CareerSymposium2021

Thank you for joining our virtual career symposium this year. When we set out to create a program for our symposium last year, COVID-19 quickly upended our plans. As we look back a year later, we can’t help but marvel at what a different world we ended up in. This applies not just in our everyday life, but also in the industry that we all work in. Trends that were already in place, for example tele-optometry, were accelerated. Practices that had the right infrastructure and resources in place quickly pivoted and adjusted to the new dynamics, equipped with new policies and PPEs to create as safe a place for patients to be in as possible. And surprisingly, many of our colleagues reported they were busier than ever. As we’ve all experienced, when there are challenges, there also tends to be new opportunities. With that in mind, we hope everyone will take advantage of the virtual program we created – it certainly allowed for us to invite many more of our friends that normally wouldn’t be possible. There are opportunities to learn about the major changes and new opportunities in the industry, ways to handle student debt, learn critical lessons about private practice, and engage with doctors from all modes of practices and specialties. Last but not least, so many of our friends at our networking and career fair are excited to meet and share a myriad of career opportunities with you. We hope you listen and ask a lot of questions, strive to make connections with our guests, and come out more knowledgeable about what it is you may want to pursue – after all, the program was created with the intention to provide you with opportunities to focus in on the many pathways you could pursue in your career. Enjoy! Dr. Quy H. Nguyen

Executive Director, Career Planning and Development

9th Annual Career Symposium

Activity

Time

Speaker

Introductory Remarks

10:00 – 10:05am

David Heath, OD, EdM

2021: Is Your Future Focused?

10:05 – 10:20am

Gui Albieri, PhD, Quy H. Nguyen, OD ’13

Main Session

10:20 – 11:00pm

Eric Baas, OD

Mick Kling,OD, Rachael Wruble, OD

Session 1

11:00 – 11:40am

Zoom Break

11:40 – 11:50am

Joy Harewood, OD R ’12, Brent Johnson, OD, Camellia Letafat, OD ‘13, Chandra Mickles, OD ‘09, Susan Resnick, OD ‘83, Noah Tannen, OD ‘16, Brieann Adair, OD ‘17

Session 2

11:50 – 12:30pm

Sponsors

12:30 – 12:40pm

VSP, Luxottica, Alcon, Warby Parker, Visionworks

Jobs & Networking Fair

12:30 – 2:00pm

Sponsors, Employers, Friends of the College

Raffle

1:20 – 1:30pm

Symposium Committee

9th Annual Career Symposium

SESSION DESCRIPTIONS 2020: Is Your Future Focused? As a young professional, there are so many options and career pathways that it can be difficult to focus in on one. In this short presentation, you will learn how to make the best of today’s event, including the opportunities to engage and learn from so many different professionals who have uniquely cultivated careers that fit their values and the life they want to live. Speakers: Gui Albieri, PhD, Quy H. Nguyen, OD Main Session The COVID-19 pandemic, along with a number of trends over the last few years, have both accelerated and changed the kinds of careers we want, and the way we practice and do business. In this main session, attendees can expect to hear about some of these major forces, including the pandemic, tele-optometry, private equity, and the rise of retail and corporate opportunities for the next generation of optometrists. Attendees should expect to get a bird’s eye view of these trends, and walk away with a better understanding of the major forces that will continue to have a big impact in their careers, as well as have more clarity in what they can do to better position themselves as current and future optometrists. Speaker: Eric Baas, OD Option 1: What I’ve Learned In 25 Years of Private Practice Owning your own practice can be one of the most rewarding accomplishments that an optometrist can experience. As with any business, there are many challenges with practice ownership which often result in painful, yet valuable lessons that sharpen business knowledge and expertise. Understanding the most critical aspects of practice ownership can help new business owners avoid costly mistakes and achieve their professional and business goals. With nearly 25 years of private practice experience, Mick Kling, OD will share the three most important lessons he learned while building one of the largest practices in San Diego, CA. Understanding and executing on these three lessons will ensure new practice owners avoid costly mistakes and accomplish extraordinary business success. Speaker: Mick Kling, OD Option 2: Managing Student Debt Student debt can be daunting! Dr. Rachael Wruble shares her story of how she and her husband each paid off upwards of $200K debt in less than four years and outline different techniques (snowball vs. avalanche) on how you can work to pay off your own debt. Her talk is both inspirational and encouraging. Speaker: Rachael Wruble, OD Session 1 (11:00 – 11:40am)

