Blindness and Low Vision Studies
General News
In North Texas, there are only two optometrists providing low vision exams. That’s a huge void in a big space, one Lea Rowe, MS ‘25, a certified low vision specialist, recognized.
While serving as program director for the Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth, Rowe started exploring programs could help address that need. The search led her to the Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) program in Low Vision Rehabilitation (LVR) at Drexel University, Elkins Park campus.
“That was when I discovered the virtual platform at Drexel that was able to meet my independent needs that allowed me to work full-time and focus on that area of study. It was a unique opportunity for me,” said Rowe.
That opportunity turned into a Master of Science degree in LVR from Drexel, which in turn laid the foundation for the advancement of her career.
Now, she’s recently been named the new executive director of the Blinded Veterans Association. First formed in 1945, it’s the only congressionally chartered Veterans Service Organization (VSO) exclusively dedicated to representing and assisting more than 100,000 blind or visually impaired U.S. veterans and their families. She had served in a dual role for the organization as interim executive director for four months and the national legislative director since January 2025, just as she was finishing her degree from Drexel.
“It’s an opportunity to make changes from the top down,” said Rowe, who has relocated from Texas to Virginia for her new position. “I’ve seen how changes in legislation were affecting veterans and how it was trickling down and impacting boots on the ground. This is an opportunity to take my experience, knowledge, and education and help those changes make the work easier and more effective.”
Rowe said her experiences in Drexel’s LVR program, along with her internship at the William Feinbloom Low Vision Rehabilitation Center housed at The Eye Institute (TEI). As the clinical training facility for students in the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, it provided meaningful, hands-on interactions with future optometrists, an opportunity she considers invaluable.
“To really see that passion from the doctors and what they are looking at and how we, as low vision specialists, can provide that kind of support to patients and clients was unique,” said Rowe. “To be involved with the program, to see its history and build upon the exciting ideas for the future, will help me succeed more in my world now.”
Her goals at the Blinded Veterans Association are to offer a full-on rehabilitation component for those who are transitioning into activating their benefits and services, and to further build the community of blind and low vision veterans to let them know they are not alone.
In an effort to accomplish those goals, Rowe has recruited another graduate of the Drexel program from her class, Domonique Lawless, MS ‘25, as national program director. Rowe testified on March 2 in front of both the Senate and House Committees on Veterans Affairs on the impact of the Blinded Veterans Association.
Rowe brings 21 years of experience in nonprofit management to her new position. Before her work with Lighthouse for the Blind, she was business solutions manager and special projects coordinator for Tarrant County (Texas) Public Health, and as executive director for the Charis Health Center in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Health from the University of Texas Tyler before completing her master’s and receiving a certificate as a low vision therapist at Drexel.
