Past Events

February 13, 2020

A Senior Ophthalmic Product Manager at Zenni Optical who specializes in lens development and product management, shared his work history and path into the optical industry where he leads a team of ODs and opticians to bridge the gap between the eyewear industry and the modern patient.

November 4, 2019

A Manhattan-based optometrist who is well-known for her presence on social media as @drjenandjuice, shared her story on working with many brands in health, lifestyle, travel, and fashion industry and starting her glasses line called Carrot Eyewear and her own private practice Line of Sight.

March 5, 2019

Upon graduating from MCPHS University School of Optometry, Dr. Fereday was excited to join the Essilor Team as the new grad intern, where she was able to continue to work on projects that give back to optometry students. Following the internship, she remained part-time while joining a private practice in San Diego, CA. Soon after, she joined Essilor full time as a Professional Development Director. When she is not working, she enjoys playing with her puppy, Millie, staying active, and is a self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur.

February 13, 2019

Dr. Harvitt studied optics engineering in Rochester before coming to Berkeley to pursue his Vision Science PhD. His PhD research involved corneal oxygen consumption with contact lens, which sparked his interest in optometry. Dr. Harvitt graduated with his OD in 2000, after which he began seeing patients for a non-profit in Oakland and teaching optics to 1st years. Some of his previous work includes private practice and contact lens research working in R&D for CooperVision.

March 13, 2018

Dr. Mark Ichikawa is currently a clinical research optometrist employed by a contract research organization, PRA Health Sciences. He received his undergraduate degree in cell biology from UC Berkeley and his OD also from UCB before entering private practice in 1984. He purchased a retiring Doctor's share (50%) of the private practice in 1985 and retired in early 2016. After a year off honing his golf game, Dr. Ichikawa accepted a position with PRA Health Sciences performing clinical research in the areas of vision products (contact lenses) and vision devices/instruments. He currently works at a research clinic in Foster City, CA.

October 17, 2017

Born and raised in San Francisco, Dr. Louie has extensive experience in medical affairs, sales, and marketing to ensure optimal clinical outcomes. She managed several commercial sites and research projects and worked in ophthalmology private practices fitting specialty contact lens for keratoconus and post-graft patients and managing pre- and post-LASIK and primary care cases.

March 2, 2017

Experienced in clinical research as a research optometrist and clinical investigator with UC Berkeley Clinical Research Center, Dr. Ghanekar transitioned into industry as a Director in Global Medical Affairs with an extensive work history in pipelining early development projects and providing medical support for biotech and pharma.

January 28, 2020

The founder of Augmented Vision Labs and Young Leaders in Optometry and Chief Creative Officer of Defocus Media who is passionate about technology and eyecare, shared his insights on entrepreneurship and professional development in optometry. Augmented Vision Labs explores ways of applying emerging technologies such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence, spatial computing, and cloud computing to enhance eyecare delivery. Young Leaders in Optometry brings together the brightest young minds in optometry with the goal of empowering professional growth and helping them make a positive impact on our profession.

September 3, 2019

A pediatric optometrist at UCSF and consultant at Zenni Optical who defined her own path to balance work and home life shared how you can create your own optometry career path and the kinds of new and emerging optometry career paths.

February 13, 2019

For most of his career, Dr. Callan was in private practice in Walnut Creek, working for Zeiss part-time and teaching at UC Berkeley one day a week. He sold his optometry practice in 2015, so Dr. Callan now works exclusively for Zeiss and still teaches one day a week (you'll see him in 200DL)! For the majority of his Zeiss career, he did clinical research starting with the original Humphrey Field Analyzer but lately is concentrated on OCT technology. Dr. Callan is married with two kids, and his hobbies are taking naps and sleeping.

February 13, 2019

After completing her residency in binocular vision and pediatrics at UCBSO, Dr. Johnson stayed as a clinical instructor in the binocular vision clinic while working part time in private practice. Over the course of her career, she has worked in 5 different practices including a rehab optometric practice. Dr. Johnson currently works at Walnut Creek Optometry, specializing in vision therapy, dry eye, and troubleshooting contact lenses while teaching at Berkeley in primary care, contact lenses, and sports vision.

February 23, 2018

Since graduating from UCBSO in 2004, Dr. Truong has gone on to conduct clinical research at UCB Clinical Research Center, obtained a Masters in Public Health here at Cal, developed new contact lens products as a senior research scientist at CooperVision, and pursued a PhD in Vision Science studying ocular immunology all while practicing in both private and commercial optometry. He recently opened his own private practice and continues to teach and conduct research as an Assistant Clinical Professor and Research Clinician. His multifaceted approach to research and clinical practice are evidence that one's career path in optometry can be anything but straightforward.

