I grew up on a small family farm in Indiana that my brother continues to run today. From a young age, I was fascinated by light, colors and the visual system, which lead me to a career in Optometry. During Optometry school I was assigned to the Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center (now CRCH) as an intern in 2012. After briefly working in private practice, I returned to academic Optometry and Community Health and I have been seeing patients at Charles River since 2018.
At CRCH, I have two roles, both as the Director of Eyecare services and as an Associate Professor of Optometry at the New England College of Optometry (NECO). This gives me the opportunity to not only see patients, but also to work with Optometric interns and participate in Optometric research and publications.
I love working with our patients and honing the variety of skills needed for the job. I can go from helping a patient with their visual concerns to mentoring students on abstract submissions for conferences. I have even had the opportunity to collaborate on a textbook and design an additional exam lane for the department.
At times it can be frustrating to deal with insurance providers and finding ways to get our patients what they need, but this also helps us find creative ways to solve challenges. I once had a patient who is legally blind but unable to obtain devices due to insurance issues. I was able to connect him with a low vision specialist that I know through NECO and we were able to give the patient a donated device so that he can continue to function independently.
In my spare time, I enjoy art, classical music and yoga. While challenging, Community Health Optometry has been the most rewarding work environment I have been involved with.