Barbara Evers is now serving as the new executive director of the EyeSight Foundation of Alabama (EFA) where she succeeds Torrey DeKeyser, who has retired after holding the post for 22 years.

"It is a thrill to support research seeking cures for macular degeneration and other eye diseases, along with supporting medical education and community-based nonprofits that meet needs of Alabama residents with vision impairment," Evers said.

It was personal experience with eye care that motivated Evers to join EFA where she served as assistant controller before her new post. When her son was 10, he was struck in the eye with a baseball, and was rushed to the Emergency Department at Callahan Eye Hospital. She was so impressed with the care he received that she wrote a letter to UAB leadership in appreciation of the work of the eye hospital.

The EyeSight Foundation was founded in 1997 after the sale of the former Eye Foundation Hospital--now Callahan Eye Hospital--to UAB. Through the endowment created from that sale, the Foundation offers grants to promote preventive and routine eye care along with vision screenings and follow-up care; eye care for the indigent; low vision and rehabilitation services; geographic access to eye care; training of ophthalmologists; and eye research of all kinds.