The 2026 EBAA Annual Meeting was held June 3-6, in Indianapolis. If you were unable to attend, here is an overview of the event. The Annual Meeting Package will be available on eyeLearn soon. Mark your calendar to join us June 1-3, 2027, in Austin, for #EBAA2027!
Welcome to the “Crossroads of America”!
The EBAA membership gathered in the Midwest for four days of learning, networking, and fun.
#EBAA2026 kicked off with a leadership add-on session conducted by Jessica Custer, PhD, titled, “Fostering Inclusive & Resilient Teams”, focusing on building psychological safety, creating inclusive teams, and reducing employee burnout.
Jessica later educated all our attendees during a general session with the keynote, “Building Inclusive Futures: Strategies that Strengthen People, Culture, and Business.”
General Sessions
Over the course of the meeting, four General Sessions were held. These sessions are included in our Annual Meeting Package, which will be available for purchase on EyeLearn in the coming weeks. Annual Meeting registrants may access the recordings free of charge.
Included in these sessions were touching testimonies from a cornea recipient and a donor mother. Jessica Moore, a three-time cornea recipient, spoke to us about her regained sight following a severe fungal infection, while Jenn McBride bravely described how her daughter Grace’s gift of sight helped pull her out of the darkest stages of grief.
Marianne Price, PhD, delivered our first keynote, “Current Trends in Corneal Transplantation” and later in the week, Mark A. Greiner, MD, led a panel discussion, “Emerging Therapies in Eye Banking: When Will We Get There?”
Other general session topics included:
- Everyone Matters: The Shared Responsibility of Building Organizational Culture
- 2026 Eye Donation Month: It Only Takes a Minute
- State of the Association: Kevin Corcoran, EBAA President & CEO
Concurrent Sessions
Beyond our General Sessions, our registrants cold select individual sessions to attend based on their professional role or interests. These included:
- Donor, Partner, Community Relations Workshop: Creating Impactful Eye Bank Events
- Quality Assurance Workshop: Deviation Detectives: Cracking the Case Before the Inspectors Arrive
- Live Demonstration: Know Your REF: Recovery, Evaluation, and Processing
- Technical Skills Workshop
- Feedback that Fuels Performance: Recovery Training Panel Discussion
- Optimizing Pre-Donation Care: From Donor Coordination to Ocular Quality
- HR Essentials for Non-HR Professionals
- Who’s Next? Creating a Succession Plan You Can Trust
- Bridging Silos Between Technical and Quality
- Beyond Just the Wet Lab: Engaging with Fellows and Surgeons
Innovative Solutions Showcase
Last year’s Innovative Solutions Showcase, an exploration of new products and services for eye banks, was so successful that we brought it back and expanded the program. This year, four companies highlighted how their products and services can help our members better serve surgeons and patients, resulting in better surgical outcomes. Participating companies were Moria, ZenQMS, Corza Medical, and SPARC.
Eye Donation Month Theme Announcement
During Friday’s General Session, EBAA announced the new theme for Eye Donation Month 2026: It Only Takes a Minute
This year’s campaign represents a departure from previous years, putting the focus on the “ask” of donor registration. Aimed at a younger, more statistically altruistic age-group, this year’s main video is only a minute long, with other 15 second versions, making them easily digestible on social media. EBAA is partnering with Student Organ Donation Advocates (SODA), and Donate Life America to extend the reach of campaign efforts. We are also tapping social media content creators / influencers to spread Eye Donation Month’s registration messaging.
Campaign materials and toolkit will be posted to eyedontionmonth.org in the coming weeks.
Thursday Night Social: EBAA at the Racetrack
On Thursday, attendees were treated to a night at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum – home to the world-famous Indy 500. Members had the rare opportunity to step into actual Indy cars, test their driving skills in simulators, and take a pitstop challenge.
While enjoying dinner from Jug’s Chicken – the official caterer of the Indy 500, members had full access to the museum, taking in auto-racing’s storied history, complete with Indy cars from the past in pristine condition, rings received by winners, and the helmets and driver suits worn by the drivers over the years. Thank you to host eye bank, VisionFirst, for sponsoring this fun evening!
House of Delegates
Speaker of the House, Shannon Schweitzer, conducted this year’s House of Delegates Meeting. The first item of business was electing the next Board of Directors. Elected members were:
- Chris Hanna, MBA, CEBT, Utah Lions Eye Bank (Chair-Elect)
- Eric Meinecke, CEBT, Georgia Eye Bank (Secretary/Treasurer)
- Esther Baker, MA, MBA, Iowa Lions Eye Bank (Speaker of the House)
- Ingrid Schunder, MBA, CEBT, Precision Ocular Network (At-Large Member)
- Lisa Brooks, CEBT, CTBS, VisionFirst (At-Large Member)
- Elizabeth Fout, CEB, Beauty of Sight (At-Large Member)
Following elections, our delegates approved an administrative amendment to the bylaws.
Chris Hanna’s election as Chair-Elect left a second year of his At-Large Director term vacant. Chair Winston Chamberlain, MD, PhD, proposed and the Board of Directors unanimously approved Amy Lin, MD, of Utah Lions Eye Bank as an At-Large Member for the remainder of Chris Hanna’s term.
Awards Luncheon
Friday afternoon EBAA hosted our annual Awards Luncheon. Guests enjoyed their meal as our awardees were recognized for their contributions to the association and to our shared mission to restore sight and transform lives. This year’s award recipients included:
Leonard Heise Award
Chris Hanna, MBA, CEBT
Utah Lions Eye Bank
Optics Award
Caroline Miller
Eversight
Crystal Cornea Award
Phillip Hester
Comic Book Artist and Writer
Gift of Sight Award
Dillon Pitcher
Wayne County Coroner’s Office
Scientific Symposium, Physician Luncheon, and Medical Director Symposium
The meeting concluded with Saturday’s highly anticipated Scientific Symposium, Physician Luncheon, and Medical Directors Symposium.
The Symposium highlighted the newest research and innovation in eye banking. Fourteen abstracts and one invited session were presented during the symposium – the full program is available.
The Best Paper of Session Award, supported by AltruVision, was presented to Eli Monshon, a medical student from the University of Iowa for his presentation, “Mitochondrial Responses to Hyperglycemia and Insulin Rescue in Human Corneal Endothelium.”
Closing out #EBAA2026 was the Medical Director Symposium. The session featured presentations on infectious disease transmission, adverse events reporting, accreditation updates, medical director dilemmas, and guidance on how to be an advocate for eye banking.
Thank you!
Our EBAA Annual Meeting is a significant undertaking which wouldn’t happen without the help of individuals from across the community. Thank you to all the sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, and volunteers who made our meeting a scuccess! We appreciate all the organizations who donated supplies, instruments, and ocular tissue for demonstration and we are indebted to the faculty and moderators who facilitate these learning opportunities.
We’ll see you in Austin!