9th Annual Career Symposium

Session 2 (11:50 – 12:30pm) Option 1: What’s the Right Mode of Practice for Me? Graduates of optometry schools in 2021 have a wide variety of practice settings they can pursue. Whether it is working in a community health center, a hospital, a private practice, an academic institution, or a retail or corporate organization, there are many to choose from. Our diverse panel all have experiences in at least one or multiple of these settings – come hear what they have to say about working in these settings and why they enjoy them. Speakers: Joy Harewood, OD, Brent Johnson, OD, Camellia Letafat, OD, Chandra Mickles, OD Option 2: What’s the Right Specialty for Me? Our Career Development Center is seeing more and more of our graduates go on to pursue a specialty, on top of their already comprehensive and top-notch education. This panel will feature niche practitioners in specialty contact lenses, vision therapy and rehabilitation, pediatrics and myopia control, and ocular disease. Each specialty is remarkably different than the other so come hear from our specialists and see what their career and every day working experience is like. Maybe one of these is a good fit for you! Speakers: Susan Resnick, OD, Noah Tannen, OD, Brieann Adair, OD

9th Annual Career Symposium

Brieann Adair, OD

Brieann Adair, OD, is an optometrist at NYU Langone Health serving patients of all ages at the main campus Faculty Group Practice as well as pediatric patients at Bellevue Hospital. Dr. Adair is involved in direct clinical care practicing full scope medical optometry, as well as supervising PGY2 ophthalmology residents. Dr Adair received her Doctorate of Optometry from the State University of New York where she graduated with clinical honors and was recipient of the Mira-Med 20/20 Vision Award for Clinical Excellence and was inducted into the Gold Key International Optometric Honor Society.

Her clinical training is robust and includes externships at Woodhull Hospital, University Eye Center at SUNY as well as a private practice located in the Bronx, NY. Special interest including pediatric optometry as well as specialty contact lens fittings and dry eye management.

Gui Albieri, PhD

Dr. Gui Albieri is the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Chief Diversity Officer at SUNY College of Optometry. Prior to this role, he was the Senior Director of Admissions and Marketing at SUNY Optometry. His research interests include the areas of wisdom and self-control as well as inclusion, branding, cross-cultural communications, sustainable communities, and social innovations in isolated communities. Dr. Albieri has written a book chapter and published in the area of sustainable tourism development. He has won awards for public speaking, including the Jeff Gibb award for the “Best Presentation of the Year” from the Organizational Development Institute. Prior to joining SUNY Optometry, Dr. Albieri has worked as a human resource consultant for a major American chemical company in Brazil and was directly involved with HR interventions in more than 11 countries in Latin America. He is also a small business owner in Brazil. Dr. Albieri holds a PhD in Human and Organizational Systems, and MS degrees in Human and Organizational Development and in Organizational Change.

