Women Making History: Julia Lawrence Terry, New Eyes Founder
New Eyes Founder and Short Hills, NJ resident, Julia Lawrence Terry
In 1932, women had very limited career options, although there were promising examples of women breaking gender roles; Amelia Earhart, 34 years old, became the first woman to make a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, more women started working outside of the home as teachers, nurses, secretaries and other roles during the Great Depression.
The same year as Amelia’s famous flight, a no nonsense and charismatic 65-year-old woman named Julia Lawrence Terry, founded New Eyes for the Needy from her living room in Short Hills, NJ. While working in a Red Cross Food Station in New York City, Julia realized the widespread need for affordable eyeglasses, and shortly after, New Eyes became a reality.
Today, Julia’s legacy is even more important as women continue to take on leadership and founding roles in the workplace. However, there is still more work to be done - in the corporate world where women hold only 25% of C-suite positions and in the startup world, where just 20% of global startups with a female founder successfully raise their first round of funding, according to Crunchbase.
Julia had many qualities of a successful founder which remain critical today:
Julia was a “connector”: A friend of Julia’s describes her as having a “magnetic personality,” which “kept her very much in social circulation, thus giving her plenty of contacts.” She generated a strong community base of volunteers, including the Junior Women’s League, and networked with donors in NYC and across the nation.
She was a strong communicator, Julia effectively conveyed the mission of New Eyes to the media, and spoke about the many eyeglass recipients whose lives were changed by New Eyes. Her understanding of the value of public relations, and ability to use her connections in media - especially radio - and in politics (Eleanor Roosevelt promoted New Eyes in interviews), elevated New Eyes’ profile globally.
Julia had a keen power of observation and strong sense of urgency. She was a woman of action, who quickly identified a public health challenge, created a unique business model and a movement. Seventeen years after New Eyes was founded, Julia’s legacy still lived on, and continues to this day. “Established without a doubt that ‘New Eyes’ can be a smoothly working organization, run in a business-like way, and capable of tackling any problem that arises,” said Isabel Hunt, New Eyes chair, in 1949.
How would Julia react today, in a world facing a global pandemic, where the situation is drastically changing the way we live and work? As a leader who founded a nonprofit during the worst economic downturn in history, her priority would be to continue to serve those who needed eyeglasses. She would have faced disruption head-on, with confidence, and a plan in place.
For more information on Julia and the history of New Eyes, visit: https://new-eyes.org/our-history