A few of the women making significant contributions to optical
By David Goldberg
To mark Women’s History Month, Optical Prism is highlighting a few of the impressive and fierce women considered to be among the most transformative and visionary leaders in the world of eye care and eyewear.
We run down their achievements, what motivates them to succeed and how they hope to inspire the next generation of young eyewear designers and eye care professionals.
Wallatta Delvaille,
Export sales manager
WestGroupe.
Wallatta Delvaille has been with WestGroupe since 2007, rising through the ranks from a customer service position to export sales manager.
She’s now responsible for WestGroupe’s biggest clients and growing the brand on an international scale.
“I attribute my success to witnessing women in my community making a difference each day,” says Delvaille. “My strengths are my positivity and my determination. These qualities have directed me throughout life. I enjoy helping others, solving problems and setting procedures in place that make a difference in the day-to-day and long-term.”
Delvaille says her main motivation is her daughter and she wants to continue encouraging all young women to be true to themselves and motivated to take a seat at every table.
“I was very fortunate to be surrounded by many intelligent, ambitious, dynamic, bold and brave women. These women taught me so much without even knowing. They inspired me to be the best version of myself and I hope to motivate others too.”
Mylène Émond,
Eastern Canada sales manager
WestGroupe.
With more than 20 years in the optical industry, Mylène Émond is a triple threat.
Not only is she a certified optician, but she holds a degree in fashion marketing and has studied business and sales management.
Émond joined WestGroupe in 2010 as a sales rep and has worked her way up to Eastern Canada sales director. She says the secret behind her success is the genuine passion she has for her career.
“Passion isn’t something you can fake. It must authentically come from within. I’m committed to being professional, positive and relentlessly ambitious. I’m not afraid to think outside the box and I have the privilege of working for an amazing company that pushes me in this direction and who supports me in all my projects and ideas.”
Émond says raising a daughter by herself taught her how to persevere through challenges and she says that family is her motivation.
“I am surrounded by the best people in the industry.”
Isabelle Tremblay-Dawson,
Director of sales & marketing,
Transitions, Essilor Group Canada
For 20 years, Isabelle Tremblay-Dawson has been building Transitions’ stellar brand reputation and client relationships across the industry.
She says raising her daughters, along with her passion for eye care, has kept her motivated throughout her notable career.
“I build my teams with a strong sense of purpose and meaning and I consistently nurture and champion them along the way. Leading with this mindset and my enthusiasm for the Transitions brand has helped me achieve the success that I have today.”
When it comes to inspiration, Tremblay says she takes cues from her mother who lives with age-related macular degeneration.
“My mother possesses a high level of emotional intelligence and has always maintained a healthy work/life balance. She taught me about the law of attraction and how adversity can be a stepping stone to greatness rather than a roadblock. I believe that behind every successful woman is a group of successful women that have her back.”
Sheena Taff,
Optician
OpticianAboutTown.com
Sheena Taff is an optician, optical blogger, eyeglass curator and style enthusiast based in British Columbia.
Raised by two opticians, she combined her interests in fashion, beauty and design to take her family business to the next level.
And with her blog, OpticianAboutTown.com, Taff is trying to change the negative narrative surrounding certain types of eyewear.
“Glasses are an extension of your personality and a wonderful way to express yourself. The experience of getting glasses can be such a positive and enlightening process when you are working with a skilled optician.”
Taff is committed to elevating the optical experience and her ultimate goal is to always make her clients feel confident in their glasses.
Her advice to up-and-coming opticians is to harness the power of your network locally and beyond to become better eye care professionals.
“Since I became an optician, I have found a supportive and inspiring community of fellow ECPs from around the world. We have formed friendships and have evolved together and I am endlessly grateful for their encouragement.”
Rachel Hill,
Optician & co-owner
Personal Optical
Winner of the 2021 Transitions Innovation award, Rachel Hill is an optician, eyewear fashionista and owner of Personal Optical in St. Catharines, Ont.
Along with promoting Transitions lenses at her eyewear shop, Hill is also part of the company’s Canadian Pro-Forum, providing insights to the company on a variety of industry topics, issues and trends.
“There are many factors to success. Everyone knows hard work is key, but passion is something different. You can become an optician, but there is a difference in just going to work and being passionate about your profession. I love what I do and anyone who knows me can see that.”
Hill says she lives and breathes eye care and she credits her success to the amazing team surrounding her.
“There are many strong women in this industry I look up to and I am honoured to learn from. But specifically, I am so proud to know Dr. Diana Monea in Calgary, Alta. She is a talented optometrist, wonderful to talk to, learn from and she is very supportive.”
Jennifer Bishop,
President
Opticians Association of Canada
Jennifer Bishop is president of the Opticians Association of Canada while also serving as the contract manager at Costco Optical in Dartmouth, N.S.
Having worked in three of the Atlantic provinces, Bishop says the secret to a successful and fulfilling career is to make a move and take a leap of faith now and then.
“There have been times involving significant changes that required me changing both position and location and even when others were advising me to be cautious, my inner voice told me to put the fear aside and accept the challenges. As it turned out, those decisions to take a leap of faith were the best. I’d never learned so much, laughed so hard, made so many work friends and been part of so many rewarding experiences with clients as I have over the years.”
Bishop says that despite these changing times brought on by the pandemic, she believes that opticians make a difference and are an integral part of taking care of the public’s vision care needs.