9th Annual Career Symposium

Eric Baas, OD

Dr. Eric Baas is a co-founder and principal of iCare Advisors, LLC and the co-owner of Sight Optical in Chicago and Union Eyes in Lemont, IL. He is also the Practice Management Curriculum Coordinator at the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) where he teaches the Business of Optometry course and Private Practice Simulator elective. Dr. Baas earned his Doctorate of Optometry degree from ICO and went on to complete a residency in Primary Care and Ocular Disease. Upon finishing residency, Dr. Baas continued to work as a clinical instructor at the Illinois College of Optometry while simultaneously opening a private practice cold in a busy metropolitan area of Chicago. A few years later, he played an integral role in the design, development, and operation of the Rosenbloom Center, which is a state-of-the-art 5000 square foot clinic dedicated to the eye care needs of the aging population and visually impaired. He is the former Chief of the Alfred and Sarah Rosenbloom Center on Vision and Aging at the Illinois Eye Institute and the Director of Continuing Education at ICO. In addition to teaching practice management at ICO, Dr. Baas is actively involved with the Private Practice Club as well as the Sports Vision Club, serving as the team optometrist for the University of Illinois-Chicago. He is also the 2016 Young Alumnus of the Year at the Illinois College of Optometry. Dr. Baas brings extensive knowledge and experience in financing, location analysis, lease negotiation, and practice design to the iCare Advisors team.

Joy Harewood, OD

Joy Harewood, OD, FAAO, Dipl ABO is a graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Optometry. She completed a residency in ocular disease at the SUNY School of Optometry. She has extensive experience in hospital-based eye care and was the first full-time optometrist performing inpatient consults at Northwell Health’s Staten Island University Hospital campus. This is a position she held for 6 years. Dr. Harewood then worked as a faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology at BronxCare Health System. There, she taught optometry and ophthalmology residents in a clinical and didactic setting, and provided direct patient care. She was a panelist in the highly regarded “Race in Optometry’ series in the summer of 2020 and currently serves on the UC Berkeley Council for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB). She was recently named the first Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at SUNY College of Optometry, and appointed as an Associate Clinical Professor. She has published articles in Review of Optometry, lectured widely, and been a leading voice in the push to increase diversity in the optometric field.

9th Annual Career Symposium

Brent Johnson, OD

Brent D. Johnson, Optometrist is in private practice in rural Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Missouri College of Optometry in 1988. He has owned and operated the Blue Earth Valley Eye Clinic, Ltd since 1993. He has successfully grown the practice from a staff of 4 part time employees to over 11 full time employees. Gross receipts have increased over 600% or 23% a year for the past 27 years. The Clinic has been early adopters to technology and currently has an Optovue OCT-A, Diopsys Electrophysiology, Maculogix Dark Adaptation, Humphrey Visual Field, TearLab Osmolarity System, and a Nidek Fundus Camera. Dr. Johnson practices full scope optometry including treatment of red eyes and foreign bodies. He manages many eye diseases such as cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and dry eye. He has performed over 4,500 one day post cataract examinations. He has been a VSP Ambassador for Minnesota for the past 26 years.

Mick Kling, OD

Dr. Mick Kling is president and CEO of Invision Optometry. Founded almost 20 years ago, Dr. Kling’s drive and passion has created one of the most successful eye care practices in southern California. Dr. Kling graduated with honors from the Southern College of Optometry in 1993. Following graduation, he completed residency training in Ocular Disease and Pathology at the Omega Eye Care Center in Jackson, TN. In 2000, Dr. Kling was named “Young Optometrist of the Year” by the California Optometric Association (COA). Dr. Kling is a member of the American Optometric Association (AOA), the California Optometric Association (COA) and is a past president of the San Diego County Optometric Society (SDCOS). In addition to private practice, Dr. Kling frequently consults and speaks for Leadership OD, a practice management consulting company for eye care professionals. In his free time, Dr. Kling enjoys running, cycling, and playing guitar in his rock band, Backstage Pass. He and his wife Jennifer, have two children, Robert and Ryan.

9th Annual Career Symposium

Cam Letafat, OD

Dr. Cam Letafat currently serves as the OD Area Leader for New York City. Originally from California, Dr. Letafat completed her studies from the SUNY College of Optometry as well as a residency in Pediatrics and Infant Vision. Following her residency, she joined SUNY as a faculty member and soon after joined the Warby Parker team in 2014 as a Full Time OD before being promoted to OD Manager and her current role as the Optometrist Area Leader for NYC.

