Most Influential Business Professional

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Baillie Russell Brown

Baillie Russell Brown is the director of programs for Sight Surgery International, a non-profit charitable organization that arranges and implements sight-restoring surgery clinics throughout the developing world, serving populations where blindness from cataracts is a scourge.

Sight Surgery International organizes teams of volunteer ophthalmologists, nurses and technicians to perform free sight restoring surgery all over the globe. Volunteer teams perform more than 1,200 surgeries per year, with each volunteer paying his or her own way to donate their professional skills. Since the organization’s inception, ophthalmologic personnel have performed countless examinations and major eye surgeries on people who would otherwise have remained blind or visually impaired.

With over 40 year’s experience, Ms. Brown serves as an ophthalmic surgical assistant. She is responsible for recruiting, coordinating, and deploying teams of eye surgeons in over 60 countries. She has convinced medical equipment and pharmaceutical companies to donate hundreds of millions of dollars worth of essential supplies.

Prior to her position at Sight Surgery International, Brown served as a licensed optician and staff member for Direct Relief International. She has also volunteered for a number of community organizations including the Braille Institute and numerous health fairs. Ms. Brown has personally participated in over 70 clinics in over 40 countries including Zimbabwe, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, Guyana, Mongolia, and Vietnam.

A recipient of many honors, Ms. Brown was listed in Who's Who in Top Executive Management in 1996, was celebrated as the Soroptimist Woman of Distinction for International Goodwill and Understanding in 1988, and named Outstanding Young Assembly in 1985. Recently, she was recognized by Strathmore’s Who’s Who Worldwide as a Professional of the Year for 2021.

Born September 29, 1953 in Olympia, Washington, Baillie received her B.S. in philosophy from St. Martins University. She has a certificate in ophthalmology and a certificate in operating room protocol. She is affiliated with the California Association of Ophthalmology.

In her spare time, Baillie enjoys riding horses, playing piano, and exercising on the elliptical machine.

For further information, please contact www.sightsurgeryinternational.com.