Board of Directors

Forrest J. Ellis MD - Founder and CEO

• Dr. Ellis, a board-certified ophthalmologist, has over 25 years of experience in the fields of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and Ophthalmic Plastics, Orbital and Reconstructive Surgery.  He is a graduate of Indiana University with a BA in Economics (honors), and the Indiana University School of Medicine. Following residency at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and fellowships at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute with David Guyton M.D., Dr. Ellis moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he served as co-director of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital for 11 years. He also served on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
  
• Dr. Ellis has published numerous articles in the fields of pediatric ophthalmology, oculoplastic surgery, and ophthalmic optics. He served on the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s writing committee for the Basic Science series on ophthalmic optics. In addition, Dr. Ellis served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus from 2007-2019.
• Dr. Ellis remains active in research and publication and has served as a course director and/or co-director on many occasions, teaching techniques in adult strabismus and in pediatric ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Ellis has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international conferences, including named lectureships and visiting professorships.
• In 2007, Dr. Ellis joined Northern Virginia Ophthalmology Associates, where he is in the private practice of ophthalmology. He has been listed as a “top doctor” both regionally and nationally. Dr. Ellis’s areas of recognized expertise include adult and pediatric strabismus surgery, correction of congenital and acquired eyelid and orbital abnormalities, tear duct surgery, and pediatric cataract surgery.  
• Dr. Ellis founded JelliSee Ophthalmics in 2019 to develop a fully accommodating monofocal IOL that would function within the human eye.

Amy R. Jeffery MD

• Dr. Jeffery is in practice with Northern Virginia Ophthalmology Associates and has over 20 years of experience in the fields of pediatric ophthalmology and neuro-ophthalmology — the only physician in the DC metro area trained in both specialties. Dr. Jeffery served on the faculty at Children's National Medical Center and then moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where for 11 years she served as co-director of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital -- one of the top Children's Hospitals in the nation. She also served on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She has delivered numerous lectures and presentations at the national, regional, and local levels and has authored several original scientific articles and chapters. Dr. Jeffery's areas of recognized expertise include amblyopia, adult and pediatric strabismus, neonatal ophthalmology and ROP, neurologic diseases affecting the eye, nerve palsies, tumors, and optic neuropathies.
  
• Dr. Jeffery is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine. Following residency there she participated in a Pediatric Ophthalmology / Strabismus Fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada and a Neuro-Ophthalmology Fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Jeffery is Board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology.

Michael J. Malesardi, CPA - Chief Financial Officer

• Mr. Malesardi currently serves as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of The Gladstone Companies, Inc., an alternative asset manager. Mr. Malesardi has served in financial leadership roles of several public and private companies including Presidio Networked Solutions, AES Corporation, OmniSky, PSINet and Watson Wyatt. He also served as SVP of HR and Chief Ethics Officer of NVR. He started his career with Price Waterhouse in Washington, DC and Calgary, Alberta, rising to Audit Senior Manager. He has been involved in two IPOs along with numerous secondary offerings and both buy and sell-side M&A transactions. A CPA licensed in Virginia, Mr. Malesardi is a graduate of Washington and Lee University with a B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting. He is a member of the AICPA and Virginia Society of CPAs, the Tech CFO Network of the Greater Washington Area, Riverbend Capital (an angel investing group) and has served as a chapter president and a regional board member of Financial Executives International.

Jerry C. Arthur

• Jerry Arthur received his BS in Industrial Management from Purdue University. He is the former CEO of Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing. Arthur began his career at Eli Lilly in 1962 as part of Lilly's engineering division. He moved on to become the President of Cook Pharmaceutical Solutions and Cook Imaging. In 2004, Arthur became the founding president of Cook Pharmica, LLC, which is a division of Cook Medical and subsidiary of the Cook Group. He left his position at Cook in 2008 and started working as the Chairman and CEO of Grand River Aseptic in 2010. In 2014, Arthur ended his tenure as CEO, but remained the Board Chairperson of the company.
  
• Mr. Arthur has remained connected to IUPUI as a corporate member of the Dean's Industry Advisory Council (DIAC) at IUPUI's Purdue School of Engineering and Technology. He also participated as an integral volunteer on the Yurtseven International Initiatives Fund Steering Committee. In 2006, he received the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology's Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2011, Arthur and his wife, Catherine, were awarded the IUPUI Spirit of Philanthropy Award for their support of the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology. Following the reward, they continued their generous support of the school by donating to the Motorsports Innovation Fund. Their gift supported the first all-women team to compete in the Purdue Grand Prix.

Adrienne Graves, Ph.D.

• Dr. Graves is a visual scientist by training and a global industry leader in ophthalmology. As the former CEO of Santen Inc., she successfully established a strong global presence, brought multiple ophthalmic products through development to approval and commercialization, and led global teams through successful acquisitions and partnerships. At Santen, Dr. Graves served as Sr. VP of Worldwide Clinical Development (US, Europe, and Japan) for 7 years and CEO for 8 years. Prior to Santen, she spent 9 years at Alcon, joining as Sr. Scientist to establish Alcon's first Retinal Electrophysiology Laboratory. She progressed through roles of increasing responsibility in R&D, including directing clinical development in multiple therapeutic areas and serving as Director of International Ophthalmology. Dr. Graves currently serves as an Independent Director on the boards of Iveric Bio, Qlaris Bio, Nicox S.A., Surface Ophthalmics, Oxurion, TherOptix, and Greenbrook TMS. Dr. Graves also serves as Director on the following Foundation Boards: ASCRS Foundation, Glaucoma Research Foundation, American Academy of Ophthalmology Foundation (Emeritus), Retina Global, Himalayan Cataract Project, Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB), and the RD (Retinal Degeneration) Fund. Dr. Graves co-founded Glaucoma 360 and OWL (Ophthalmic World Leaders, formerly Ophthalmic Women Leaders). Her recent honors include the Visionary Award from Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Catalyst Award from Glaucoma Research Foundation, the Visionary Award from OWL, the Bernice Brown Memorial Lecture and award from Women in Ophthalmology, and The Ophthalmologist 2021 Power List.
• Dr. Graves received an AB with Honors in Psychology from Brown University, a Ph.D. in Psychobiology/Neuroscience from the University of Michigan, and she completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Visual Neuroscience at the University of Paris. She is a Visionary Innovation Mentor at the Ophthalmic Innovation Program at Stanford University.

Dimitri Azar MD, MBA

• Dr. Azar is the Chief Executive Officer for Twenty/Twenty Therapeutics, a partnership between Verily Life Sciences (Alphabet/Google) and Santen Pharmaceuticals. He is the former Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Illinois-Chicago and former Dean of the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Dr. Azar is an ophthalmic surgeon who has made significant contributions to the treatment of corneal diseases and to advances in refractive surgery. He has served as a key adviser on Verily’s ophthalmic projects since 2014.
  
• Dr. Azar completed his residency and fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School. He was a Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School before joining the University of Illinois as Head of the Ophthalmology Department. Dr. Azar received his M.D. from American University of Beirut and his MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. He is a former board member of Novartis.