She manages the talented group of New York ODs and helps implement clinical and business initiatives that support OD operations under the Vision Services department.

Chandra Mickles, OD, MS, FAAO, FSLS

Dr. Mickles is an associate professor at Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry (NSUCO). She is the Director of the Dry Eye Care Center, instructor of record of the Contact Lens course, and an attending in NSUCO’s Contact Lens Service. Dr. Mickles graduated from the University of Miami with Honors. She received her optometry degree from SUNY State College of Optometry, graduating in the top ten of her class. She completed a Cornea and Contact Lens residency and a post-residency research fellowship at UAB School of Optometry and the Birmingham VA, respectively. Her Master of Science thesis work was centered in dry eye disease. Dr. Mickles is a recognized industry key opinion leader. She lectures and publishes extensively in the areas of contact lenses and ocular surface disease. Dr. Mickles is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and Scleral lens Education Society. Dr. Mickles also serves on the National Optometric Association Board of Directors. Dr. Mickles has been recognized by the students of Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry as a Professor of the Year, two years consequentially. In 2018, she was named a “Top Black Educator in South Florida.” Dr. Mickles has also been featured on ABC news, the Miami Herald, and the Sun Sentinel.

9th Annual Career Symposium

Quy H. Nguyen, OD

Dr. Nguyen got his Bachelor in Integrative Biology at the University of California, at Berkeley and his Doctor of Optometry from the SUNY College of Optometry. Following graduation, he pursued a career in medical optometry, working along side an anterior segment and retinal surgeon, as well as a team of ocular disease optometrists. He was in private practice, and spent part of his time being on call at the Wyckoff Medical Center, in Brooklyn. Following his career in private practice, he joined the Office of Student Affairs at SUNY College of Optometry. He enjoys working with our great students at the college, providing workshops, counseling, and support for under-represented minority students, and being a part of the Student Affairs team. Currently, he serves as the Executive Director of Career Planning and Development as well as Director of Minority Enrichment (CSTEP).

Susan Resnick, OD, FAAO, FSLS

Dr. Resnick, is the President and managing partner in a New York City based independent contact lens specialty practice. She serves as a Vision Source administrator in the downstate NY area. Dr. Resnick is a Diplomate in the Cornea, Contact Lens and Refractive Tecnologies section of the American Academy Optometry in which she volunteers as chair of the case reports committee. She is an advisor to the Gas Permeable Lens Institute and serves on the admissions panel of the Scleral Lens Education Society.

A member of the AOA, and a Diplomate in the American Board of Optometry, Dr. Resnick is a frequent speaker, industry consultant and author on topics related to anterior segment care and practice management. Dr. Resnick is proud to be a mentor to students and young professionals.

9th Annual Career Symposium

Noah Tannen, OD, FCOVD

“Dr. Noah” received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Lafayette College, and went on to receive his Doctor of Optometry degree from SUNY College of Optometry. He completed his residency in pediatrics, vision therapy, and neuro-optometric rehabilitation at PCO at Salus University. He was accepted as a fellow in the American Academy of Optometry in 2018, as well as a fellow in the College of Optometrists in Vision Development in 2020. He has hosted Continuing Education lectures and authored several publications on the following topics: myopia control, vision development and rehabilitation, nystagmus, and patient care after traumatic brain injury. He currently is in private practice in Hamilton, NJ alongside his father, Dr. Barry Tannen.

Rachael Wruble, OD, FAAO

Dr. Wruble was raised in Bad Axe, MI and completed her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with High Honors followed by her Doctorate of Optometry Magna Cum Laude from Michigan College of Optometry in 2009. Dr. Wruble knew Michigan was too cold for her, so she was excited to find out she matched with her #1 residency choice at W. G. (Bill) Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salisbury and Charlotte, NC. Dr. Wrublle specializes in hard-to-fit contact lenses, Ocular Disease (Glaucoma, Macular degeneration, Diabetes) Specialty Contact Lenses (Keratoconus, Trauma, Advanced prescriptions), and pediatrics. She was named 2017 Young Optometrist of the Year, 2018 Young Optometrist of the South, and 2018 Women in Optometry Theia Award. She also volunteers at Gaston Family Health Services providing eye exams and participates with Belmont Community Organization.