October 17, 2017

A principal optometrist at UC Davis Eye Care in Sacramento, Dr. Barnett is an internationally recognized key opinion leader, specializing in anterior segment disease and specialty contact lenses. She lectures and publishes extensively on topics including dry eye, anterior segment disease, contact lenses and creating a healthy balance between work and home life for women in optometry. In addition to being a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and British Contact Lens Association (BCLA), she is a Diplomate of the American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry (ABCMO), and serves on the Board of American Optometric Association (AOA) Cornea and Contact Lens Council, Women of Vision (WOV), Gas Permeable Lens Institute (GPLI), Ocular Surface Society of Optometry (OSSO) is Immediate Past President of The Scleral Lens Education Society (SLS). Dr. Barnett is a spokesperson for the California Optometric Association and a guest lecturer for the STAPLE program. She was awarded The inaugural Theia Award for Excellence for Mentoring by Women in Optometry (WO). In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, yoga, hiking and spending time with her family, Todd Erickson, also an optometrist, and two sons, Alex and Drew.

November 13, 2019

A boutique private practice owner of Luminance Vision who specializes in dry eye treatment, shared her tips in opening and managing a private practice while running her own fashion blog @eyelikefashionblog.

April 3rd, 2019

A relationship manager with First Republic Bank, where his primary tenet is to provide comprehensive and creative solutions to all his current and prospective clients including but not limited to lending products, financial planning, wealth management, insurance services, trust and estate planning to advice and counseling, shared basic elements of financial planning and topics relevant to young optometrists.

February 13, 2019

Dr. Corzine was born in Wisconsin and attended UC Santa Barbara and Berkeley for undergrad. After a gap decade, he returned to Berkeley to complete his optometry degree, followed by an residency in contact lenses. He worked at a private practice in Walnut Creek while beginning to teach and do research with Berkeley. After working at an ophthalmology practice in Alameda, he began to teach full-time in exam procedures, contact lenses, and optics courses, as well as Primary Care and Contact Lens Clinic. Dr. Corzine helped design the current Optometry 200 series that debuted in 1998 and has served as Chief of Contact Lens Clinic and as Associate Dean for Clinical Instruction. Dr. Corzine is currently the Graduate Advisor for the School and serves on the Admissions Committee.

October 11, 2018

Known worldwide for her lecturing, teaching, and publications, Dr. Robinson has shared her expertise in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. She is the founding president of Women of Vision, a mentoring, networking, and educating professional organization for women optometrists. Review of Optometry named her as one of the top 10 most influential women in optometry. Dr. Robinson received her doctorate from Indiana University School of Optometry and has experienced a wide variety of eye care from corporate optometry to partnership practice to solo practice to multi-location group practice. She currently manages the Bausch+Lomb education outreach to the optometry schools in North America.

February 8, 2018

Recognized as one of the preeminent designers in eyewear today, Dr. Blake Kuwahara founded Los Angeles-based FOCUS GROUP WEST (FGW) in 2009 to fill a much need void in the marketplace for an integrated approach to brand development. FGW is a multi-disciplinary boutique design firm comprised of a team of eyewear designers, graphic designers, architects, and PR agents that takes a comprehensive approach to designing, branding and publicity for eyewear and fashion companies. Drawn to the more creative side of the optical profession, Kuwahara left the clinical arena for design - getting his start by creating eyewear for fashion designers Isaac Mizrahi and Hanae Mori as well as for iconic brands such as Converse, Liz Claiborne, and Jones New York. 

BLAKE KUWAHARA EYEWEAR 

The birth of the Blake Kuwahara Eyewear Collection was the result of the designer’s affinity for combining often opposing aesthetics in an artisanal way. By using laborious production techniques and a lot of handwork, each frame has a unique inner silhouette encased in an unexpectedly fresh outer shape. This seamless fusion of two frames and the juxtaposition of contrasting form and color creates a design tension that is thoroughly modern yet comfortably familiar. His eyewear is artful but wearable. Launched in January 2015, Kuwahara’s highly curated collection has already been nominated three times for the eyewear industry’s most prestigious award, the SILMO d’Or, and was awarded the top prize for Best Optical Design in 2016. Blake Kuwahara Eyewear can be found at exclusive optical boutiques worldwide and specialty retailers such as L’Eclaireur (Paris), Hotoveli (NYC), H. Lorenzo (LA), The Archive (San Francisco), and Matchesfashion.com.

September 2, 2017

An assistant professor of clinical optometry and vision science at UC Berkeley, Dr. Liu is the founder and chief of the Myopia Control Clinic - the first of its kind in a teaching clinic, which now serves as a model for optometry schools across the country. Originally from Beijing, Dr. Liu practiced as an ophthalmologist in China before relocating to U.S. in 2000. While waiting for admission to the OD program at Pacific University College of Optometry, she obtained her MBA, and following optometry school, she completed an MPH and PhD at UC Berkeley and shortly afterwards became a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.The emphasis of her research has been on the investigation of optical influences on emmetropization and the development of myopia.