A second generation optician,

Mr. Rivard's education in opticianry and contact lenses began as an optical apprentice in the family business in Hartford, CT. He completed Post-Graduate studies in Contact Lens Technology at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, and returned to complete its Ophthalmic Technician Program.
Awarded with lifetime membership, he is a Founding Member and Past President of the New England Contact Lens Society, he also served as President (1980-1983, 1997-2000) of the Connecticut Optician's Association and the Contact Lens Society of Connecticut. Active in establishing formal education for opticians, Mr. Rivard was Vice Chair (1987-1991) of the Commission on Opticianry Accreditation and returned to complete another two terms as a Commissioner. (1997 - 2005).
Rivard is certified as a Master of Ophthalmic Optics. He is an Honored Fellow of the Contact Lens Society of America; an Honored Fellow of the Opticians Association of America and a Fellow of the National Academy of Opticianry. He is A.B.O. and N.C.L.E.-Advanced certified and has held faculty positions at medical schools, colleges, and teaching hospitals in Connecticut and Massachusetts. He was Director of Technical Services of University Contact Lens Service located at the Yale University, School of Medicine, Yale Eye Center.
Mr. Rivard was a contributing author to the Definitions of Optical Optics: A Dictionary, 2nd Edition published by Butterworth Publishers and was the editor-in-chief and a contributing author of the Ophthalmic Dispensing Review Book II, published by the National Academy of Opticianry. He was one of a three-member team that drafted and established a curriculum for the first accredited Baccalaureate degree for Opticianry offered by Charter Oak State College in Connecticut and wrote the original curriculum for the Ophthalmic Design & Dispensing Program at Middlesex Community College. He is currently a Special Faculty Consultant and Advisor at Charter Oak State College..
Mr. Rivard was appointed by the Governor to the Connecticut Board of Examiners for Opticians in 1984. He served as its Chair from 1990 through 1997. Reappointed in 2009, he currently serves on that Board. Rivard was a member of the Board of Directors on both the National Committee of Contact Lens (NCLE) Examiners and the American Board (ABO) of Opticianry and completed two terms on the Board of the National Academy of Opticians..
The National Academy of Opticianry awarded him the prestigious Beverly Myers Award for Meritorious service to the advancement of higher education for opticians. He was presented with the Opticians Association of America Achievement Award for Significant Professional Contributions to Opticianry. In the same year, the National Academy of Opticianry awarded him with the Opticianry Education Achievement Award which recognizes educators whose contributions to opticianry education can be described as “major and noteworthy”.
He is currently Executive Director of the Connecticut Opticians Association and a Professor of Ophthalmic Design & Dispensing at Middlesex Community College in Middletown, CT. Skip also maintains a private practice in Specialty and Therapeutic Contact Lens Design in a large multi-specialty ophthalmology group practice and is President of Eyecare Technologies, an optical management and consulting firm.
Recognizing his six terms as President of the Connecticut Opticians Association and his dedication to the profession, he was awarded its first Lifetime Membership, Achievement Award . He has authored many professional journal articles and lectures extensively throughout the country on a variety of ophthalmic dispensing, management and contact lens topics.