As a young woman, Jade Coats, OD, FAAO, faced a cancer diagnosis that made her fully aware of the fragility of life. The experience forced her to re-evaluate what matters and led her to prioritize a work/life balance that works for her. This cycle—of being fully present at work and careful self-care and participation in things that bring her joy—allows her to show up to patient care and what is important to her in her private life more completely.
Jul 01, 2025•14 min
Rachael Wruble, OD , has built a career defined by leadership and community engagement—all while balancing the demands of family life. Her story highlights the value of being proactive in local optometric communities, forming meaningful connections and redefining what success looks like. Through her continued support of young ODs and her advocacy for inclusivity in the field, Dr. Wruble is helping shape a progressive future of optometry.
Jun 02, 2025•17 min
Co-owner of Econologics Financial Advisors Eric Miller understands the financial burden of optometry school—and he's here to help new ODs manage their debt with confidence. Juggling one or more loans while launching your career can feel daunting, but Miller offers practical, sustainable strategies for managing it all.
May 29, 2025•19 min
Dr. Maples explains how patient feedback—including not feeling rushed, being listened to and receiving clear explanations—inspired her to deconstruct what makes an eye exam feel meaningful. She shares how mindfulness and reflexive listening can help providers build trust, improve outcomes and reduce burnout. The goal, she says, is to help more patients feel seen and heard—even on the busiest clinic days.
May 20, 2025•15 min
Jade Coats, OD, FAAO, of Rogers, Arkansas, wants patients to feel like she's in their corner, inside and outside of the exam room. She's ready with a list of resources to help patients who need some emotional support as caregivers or patients undergoing treatment. Being empathetic, she says, costs her no additional time but creates mountains of goodwill and can contribute to better outcomes.
Mar 28, 2025•17 min
Interprofessional collaborative practice involves health care providers from different specialties working together beyond traditional referral models. "It's not just referring someone out and saying you're working with them, but actually working with those professions to bring the best outcome for the patient," says Amy Moy, OD, FAAO, CPCO, FNAP. Other fields, particularly in hospital and community health settings, already embrace this model, with professionals coordinating care plans and shari...
Mar 13, 2025•19 min
Julie Poteet, OD, MS, CNS, FONS, says that a new FDA-approved therapy, photobiomodulation, for treating dry aged-related macular degeneration (AMD), could be a game-changer for optometrists and patients. For those with a family history of AMD, the implications of this new therapy are especially important. Genetic predisposition plays a role, but environmental factors can influence whether those genes lead to disease. If research continues to support photobiomodulation’s effectiveness, Dr. Poteet...
Feb 25, 2025•16 min
Brianna Rhue, OD, FAAO, FSLS, wears two hats—practicing optometrist and co-founder of Dr. Contact Lens. In a 23-minute podcast, she reminds both doctors and sales reps that they are the “sharks” in the industry, holding the key to patient relationships. Through The Eye Pitch Book and her “three-frog strategy,” she encourages better communication between vendors and optometrists. The next big boost for a practice, she says, might be in one of those pitches—if people take the time to listen....
Feb 12, 2025•23 min
Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA , an internationally recognized expert in eye care, and Tanya Gill, OD, founder of We Love Eyes, discuss cosmetic eye product safety, the downside of false eyelashes and talking eye hygiene with your patients on this episode of WO Voices.
Feb 05, 2025•16 min
Social determinants of health, collectively, are "all the non-medical elements that shape somebody's daily lives that affect and influence how they experience and access health care," says Amy Roan Moy, OD, FAAO, CPCO, FNAP, an adjunct associate professor of clinical optometry at the New England College of Optometry. In this 19-minute podcast, she reviews ways that optometrists, lawmakers and communities can be better prepared to deliver culturally safe health care by understanding the social de...
Jan 28, 2025•19 min
On a 50th birthday trip to Paris, Dr. Lauretta Justin, founder of CEO of You and Optometry Divas, planned a photo shoot that led to her writing a book about practical yet inspired goal-setting. Listen to her tips here and download the book for more guidance.
Jan 03, 2025•21 min
Three female ODs spoke at the Women In Optometry Leadership Conference, called "Leadership Unleashed," held during the American Academy of Optometry meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, in November 2024. Hear how Jade Coats, OD, FAAO; Essence Johnson, OD, FAAO, Dipl ABO; and Mila Ioussifova, OD, CNS, FAAO, FOWNS, have tapped into their inner leader at various times in their careers. Dr. Coats spoke about how she is realizing her professional impact as a young OD; Dr. Johnson talked about those who ...
Dec 12, 2024•20 min
In this episode, Kara Foster, OD, of EyeCare for You, in Apex, North Carolina, recounts how she made the decision two years into practice to stop accepting vision and medical insurance payments. Her direct-care model can serve as an illustration of how women ODs can practice creatively and achieve financial independence and balance. Hear more about how she did it.
Dec 02, 2024•19 min
Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA , and Amy Gallant Sullivan , founder of Eyes Are the Story optocosmetics, take a look at the habits that can undermine healthy eyes when it comes to skin care and cosmetics. Listen to their practical tips about replacing cosmetics and what to do and avoid when it comes to beauty products, as well as resources to share.
