EyeCare4Kids Arizona is focused on expansion to assist more children in the Valley of the Sun. The nonprofit has hired its first optometrist and two senior staff members to accelerate growth of both the permanent clinic, the Alhambra Vision Clinic in Glendale, Arizona, and Mobile Vision Clinic. The organization will transition from a completely volunteer-driven organization to a dedicated staff of employees with the capacity to serve under-resourced children and families across the state. In order to stabilize operations to meet community needs, the current volunteer corps will be augmented with hired optometrists and clinic staff, as well as funds to pay for lab services and eyeglass frames.
Dr. Inga Fors has joined EC4K AZ and in her new role will work with low-income, visually impaired children and underserved families. Services are offered to local schools, Native American reservations and rural communities in the Mobile Vision Clinic. Services include professional eye exams, vision screening and glasses.
Cecil Swyers, a long-time volunteer Executive Director has been hired by EC4K AZ and promoted to Senior Executive Director. Cecil will focus on the operation of the Mobile Vision Clinic, optical equipment, maintaining existing partnerships and vendors, and the future vision of the non-profit. Barbara Marsh-Wetherell has also been hired in the position of Executive Director. She will manage the Alhambra Vision Clinic, organizational structure / staffing, budget, fundraising, and marketing / education.
“EC4K AZ has been a completely volunteer organization for the last decade,” said Swyers, “Our goal is to grow the number of children we can serve in the Phoenix valley via our Alhambra Family Resource Center facility and within the state with the Mobile Vision Clinic. Dr. Fors’ hiring is the first step in growing this organization!”
Dr. Fors attended Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee, and completed externships in Vision Therapy, Pediatrics, and Neuro Rehab Optometry in Chandler, Arizona, and an Ocular Disease and Primary Care externship at Malcolm Randall VA in Gainesville, Florida. Her passion is Neuro Rehab and she has worked, given educational lectures, and trained staff for Vision Therapy and Neuro Rehab in Phoenix and in Northern Californ
Dr. Fors is a member of the American Optometric Association, the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association, and The Lion’s Club, and volunteers for school screenings and sports vision screenings. She is midway through the multiyear fellowship process for the Neuro-Optometric Rehab Association and The College of Optometrists in Vision Development. She has been on several volunteer medical mission trips with SVOSH International to provide eye care in third-world countries including Mexico and Costa Rica. Dr. Fors has been in private practice since 2017 in Neuro Rehab, Pediatrics, Vision Therapy, Ocular Disease and Primary Care.
Swyers is the president of CBD/Tomey USA and is intimately involved in the design and development of the latest diagnostic instrumentation for optometrists and ophthalmologists around the world. He won the 2017 Arizona Optometric Association Sight Conservation Award for Significant Work. Swyers started the all-volunteer EC4K AZ Chapter in 2007 and has overseen all activities and services since that time. He is the heart and soul of the Arizona organization.
Marsh-Wetherell (BMW) founded Marsh-Wetherell, LLC 1989 and provides marketing and public relations service to a global audience. Originally located in Silicon Valley, BMW volunteered and served on the boards of a number of San Francisco Bay Area non-profit organizations. BMW has volunteered in various capacities for EC4K AZ since 2021.