An alumna of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry has been elected president of SECO International, a globally-recognized association for optometry.

Dr. Lynn Hammonds, who graduated from the School in 1991, is the second woman to be elected president of SECO International. The first was elected in 1933. Hammonds was elected president at SECO 2017, which was held in Atlanta, Georgia, where SECO International is headquartered.

Hammonds received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, and her Doctor of Optometry degree from the UAB School of Optometry. After graduating from the School, she completed a residency in Geriatric and Low Vision Rehabilitative Optometry at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which is one of the School’s affiliated programs.

She has practiced optometry at EyeCare Associates in Hoover since 1996 and has served as a clinical associate professor for the School.

Hammonds is a member of the Alabama Optometric Association, for which she has served as president and has been named Optometrist of the Year, and is also a member of the Birmingham Area Optometric Society. Hammonds has served on the advisory board of VisionAmerica, the Alabama Board of Optometry and the board of directors for EyeCare Associates, Inc. She also serves as chair of the Scholarships and Award Committee for Optometry Cares - the AOA Foundation and is on the Alabama State Board of Scholarships and Awards for Optometry.

She has served as president of the UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association and was named the 2012 Alumna of the Year. She joined the executive council of SECO International in 2013, and served as president elect in 2016.

“I’m honored to serve SECO International in this capacity and continue the important, excellent work (former president) Dr. (Ted) McElroy began,” said Hammonds. “During my year as president, we will continue to focus on new ways of delivering education to our attendees.”

Hammonds is the third graduate of the School to be elected president of SECO International. Dr. Doug Clark, a 1982 graduate, was president in 2007, and Dr. C. Tommy Crooks, a 1979 graduate, was president in 1997.

"Optometric education is in good hands with Dr. Lynn Hammonds at the helm of SECO this year," said Clark. "Her years of experience with the Alabama Optometric Association and her 10 years of service on the Alabama State Board have provided her with the experience and passion required to develop outstanding education opportunities not just in the Southeast but across the worldwide family of optometry."

Hammonds will be the guest speaker for the School of Optometry Class of 2017 convocation and hooding ceremony.

SECO International is a not-for-profit association with members in the southeastern states of the US, and its annual meetings attract more than 6,000 optometrists and ophthalmic professionals from around the world.