Bernie is the longest tenured employee of SightLife, joining the organization in July 1995. He is responsible for all eye bank operations, including all the people and activities involved in the donation process and the flow of ocular tissue in and out of the organization. Bernie has been directly or indirectly involved in more than 80% (over 40,000) of the corneal tissues provided for transplant by SightLife since 1969.
He is very involved within the eye bank industry. For the Eye Bank Association of America, Bernie serves on the Medical Advisory Board, which creates and revises the medical standards that govern eye banking, and as an Inspector on the Accreditation Board, which determines EBAA accreditation status of eye banks. He is also the Chair of the Procedure Manual Subcommittee. In the past, Bernie has also served as Western Region President, on the EBAA Board of Directors, and as Vice Chair of the Technician Education Committee. Bernie is a member of the AAO and ASCRS course faculty for Femtosecond Laser Keratoplasty and served on the Cornea and External Disease course faculty at the University of Washington School of Medicine, educating Ophthalmology residents on eye banking.
Bernie received his Masters Degree in Health Administration from the University of Washington and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, also at the U of W. His hobbies include travel, sports, scuba diving, history and especially spending time with his wife, daughter and son. A first generation American of Greek and Italian decent, Bernie is originally from Spokane and has lived in the Seattle area since 1990.
Read more about Bernie in a profile published by the University of Washington.