Abraham Bromberg
Abraham Bromberg, OD
Member, Berkeley Optometry Hall of Fame
Dr. Bromberg was born in México City in 1947 to parents who were welcomed by Mexico after fleeing Jewish persecution in Ukraine and Poland. He received a Bachelor of Optometry degree with honors from the Superior School of Medicine at the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in 1967. His bachelor thesis was on subnormal vision, which was a subject totally unknown in Mexico. As a student he was very active in organizing activities in favor of optometry. In 1966, he organized a visit to UC Berkeley by Mexican optometric students.
Dr. Bromberg has been an academic and professional leader for the profession in Mexico for over 50 years. He received an OD from UC Berkeley’s School of Optometry in 1969, and a Master of Science in Physiologic Optics from the College of Optometry, University of Houston in 1980. His MSc thesis was the first thesis directed by Professor Dennis Levi who at that time was on the Houston faculty.
Dr. Bromberg became a full-time professor of optometry and physiological optics at the Superior School of Medicine of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico in 1970, and later director of optometry. He was responsible for developing a new curriculum, changing the training program from a three-year to a four-year program, and the establishment of an optometry clinic. He remained at the school for almost 20 years. Professor Bromberg also taught low vision at the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM).
Dr. Bromberg has been active in organizing professional optometric associations. He is past president of the College of Optometrists of Mexico City, and the Mexican Association of Faculties, Schools, Councils (AMFECCO) – both associations are very active and well-recognized. Currently, he is president of the Consejo Optometria Mexico, a nonprofit organization that is promoting professional optometry in social media as well as continuing education.
He wrote and proposed the legislative bill that finally made optometry a regulated and licensed profession in Mexico – first at the Chamber of Deputies where it was unanimously approved in 2013, and finally at the Senate where it was also unanimously approved. President Enrique Peña Nieto signed the bill in March 2015.
Dr. Bromberg was given the responsibility by Dr. Enrique Graue, President of UNAM, for opening a new school of optometry within the UNAM system in the City of Leon. This was a significant and important moment for the recognition of optometry in Mexico. Dr. Bromberg has been a generous benefactor to the UNAM and the profession.
Professor Bromberg has written 4 books: Vision Baja, Historia de la Optometria en Mexico, Uso de los Anteojos para todo tipo de vistas, which is a new edition in modern Spanish of the first book of optometry by Benito Daza de Valdes, published in 1623, and Memorias de un Optometrista.
He is a member of the American Optometric Association, Emeritus Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, College of Optometrists of Mexico City, honorary member of the College of Optometrists of the State of Puebla, World Council of Optometry and Emeritus member Board of Governors Shriners Hospital in Mexico City. Dr. Bromberg has received many awards in both Mexico and in the United States, including recognition awards for his work from the State of Puebla, State of Mexico, IPN Alumni, AMFECCO, and the Essilor Award for Outstanding International Contributions to Optometry from the American Academy of Optometry.