leader of a university-based, mid-sized eye bank with a robust eye bank-driven research program, located in a primarily rural state, I want to continue to be the voice on the board for the unique needs and challenges of those eye banks that have had less representation within EBAA. Sometimes it can be easy to make assumptions about what is happening in the eye-banking world based on the experiences of larger eye banks or those in more populous areas. I will always strive to challenge those assumptions to ensure that all perspectives are considered.
I hope you will grant me the opportunity to continue this transformative and valuable work. I will continue to be a creative, independent-thinking servant leader, working hard to strengthen the organization and support all EBAA members.
Prior Service
- 2023 – 2024 – EBAA Board Liaison to the DEI Committee
- 2022 – 2024 – EBAA Board of Directors
- 2022 – 2024 – Finance Committee
- 2020 – 2024 – Donor, Partner and Community Relations Committee (Vice Chair – 2022 – 2023)
- Served on Hospital Development Toolkit Subcommittee of the Donor, Partner and Community Relations