YOUR CLEAR PATH FORWARD

Job Seeker | Hiring OD | Practice Owner

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©2021 Vision Service Plan. All rights reserved. VSP is a registered trademark, and Premier Pathways and Experience More are trademarks of Vision Service Plan. 90299

FOLLOW YOUR VISION

IMPROVE THEIR VISION

Introducing Luxottica Branded Practice. We understand both sides of the story. With your name on the door, Branded Practice provides unmatched opportunity for your personal and your professional growth. You’ll have the freedom and flexibility to create the path that works how you want to work, while backed by nationally established brands that patients know and trust. We’ll provide you with the tools and resources to start, run and grow your practice. Plus, with the support of our eye care community and vast network of doctors, you can provide patients with the highest-quality vision care—and continually evolve in your career. Visit www.luxotticaeyecare.luxottica.com to start seeing your vision through. Meet an Eye Care team member and enter our raffle at the Career Symposium.

Keep an eye on us ;) Warby Parker was founded with a mission: to inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose, and style. We accomplish this by reimagining everything that a company and industry can be— and we’re always looking for optometrists to join us at our 70+ stores offering eye exams.

Here’s a taste of what it’s like to be a member of #teamwarby:

BENEFITS

Health, vision, and dental insurance starting on day 1 Retirement savings plan with a 100% company match up to 4% Flexible paid time off in addition to company holidays Parental leave (non-birthing and adoptive parents included)

Reimbursement for optical certification, continuing education, and renewal Monthly fitness stipend Pre-tax commuter benefits

Free eyewear along with discounts for friends and family Anniversary gifts, including an international trip to see our nonprofit vision partners (those we work with on our Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program) in action Frequent snacks, team outings, and workday celebrations

Annual eye exam Referral program

SOUND GOOD?

Head to warbyparker.com/jobs/retail for more information on open positions.

NOW HIRING 2021 Graduates!

Our Values Be Simple. Be Human. Be Bold. We prioritize doctor support and quality patient care. Our teams work together, to create high quality solutions because everyone deserves great eye care.

GREAT EYE CARE BEGINS WITH GREAT DOCTORS

• Leading Eye Care Company • 710 Locations In 41 States • Doctor – Led Leadership • Competitive Compensation and Benefits Package • Sign-on Bonus, Relocation Allowance and Student Loan Assistance Available • Advanced Technology Including OCT, OPTOS and EMR

FLAWLESS VISION. UNEXPECTEDLY SIMPLE. Contact Us! odcareers@visionworks.com

Did you know that this year is the 50th anniversary of SUNY College of Optometry? We are excited to celebrate this momentous occasion by incorporating some fun facts into our career symposium this year.

2. In 1975, the graduating class was written up in the NY Times as the smallest class in New York, with 12 graduates!

4. The 42nd St. campus building was built in 1912 and was famous for Aeolian Hall!

1. SUNY’S birthday is on April 14, 1971, when Governor Rockefeller officially established the State University of New York College of Optometry.

3. In 1976, the College consolidated its facilities within a 20-story building at East 24th Street and Park Avenue South where it would remain the SUNY College of Optometry’s home for the next quarter century.

Thank you A special thank you to the members of our career symposium committee:

Staff & Faculty: Quy Nguyen, Gui Albieri, Richard Soden, Jennifer Kelly Campbell, Betsy Torres, Liana Rhee

Students: Kevin Singh, Crystal Guo, Aileen Lee, Humayra Rima, Ramal Yaqoob, Andrew Rouse

We’d also like to thank members of our community for playing a big part in this program, including Louie Bacosa, Jan Gonzalez, Fiona Dhrimaj, and Sakshi Vasiu.