Nov 26, 2024•22 min
As the competition for eyewear stays hot, how can opticals rethink the patient experience and their marketing to stay competitive? Liza Amlani , principal and co-founder of Retail Strategy Group, talks about how to promoting individual brands can help a practice create its own brand, as well. Hear her tips for incorporating what successful retail brands do.
Nov 06, 2024•19 min
Jacquie Bowen, OD, FAAO, who will become president of the American Optometric Association at the next Optometry's Meeting in June 2025 in Minneapolis; and Michele Andrews, OD, VP of marketing and professional affairs at CooperVision, discuss the goals of the Myopia Collective and the Change Agents who are driving change and best strategies in myopia management.
Oct 23, 2024•23 min
Cheryl Chapman, OD, FIAOMC, FAAO, Dipl ABO, of Gretna Vision Source in Nebraska, explains how she and Chris Wolfe, OD, joined together to co-found Peeq Pro, an eyelid hygiene company that puts the doctor front and center on eyelid cleanser and luxury skin care products. Hear how she uses it to help her patients be more compliant and her practice be more profitable.
Oct 14, 2024•24 min
Sharon A. Bentley, BScOptom, MOptom, PhD, MPH, FAAO, FACO , will become dean of the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of California, Berkeley, in February 2025. In this WO podcast, she talks with Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA, about her plans to advocate for excellence with kindness.
Sep 10, 2024•36 min
Roya Attar, OD, MBA, DHA, of Jackson, Mississippi, has found that artificial intelligence (AI) has helped her tremendously in her personal and professional life. For example, AI gave her ideas for her son's graduation party and she uses it to draft her patient notes. Listen to more ways she uses AI in her practice and how others could.
Jun 18, 2024•22 min
Opticals combine providing medically necessary eyewear and fashion. So WO turned to Liza Amlani , principal and founder of Retail Strategy Group, to ask if there are missed opportunities in retailing and marketing opticals. In the first of this two-part podcast, she suggests optometrists and opticians can think outside of the box, especially in terms of simply "filling a need to get new eyewear."
May 07, 2024•16 min
Several years ago, Caitlin Reghetti, OD , merged her interests in patient education with her skills for design and explaining things clearly. Believing that great design reinforces the quality content that doctors provide to patients, she branched out into a design business--DrReghettidesigns.com. Here, other eye care professionals can select forms, brochures, flyers and more to customize for their own offices.
Apr 17, 2024•21 min
In this episode of WO Voices, Dr. Sara Varghai of Nova Optique + Eyecare in Arlington, Virginia, discusses how she finds the right staff fits for her practice, ensuring efficiency and collaboration between her entire team.
Feb 27, 2024•22 min
Shira Kresch, OD, MS, FAAO, opened Michigan Contact Lens in Oak Park, Michigan, in the fall of 2023. Hear her explain how she determined there was a need for a contact lens specialty practice, how she discovered her passion for scleral lenses and where she compromised and where she didn't to get this practice off the ground.
Feb 20, 2024•23 min
Janelle Davison, OD, of Smyrna, Georgia, uses goal-setting as a tool to help her expand her bandwidth, make an impact, leave a legacy and, in the process, amplify her own voice and that of others. Hear how she combines visionary thinking with practical steps.
Feb 06, 2024•21 min
Sally Halim, OD, of Woolwich, New Jersey, is feeling the squeeze between counting on her parents to help get her manage the hectic schedules of her tween children and also worrying about what they can do. Hear how she's organizing herself and what it means she has to let go of during her years as part of the "sandwich" generation.
Jan 17, 2024•24 min
Brenda Montecalvo, OD, FCOVD, FAAO, FCSO, is an optometrist and vision therapist in Beaver Creek, Ohio. She's the author of Visual Secrets for School Success, and in this podcast, she explains methods she encourages chairside and in vision therapy to help student use all of their visual skills for academic success.
Jan 10, 2024•20 min
Dr. Neda Gioia and Dr. Julie Poteet talk about a new certification program to deliver much-wanted nutrition education to patients. The Certified Personalized Nutrition Certification is available at significant savings to members of the Ocular Wellness and Nutrition Society.
Nov 29, 2023•19 min
In this WO Voices podcast, Melissa Barnett, OD, FSAO, FSLS, FBCLA, talks with Leslie O'Dell, OD, FAAO, about the places where their careers have overlapped - particularly in dry eyes. Hear them talk about their work with the Intrepid Eye Society, Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society and more.
Nov 21, 2023•22 min
Kaitlyn Duran, OD , is a 2023 graduate of Indiana University School of Optometry, where she mastered time management skills that allowed her to focus on her studies, her competitive running and her husband. She details the apps and strategies she uses to stay organized and how the discipline will help her as she starts her career and pays off student loans. Congratulations, Dr. Duran - and the class of 2023. Can't wait to see what you do!
Jul 18, 2023•22 min
In this episode, Neda Gioia, OD, CNS, FOWNS, CFMP, of Shrewsbury, New Jersey, and the new president of the Ocular Wellness and Nutrition Society, talks with Rebecca Treen , an OD candidate with the class of 2026 at SUNY College of Optometry, on how wellness and nutrition resonate with today's students, patients and a growing number of health care providers.
Jun 27, 2023•24 min
