Event Information

The Macular Degeneration Association (MDA) will host an educational program in beautiful Marietta, GA  on Saturday, August 17th, 2024. This program will cover the following subjects: All aspects of macular degeneration, geographic atrophy, diabetic eye disease, dry eye disease, and Nutrition.

The program will be held at The Hilton Atlanta/Marietta – 500 Powder Springs St. Marietta, GA,– self-parking.

Starting time is 8:30 am with check-in and breakfast and, it will end promptly at noon.

The program speaker is Julie Poteet, OD, MS, CNS, FOWNS-  Dr. Poteet is a distinguished member of the Macular Degeneration Association’s Medical Board. Dr. Poteet graduated from The New England College of Optometry and then completed a residency in primary care and ocular disease at the VA Medical System in Boston. At the VA, Dr. Poteet became interested in why some veterans seemed to age so differently than their peers and began questioning what lifestyle factors have the greatest impact on health and vitality.

She then went on to complete a Master of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine. After earning her Master’s degree, she then completed the requirements to become a Certified Nutrition Specialist in 2015. This is the most rigorous nutrition certification for doctors, and fewer than 15 optometrists in the U.S. have it.

Dr. Poteet served as Vice President of the Ocular Wellness & Nutrition Society (OWNS) for six years under her mentor Dr. Stuart Richer, and she was OWNS President for three years. She has written and lectured extensively on the microbiome and immune system dysfunction, macular degeneration, nutrition and healthy aging of the eyes, and the use of nutrition to mitigate the course of ocular disease. She works in Atlanta, Ga., where her office is a Macular Degeneration Center of Excellence.

She is a board member of the American Nutrition Association, formerly the American College of Nutrition. Dr. Poteet is passionate about carrying on the legacy of her mentor, Dr. Stuart Richer, whose mantra “repair the roof before it starts raining” is an excellent metaphor for using lifestyle and nutrition to mitigate the course of disease.

Registration Required- Seating is limited- Breakfast will be ordered based on the number of reservations.

Please call (855) 962-2852 to reserve your seats- Local vendors will be present

Thanks to Regeneron, Apellis, Sun Pharma, AbbVie, MacuHealth, and Notal Vision for supporting these programs.