About Us
Board of Directors
Grace Parks Mitchell, R.N., M.A. - Director
Grace Parks Mitchell joins the board as the representative of the Dr. Marshall M. Parks family. Grace and her husband, pediatric ophthalmologist Paul R. Mitchell, M.D., support the Children's Eye Foundation and other child health related causes. They reside in West Hartford, Connecticut.
John D. Baker, M.D. - Director
Dr. John D. Baker is a native of Detroit, Michigan, attended Wayne State University School of Medicine and completed his ophthalmology residency at Detroit General Hospital and the Kresge Eye Institute.
Florencio C. Ching, M.D. - Director
Dr. Florencio C. Ching obtained his medical degree from the University of the East RM Memorial Medical Center in the Philippines and completed his residency in ophthalmology at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
Sheryl J. Menacker, M.D. - Director
Dr. Sheryl J. Menacker graduated cum laude from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1982. Following the completion of her residency in ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania, she pursued a fellowship in Pediatric Ophthalmology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Sidney J. Silver, Esq. - Director
Sidney Silver is a founding partner of Silver, Freedman & Taff, a 15-member law firm in Washington, D.C. He represents a variety of mature and growing companies in the retail, wholesale, service and manufacturing businesses and has negotiated a wide variety of mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and license agreements in Europe, the Americas and Asia.
Merrie Spaeth - Director
Merrie Spaeth has a unique background in media, government, politics, business and the entertainment industry. She is a pioneer in communication theory and executive training, and founded Dallas-based Spaeth Communications, Inc. in 1987.
Mohamad S. Jaafar, M.D. - AAPOS Representative
Dr. Mohamad S. Jaafar is currently professor of ophthalmology and pediatrics at the George Washington University and chief of the Division of Ophthalmology at Children's National Medical Center. He also serves as director of the Pediatric Ophthalmology Fellowship Program, the oldest, largest and most prestigious such fellowship in the world.
Richard W. Hertle, M.D. - Director
Dr. Richard W. Hertle, is one of the most recent additions to the Children's Eye Foundation. As chief of the new Division of Pediatric Ophthalmology and director of the Laboratory of Visual and Ocular Motor Physiology, Dr. Hertle brings a wealth of expertise and a particular interest in the Parks Database Project.
Robert D. Gross, M.B.A., M.D. - Director
Dr. Robert D. Gross is a graduate of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and received his training in ophthalmology at Northwestern University in Chicago and Boston University in Boston.