Heidi is an optometrist and owner at Custom Eyecare in Darby Street, Cooks Hill. She is a Novocastrian and has been practicing in Newcastle since 2002. She is a keen advocate supporting the profession and is the current Optometry Australia NSW/ACT President, as well as the NSW President for CCLSA (Cornea and Contact Lens Society of Oceania), and a CASA Credentialed Optometrist. She received her Bachelor of Optometry with honours from UNSW, Sydney in 2001, and completed her Grad Cert Ocular Therapeutics in 2011. In 2014 she completed an Effective Communication course through the Australian Graduate School of Management, Australian School of Business (UNSW).Custom Eyecare is an international clinical trial site, currently involved in a US-based clinical trial, as well as an Australian-based clinical study exploring new developments in contact lenses and myopia control. Heidi has experience in specialty contact lens fitting (soft, rigid corneal, orthokeratology, hybrid, piggyback, miniscleral and scleral contact lenses).Recent Public Engagements:* CCLSA NSW President 2022 - current* Optometry Australia (OA) NSW/ACT President 2023 - current* CCLSA national board member 2020 - current* CASA Credentialed Optometrist 2023 - current* Clinical trial practitioner, 2023 - current* Guest lecturer, University of Newcastle * ABC radio presenter: Dec 2013, May 2014, Dec 2019* Visiting clinical supervisor at the UNSW Optometry Clinic, 2014 & 2015* Writer for Optometrists Association Contact Lens magazine 2013, 2016, 2021, 2022* Volunteer Optometrist, Special Olympics 2012 & 2013* Lectured at Super Sunday conference Sydney 2019 & 2016, and WAVE Perth 2016, TLC Hobart 2020.* Lectured at ICCLC conference, Sydney 2022, Gold Coast 2019 and 2015.* Co-presented with an ophthalmologist at Hunter Postgraduate Medical Institute (HPMI) Newcastle Weekend Conference 2013 & 2016.* Alcon Vision Care: Expert panel member for key opinion group* Speaker and presenter for launching new contact lens products 2014 - 2022* OA Board Member, Competency Standards Committee, Melbourne 2013 & 2020* Lecturing on “emergency eye treatment and triaging eye conditions” to practice nurses, 2013.* In house training for three GP practices in our region. * Developed and contributed the ocular content for GP training modules. Specialties: keratoconus contact lens fitting, Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) lenses, Orthokeratology, troubleshooting problems with glasses especially multifocals; all types of contact lenses especially disposables, behavioural optometrist