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Women’s History/?EljE Cljarlotte J)o8t
Thursday, March 4, 2004
HiST(,»RY
Paula R. Newsome, O.D., M.S. F.A.A.O.
By Fran Farrer-Nash
THE CHARLOTTE POST
In 1984, Paula Newsome
arrived in Charlotte driving an
old Tbyota and has since been
blessed with extensive experi
ences and opportunities. The
most impressive being, building
her optometric practice into a
million dollar operation with
state of the art equipment and a
large base of patients.
Paula :x)nsiders her success
and the growth of her business
as blessings. Blessings are
bestowed on individuals that
share their God given gifts and
give back to the' community with
the faith of a mustard seed.
Paula’s sharings begin at home
as an elementary school tutor,
and extend abroad.
“A people without a vision
shall perish.” “lb who much is
given, much is required.” “I feel
that I have been blessed with .so
much that going to do mission,
work is one small way of giving
back. Once every other year and
twice on the off years, 1 go to
Guyana, South America and
Jamaica. The work we do is
under very different conditions
from what I do in the United
States. First, there is no air con
ditioning and we are working
with the aid of a generator if we
have that. ITie people are so
appreciative of the work that we
do that although we may see 100
people in a day, we do not tire
because it is pait of our tithing of
our talents. We are working
with people who walk oi* boat to
get to us for, in some cases miles,
just so that we can help them
with their eyes. I have seen
patients in Guyana cry because
they could finally see their chil
dren or jump and run because
they have enough eye drops to
last them for a year. We do a lot
of good on those trips that are
sponsored by the Global
Outreach Ministry at Friendship
Missionary Baptist Church,”
shares Paula.
A pioneer in her own right,
Newsome has a plethora of firsta
to her credit. She was the first
African-American to graduate
from UAB School of Optometry
Newsome
ulty at UMSL School of
Optometry; successfully com
plete a residency at The Eye
Institute-PCO,on the faculty of
Vision Expo, International Vision
Expo for 15 years, on Vision
Council of America; serve on the
AOA’s Primary Care Committee,
optometrist to be awarded a
Kellogg Leadership Award; win a
American Optometric
Foundation Award, serve on the
NC State Optometric Society’s
Third Party Committee;
spokesperson for the Vision
Council of America; consult with
Tiansitions Optical and be on
their education faculty, and con
sult with the Spectacle Lens
Group of Johnson and Johnson.
But most impressive is being the
first African-American female to
be inducted into the American
Academy of Optometry, to prac
tice in the state of Missouri,
establish a practice of optometry
in North Carolina and serve on
the AOA’s State Legislative
Affairs Division, Scope of
Practice. These accomplish
ments truly depicts “Women’s
History.”
Involved in the community,
Paula is chairperson of board of
directors at Discovery Place
Science Museum, member Jack
and Jill of America Inc., The
Links Inc. and Delta Sigma
Theta Inc, and member board of
directors. University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill General
Alumni Association.
For her involvement, Paula
has received the Crystal Award
presented by Julianne Malveaux
at the NABPW National
Convention in 1998, and Harvey
Beech Outstanding Alumnus
Award, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2000.
She has been featured in numer
ous publications including
Southern Journal of Optometry,
Review of Optometry and
Optometry Tbday.
A native of Wilmington,.
Paula received her B.A. in biolo
gy in 1977 from University of
North Carolina Chapel Hill,
O.D. in optometry and M.S. in
Physiological Optics in 1981
from University of Alabama, and
primary care residency in 1982
from Pennsylvania College of
Optometry in 1982.
To^ further her education,
Paula received a fellowship from
American Academy of
Optometry, New Orleans, La in
1988, and was the first African-
American female in the covmtry
to become a fellow.
Paula’s extensive work expe
rience includes assistant profes
sor, University of Missouri,
where she taught ocular phar
macology, ocular pathology, pre
clinic, geriatric and pediatric
optometry 1982-1984, and
instructor at Pennsylvania
College of Optometry, teaching
geometric optics for the summer
program 1981-1982. Beating all
odds and defying all skeptics,
Paula started her private prac
tice. Apogee Vision Care, in 1984.
Seeking to improve the visual
needs of the community, Paula
became president of AAA Vision
Care Inc., a fully integrated prac
tice with 3.5 optometrists and
one ophthalmologist on staff full
time and 15 employees in two
offices in April 1997. Currently,
Paula is president of Advantage
Vision Care with a staff of
eight.
In cooperation with two oth
ers, Paula opened Advantage
Learning Center, a 501 C-3 non
profit academic center specializ
ing in afterschool programs,
summer camps and tutorials for
remediation and enhancement
concentrating on children in
grades K-5. The premise was to
help bridge the gap in test scores
for students in Mecklenburg
County.
Paula is the proud mother of
an 8-year-old daughter, Ayana
Renee. They are members of
Friendship Missionary Baptist
Church, where Paula is a
Sunday school teacher.
Most memorable experience:
Meeting Nelson Mandela
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