Tad R. Kosanovich, O.D., was elected to the AOA Board of Trustees at the 126th Annual AOA Congress & 53rd Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry’s Meeting® in June 2023 and was re-elected as trustee during the 127th Annual AOA Congress & 54th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry’s Meeting in June 2024.

As a member of the AOA Board of Trustees, Dr. Kosanovich is a member of the New Trustee Orientation Task Force and the Student Engagement Task Force. Dr. Kosanovich is the liaison trustee to the Ethics and Values Committee, the Evidence-Based Optometry Committee, the Commission on Ophthalmic Standards and the InfantSEE® and Children’s Vision Committee. He also serves as the liaison trustee to affiliate associations in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Additionally, he is the liaison trustee to optometry schools including Pacific University College of Optometry and Southern College of Optometry.

Dr. Kosanovich entered private practice in Englewood, Florida, in 1992, having received his doctor of optometry degree from the Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University in 1986 and completing an ocular disease residency at Omni Eye Services in Baltimore, Maryland. He has a history of leadership dating back to his time at Michigan College of Optometry, serving as class president for two years before being elected president of Ferris Optometry College Union of Students and representing Michigan by attending the AOSA national meeting. Dr. Kosanovich became active in his local Manasota Optometric Society in the 1990s, serving as president, and first became involved with the Florida Optometric Association (FOA) when he served on the FOA Charities Board, 1999-2004. Dr. Kosanovich was elected to the FOA Board in 2011, ascending to president for 2017-18.

He served as the AOA Third Party Center State Coordinator from 2014-2023. The state political action committee grew during his chairmanship for FOA ODEYEPAC from 2020-2023. He was appointed to the AOA State Government Relations Committee (SGRC) in 2018 and served through 2023.

During his tenure of service on FOA’s Legislative Committee, Florida achieved success by passing pro-optometry bills and stopping a multitude of anti-optometry pieces of legislation. As a member of the AOA SGRC, Dr. Kosanovich provided assistance to other state affiliates in their own legislative challenges.

In his community, Dr. Kosanovich has served on the board of his local YMCA and the Englewood Youth Foundation, chairing the latter’s Scholarship Committee. He is an active member of the Rotary Club of Englewood, serving as president in 2003-2004 and Rotary Area Governor for his district, 2009-2012.